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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Gabriel for a boy...do DH's veto because they think he'll be called 'gay'?

35 replies

alannabanana · 18/02/2010 20:34

i think thats a very unenlightened view if its true, but my DH has all but said thats his fear for calling our boy gabriel - a name which i love!

this will be boy number 2, and boy number 1 was going to be gabriel up until the last minute, when we went with oren - another fave name of mine, which actually im glad we used because it really suits him. i reckon brother-in-law put him off by saying gabriel would get called gay at school and what not.

im just wondering if anyone has used this name and can vouch for its success and unhomophobia-inducing-ness.
????

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Pollybloodyanna · 18/02/2010 20:37

Mine vetoed it for different but similar reasons (ie he thought it was too feminine).

runnybottom · 18/02/2010 20:42

The normal nn for Gabriel in Ireland is Gay, but it the UK its Gabe. Could get either though.

BelleDameSansMerci · 18/02/2010 20:45

I thought it was because of Angel Gabriel and the common misconception that angels are female?

I think it's a lovely name. If DD had been a boy I wanted to use Felix but then DP vetoed thst for reasons of cat food...

cilitbang · 18/02/2010 20:48

I agree with your DH, I'm afraid. Nice name though so its a shame, but you'll be setting him up for name calling at school. Sorry.

mathanxiety · 18/02/2010 20:50

And he wasn't concerned about Oren being called Oral?

All the Gabriels I know (there are 6 of them) are Gabe, and they are all Manly Boys.

MillyMollyMoo · 18/02/2010 21:27

Hmm I know a little Gabriel and can see where your DH is coming from, not that anyone calls the 2 year old gay, but eyebrows are raised in that stupid way some people do, manly men tbh and many in the poor souls own family.

Tortington · 18/02/2010 21:29

i like the name -i'd call it a rabbit or somethng but wouldn't send my son to a state school with the name gabriel.

the kid will be called gay. and thats that. and whilst kids will pick on anything from hair colour to lunchbox style, i wouldn't want to start him off in life with that disadvantage

MaggieMaeve · 18/02/2010 21:33

No. It's too mainstream now to be automatically linked with Gay. Anyway, Gay Byrne lived it down in much harder times (when being Gay was a bigger deal).

my nephew, who lives in america, now calls himself Gabe I notice. That sidesteps the issue neatly I think. People are hardly going to bother shortening gabe to gay, if the gabriel in question has already 'offered up' the shortening of Gabe.

southeastastra · 18/02/2010 21:34

he wouldn't be called gay round here, probably gabe though instead.

MaggieMaeve · 18/02/2010 21:35

I think of the sin of Onen when I hear any name even remotely similar... so, just another perspective but I think Oren was riskier!

Original poster

alannabanana · 18/02/2010 22:01

oral? no. thats a bit random. and thats my actual human son's name thank you very much.

i think gabe is a nice abbreviation though.

i really feel like i shouldn't give in to the potential that he could get teased at school - afterall, how will homophobia ever be irradicated unless we get rid of such stigmas!

also we're quite a tall family and ds1 is enormous, so if #2 follows suit hopefully kids will be too scared to take him on!??

OP posts:

mumoftoomany · 18/02/2010 22:06

Hmm, I think there is something feminine about Gabriel, not sure whether it is the Gay sound or the fact that Gabriel was an angel....

My dh vetoed it for that reason too.

southeastastra · 18/02/2010 22:20

i would be tempted to call my son gabriel if i had another one. thought would probably be more because of peter gabriel

Original poster

alannabanana · 18/02/2010 22:24

angel gabriel..hmm, did i mention we were catholic?!

OP posts:

MaisietheMorningsideCat · 18/02/2010 22:29

It will probably happen - kids can turn any name into something it's not. The shortened form is Gabe, so it'll only be the numpties that he will doubtless not give a toss about that will call him Gay. It's definitely something to consider, though why 'gay' is still used as an insult by children these days I just don't know

MaggieMaeve · 18/02/2010 22:57

"i really feel like i shouldn't give in to the potential that he could get teased at school - afterall, how will homophobia ever be irradicated unless we get rid of such stigmas!"

I agree with you,,, BUT, i wouldn't use my children to attempt to push back boundaries. I take it on all the time myself though! my gob is always open challenging people about something or other.

MaggieMaeve · 18/02/2010 22:57

however, gabriel is a good name. but you know what i mean, IF you'd been going to call him Lucifer or Poxy or something

Original poster

alannabanana · 18/02/2010 23:41

oh i just don't know what to do. im so inexplicably drawn to the name gabriel despite the connotations - probably because it was prime choice for DS1 for so long.

you know when you look through the name book(or a million of them!) and you think "shit name, shit name, really shit name...well at least i've got gabriel as a backup", thats what i keep doing, but i fear my backup might need a backup now.
the good news is im only 22 weeks preg so theres plenty of time - just hope the world has enough name books for me to rifle through!

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PrettyCandles · 18/02/2010 23:53

I know a toddler Gabriel - nickname Gabe. And 60-something Gabriel - nickname Gabby.

I like the name. My dh has never commented negatively on either their names or their nicknames.

SqueezyB · 19/02/2010 09:10

i think as long as your surname doesn't begin with B it should be ok, surely? That's the reason we vetoed Gabriel. I love Gabe, but Gabe Biggles (for example) would quickly become Gay Biggles in any classroom! A non-B surname, eg Gabe Williams, sounds fine IMO though.

SE13Mummy · 19/02/2010 12:49

None of the Gabriels that I know (from age 2 to 35) have been teased about their name any more than friends called Joanna (who've been Joanna Spanner), Hannah (Hannah Bannana), Ollie (Wally) etc. etc.

I've taught a couple of Gabriels and have only ever heard them called Gabriel/Gabe/Gaby/Gabey. If it's a name you like then go for it as others have said, people will find something to pick on at some point in a child's life.

Original poster

alannabanana · 19/02/2010 13:41

well you 3 have made me feel much more reassured about it! i can see myself calling him gabey for short, as i do tend to put 'ee' on the end of most things these days!
and the surname funnily enough, starts with 'g', so no danger of gay biggles!

se13 - i never thought of it like that - kids pick up on any old thing with names, especially when it rhymes with something - i should have remembered my own childhood being called alannabanana/pyjama/pirhana/sultana, it happened loads but didn't phase me too much.

OP posts:

Jamieandhismagictorch · 19/02/2010 18:38

It's my favourite boys name, but was vetoed by DH. I still think we could have got away with it.

Toggy · 20/02/2010 16:00

I named my first son Gabriel. he's 2 1/2 now. People in my mums generation (including my mum) said that people would call him Gay but that just seemed like a closed minded, old fashioned view and there are negative nicknames for most names. Most people call him Gabe now and think it's a cool name. I often call him Gaby and he tells everyone his name is Babriel. I have no regrets about calling him Gabriel and neither does my hubby

serinBrightside · 20/02/2010 19:07

We have a 7yr old Gabriel, he has never been teased (and he does ballet and wants to be a fashion designer when he grows up).

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