Baby Name ? Controversial

[2021Mum]

I’ve just found out I’m expecting a baby girl. My partner and I plan on calling our little girl Rebel with the intention she will be Rebby for short after a very close friend. My family love the name and I was going to keep it a secret but my MIL found out my mum knew and pestered me to tell her. She hates the name (part of the reason I kind of didn’t want to tell her) and now I’m having second thoughts on a name we have loved for a long time. Is it such a bad name? She says people will just automatically assume ‘rebel’ as in troublemaker :(

Are you joking? You have no ambitions for her being a lawyer, doctor, teacher etc? Ok if she's a rocker, celeb., on TOWIE etc. though?

Awful, just awful.

it's your child and your choice on what you want to name her but I'm also free to have an opinion just like your mil. Why would you want to name your child with an absolutely awful name sorry but really, there's thousands of names you could pick for your daughter but rebel please no.

It’s a bit of a burden for a child to carry around with them. I like unusual names (love Storm!)...but Rebel just seems really try-hard, like you’re hoping your child will be a really off-the-wall, spirited character. What if she’s not? What if she’s really quiet and shy? It’s too much.

It's entirely your choice, of course. But since you ask, it's utterly awful.
It sounds silly. Not wacky.

Rebel and rebby are both just horrible sorry!
I've also never heard of "rebby" as a nickname for Rebecca (and I am very close to one). Becky /becca /bex etc are much more common.

" have you got a cause?" Will be the 'joke' people make over and over and over again thinking they are the first and funny.

I have a name people makes jokes about and believe me it gets old really quickly.

Plus, it's not even attractive.

It's bloody awful.

Why Rebby? It’s awful.

Usually I would say the MIL was rude to interfere but on this occasion I think she's right on the money to try to get you to think about this a little more.

Rebel is a hard name to carry off; what if she's actually extremely shy and has to spend her life explaining her name to new people? Rebby is utterly dire.

It’s not so much that I think Rebel is a bad name, it’s more that I think anyone who would pick it is a complete try hard who thinks that they are much cooler than they really are.

I’ve taught a Rogue, a Peril and a Risk. Never a Rebel though!

Go for it. A name does not change what occupation you will have in life nor will it determine the child's life outcome. The only thing that does that is judgemental people. As a bonus little Rebel will learn who to avoid in life if they assume anything over a name.

It is very try-hard. Not eccentric or unusual. Just tacky and silly. Like when Sarah called her baby Brittany before being convinced change it to Bethany in 80's Coronation St

@LilQueenie

Go for it. A name does not change what occupation you will have in life nor will it determine the child's life outcome. The only thing that does that is judgemental people. As a bonus little Rebel will learn who to avoid in life if they assume anything over a name.

True but most people are judgemental! Especially people such as hiring managers who want to hire well; even subconsciously they might pick a 'Sarah' CV over one from Rebel. There's no getting away from it unfortunately.

Also for further context the ‘Rebby’ is after a close family friend who passed away, she was a ‘Rebecca’ so may have to have a re think

It sounds like Rebby was a natural nickname for your friend; you can't really dictate a nickname, they just don't seem to work like that.

@2021Mum

Also for further context the ‘Rebby’ is after a close family friend who passed away, she was a ‘Rebecca’ so may have to have a re think

Why not just call your dd Rebecca? It is a beautiful name with loads of shortenings that your dd can use depending on her own personality - Reb, Rebeck, Bec, Becky, Becca.

You can call her Rebby or Rebel when she is little - if she likes it then she can keep it, if not then she can move to Rebecca or one of the other shortenings.

In all honesty I think it’s a terrible name. It’s just applying a label which absolutely does not always have positive connotations on your child from birth. It may scratch your naming itch, but your baby is the one who actually has to live with it. Don’t do it to her!

Go for Rebecca Isobel!

@Noble89

I absolutely love it! And I don't think for a second an unusual name hinders a child. It's unusual yes, but not completely ridiculous like Abcde and others I've heard.

Your baby, your choice. I hate all traditional names, I find them all so bland and I wish I had a more unusual name.

I also think it's far more common for children to have unusual names now than when we were growing up. So I don't think it will attract the attention it may have gotten if a child in our class at school in the 90s had been called Rebel.

I'm currently 28 weeks and really wanted Rumer or Scout for my little girl. OH prefers more traditional names and we've compromised on Blake Harper which we both really love but neither of us would have chosen if it weren't for the need to find some common ground.

If you and your partner love it I'd say go for it. I can't imagine your child will think anything other than 'my name's Rebel', I don't think she'd have an opinion on it whilst she's young. Perhaps go for a safer/more mainstream middle name to go with it? So when she's older if she does feel she's not comfortable using it for professional reasons etc she could perhaps use her middle name (not that I think she actually would!)

Jesus, who are you Demi Moore ? Rumer or scout ?

@2021Mum

Also for further context the ‘Rebby’ is after a close family friend who passed away, she was a ‘Rebecca’ so may have to have a re think

Yep. Have a rethink & keep thinking until you realise it's a dreadful name and if you want to honour your friend, use her actual name & nickname! Your daughter will thank you.

Terrible name sorry

Yes your mil is right thats an awful name and its silly to shorten it as it already short. You want to be shouting that across the play park when its time to go home?

I work in school... and have to say most teachers do an inward eye roll at such names. You don't have to run with the crowd and call your daughter Lily-Mai or Ava-Grace ( there are a LOT of those currently and hyphenated names are a popular and a bit naff) but Rebel.. or Storm.. will raise a lot of eyebrows and not in a good way.
I'd just bear in mind the future.. people JUDGE..like it or not, and a Rebel applying for a STEM course, or Oxbridge or .med school... hate to say it but there is a prejudice (wrongly) or a bias towards nice middle class traditional names.
I'm old and my 3/4 of my kids have traditional names (and a double barrelled surname) and it has given them an air of being more 'posh' than they actually are... and it has served them well (one now a doctor, another a high flyer in her profession) 4th child has a more 'out there' name and he's a hippy musician... I'm not sure it's a coincidence!