DH's grandparents refuse to use DS's name!

[MrsMagooo]

This may seem really trvial but it's driving me nuts!

Our DS is 3 months old & we named him Elijah, we both adore it & wanted a strong bible name for him

Pretty much everyone thinks it's fab - that is aside from DH's grandparents.

DH grandad says he just can't get used to it & doesn't know how to say it - he thinks we should have called him something "normal" like Raymond

DH Nan doesn't ever use his name - just refers to him as Baby or Babe

It's really getting on my nreves - especially as DH Nan keeps asking if she can call him something else!!

I adore my sons name, it's not that different & IMO isn't wacky or odd - but even if it was surely they should just accept that, that is his name!

What are they going to do when he's in his teens FFS?

Sorry - just needed to rant!!

Then can you together maybe suggest a pet name for him that they can use and will be special, but not Raymond, or Frank or John.

More like Boyo, Sonny, Treasure, Popeye. etc.

next time they do it just flip. Have a complete rant at them, scream "HIS NAME IS ELIJAH, E-L-I-J-A-H, CAN YOU UNDERSTAND ME??? THAT IS HIS NAME, WE ARE NOT CHANGING IT.".

That should do it .

Alternatively just grin and bear it for a while - your dh's grandparents? they must be pretty old.

Congratulations on your new Elijah.

What a fabulous name.

Grin and bear it. They will get used to it eventually!

Chill for a while. Once ds is beginning to talk and understand they will work out that he'll only respond to his name, and will refer to himself as Elijah, or some toddler version, and that will prompt DH's GPs to use his proper name.

I presume you have heard the fab chorus piece "Elijah Rock" ?

I am listening to it now on youtube.

Play it to the grandparents!

I just wanted to say it is a lovely name too and you PIL are just playing dumb.

The name has been around for thousands of years - I can't believe they have nver heard of it or have that much trouble with it. Spelling it I concede may cause problems but it isn't hard to hear and repeat.

I have nothing to help except just keep repeating it at every opportunity. Get Elijah to do the talking - say things like 'Elijah says he wants a cuddle from Grandma' or 'Elijah says hello grandpa'. You may feel a twerp but if they get used to hearing it they may get more comfortable with it.

But don't change his name for their sake (not that you would I am sure)

It doesn't matter what you call your DS - he could be named Bozo the Clown. The point is that it's your DS's name (a friend has an Elijah - love it) and they should respect it.

If they use 'baby' babe' or whatever, could you make a little joke out of it: 'It's Elijah, remember.. not dementia slipping in...'

Mrs Magoooo - we've got this with dh's grandparents too. Although they just use the incorrest version of dd's name, which er, isn't her name!! It drives me mad, and I have corrected them a thousand times. But it doesn't seem to matter.

Oooh, my teeth are itching just thinking about it!

I love the name Elijah, it's quite an old fashioned name so you'd think they'd be a bit better with it, there's got to be a few their age

I also hate shortening, but it's more for the fact I feel it should be up to her so will call her by her full name until she decides she doesn't want to (although Izzy drives me nuts! Mainly because I don't hear the S sound very well so it sounds awful to my ears) and not have everyone having different shortenings that she doesn't want.

Your son will start to tell people who pronounce his name wrong. I know an Eleanor and a friend of ours calls her "Ellie" one day (she was probably 2 or 3) she knelt on the friends lap, looked her in the eyes and said with a serious voice "El-len-or"!

my inlaws (15 years ago thi is) inc. BIL thought the name 'jacob' sounded gay

hard shit

thats his name use it

wait til he is touching their stuff and they want to get his attention

Just completely ignore what they are doing - it is annoying you wany more than it needs to be - if they ask about calling him something different say yes as long as it is ok if you do the same to them and called them Harold and Hilda for a while and see how they like it.

yanbu

rude and ignorant, unless you've called him Fart or something

MrsMagooo, its a fab name and its the name that you chose for him which is the most important thing!

We had a few issues with DD1's name with DHs Grannie, mainly because she kept forgetting what it was but we got there in the end!

As another post said, at some point your DS will be old enough to tell people his name and by then he will just be Elijah anyway so no one will ever think about calling him anything else.

Mrs Magoo - this thread has made me LOL. My DHs mum did the same. DS's middle name is James - so she said "I don't like that name (his first name) - I will be calling hi 'Jimmy'"

and my DS's first name is...Elijah!

MIL got over it, and DS, now 2.5, certainly wont answer to Jimmy!

Forgot to say LOL at all the comments about their ages! OK, they are in their 70s but my grandparents are only in their 60s (65 and 66 IIRC).

MIL didn't like dd's name either and for ages kept saying "I do wish you'd called her something else" and then come up with something horrendous as an alternative. She got OK with it in the end though. Just keep calling him Elijah (fantastic name btw) and they'll have to come around in the end.

BTW, my dad's mum christened him Ronald but called him John all his life!

Custy - Jacob = gay

I have a Jacob. It is soooooo not a gay name.

Also Old Testament like Elijah - I like OT names, they are strong names.

What on earth is "a gay name"? How can anything be or not be a gay name, niecie?

I don't know - ask Custy's BIL!

i rather think in his colloquial way he meant effeminate.

now joshua .....

I was thinking along the lines of gay = girly but even so. Nonsense!

IMO MrsM its early days yet,from their point-of-view,its an unusual name,give them time they will get used to it.It used to take me time to stop calling the DC's "the baby",so it takes others time too,my Outlaws still call DD2 "the baby" and as you know she's 2!!

Being so ancient,I'm jealous that your DC's have grandparents and Great Grandparents.I miss my DG alot,and she never met any of my children,and only 2 of my DB's 4.

You'll laugh at this later I'm sure,i love the raymond stuff I can see how annoying it is,but much worse IMO to have DD2 doted on,and DD1 pretty much ignored,and as for DSS,well .....!!!

Be grateful for doting grandparents.Its a family joke in my family,that my DB's 3 boys are always referred to as "Fred,Harry Bert" before anyone said their real names!

A friend of mines DS is called Josiah,that was a little tricky at first,lovely name but unusual,difficult for us "oldies" to get our tongues round

My Grandma refused to use my name for a very, very long time as it wasn't biblical. In fact, I'm named after a Beach Boys song. Blasphemy you see.

She even bought name plaques with the name she chose for me on them. Was a completely different name.

Drove my Mum potty. When old enough I used to correct her.

Barbara Ann?

But no. My Grandma would think Barbara Ann was a nice, normal name.