Baby Name has caused a rift

We were considering calling our second daughter Tiffany but my dear mother said 'Oh no she will end up being called Tiffany'. So we chose a different name which still ended up being shortened. Then we thought of Todd for our son and mother said ' he will end up being called Sweeney'.
So I decided what ever my children and grandchildren called their children I would make no comment. My daughter gave my granddaughter the Christian name of my mad aunt and then her son gave my greatgrandson her surname. Not that they knew about her. Just an unfortunate coincidence. Then I have got two greatgranddaughters who have been given the same name. Just as well they are not closely related. Maybe not my choice but it's up to them not me. Never comment on names or behaviour.

My friend has a GD named Pebbles. They call her Pebs.
Does anyone remember the small but very strong weightlifter named Precious McKenzie? Maybe, like ‘A boy named Sue’ he became tough because of his name.

I wish my Mum had thought twice about naming me, no one can spell it , even fewer can say it ( do you mean *******, no, there is a ‘y’ in it , oh really , are you sure, yes I’m sure, in fact there are 2 ‘yd’s’ in it, wow! Really?)
so I shorten it to just 3 letters, now no one (apart from close family) even knows it. Apart from officialdom of course.
Plus my other relatives call me by a nickname that my Grandfather gave me when I was 3.
I wanted to be called Helen or Hazel.

Please be careful, everyone, and remember that the threads can end up anywhere on the internet, including Facebook and Twitter.

I wasn’t keen on either of my first two GC’s names, but acted pleased, and they grew on me. I braced myself in case they chose names I wouldn’t like, and was ready to hide it. I helped to choose my next one’s name, as they just couldn’t decide on one. It took them two weeks before they settled on something.
My son’s Aussie girlfriend lived with us for two years, then they went back to Oz and married. When their first baby was coming they said that they had chosen an unusual name. DS is an avid Terry Pritchett fan, so I thought Rincewind? Greebo? Detritus? Eskarina?
When he was born (with me, unfortunately, not there due to Covid) they came on the internet chat to announce the name. The road where I have lived for 55 years is called Ashton Heath, and they have called the baby........Ashton Heath _____! My jaw must have dropped. Of course, no-one over there will know where his name comes from, and it’s a lovely compliment from his parents to the happy times they spent here, and his English heritage. It has taken me a little time to connect the name to my lovely little GS, instead of where I live, but I like it now.

My husband insisted on naming our first Daughter after his Mother, Georgina, but after some very rude boys at school started swapping the 'Geor' for a 'Va' and shouting it after her, she soon got to hate the name, and now uses her more popular short middle name in everyday life.
Her younger sister has what was then a very unusual first name, which came from a beautiful little girl who I nursed on a ward where I worked. I did suffer some opposition from my sisters in law though, one of them who took it upon herself to present me with a list of 'Alternatives' including her own daughters names, which were popular in the 1940s and 50s. Thankfully I stook to my own choices, which she says she is truely greatful for, and as a 30year old, and the increase in recent popularity of her first name, she now works with several young children with the same first name!

I do wish our grandson had been given, perhaps as second name- my OH's unusual name, that was his grandfather's before him. and would have loved our grand-daughter to have my mum's name, which was also my grand-mother's. But it was not our decision- and that, is that. Not our choice to make or to disapprove.

If I’d been asked, only one of my GC would have been given the name they have.
I stayed silent on all counts as I remember being most offended when one of my parents and one in-law expressed dislike of our choices for our own children.
As others have said, the children grow into their names-or we simply get used to them.

Hollysteers, I think Rupert is a fabulous name! I wouldn’t have had the courage to use it, though. I think people are much more adventurous about names than when I was young. In the forties and fifties, boys especially were laughed at if they were called anything remotely out of the ordinary. One of my friends had a brother called Crispin, which I like, but he was teased. Another friend’s brother was called Hilary, which is of course a boy’s name (eg Hilary Benn), but by the 1950s it was more commonly used for girls, so he suffered too.

My granddaughter has four names the last one is Bear I love it, my sisters thought she could be teased at school. Anyhow she is a strong determined little lady, advanced for her age, talks like a 4 year old she is nearly 2/half very sweet too. So the name suits her perfectly.

It is up to the parents to name their child

Funny ? names this made me laugh

La-iah:

Introducing a bit of Morse code here the ' - ' is not silent.

This name is Ladashiah.

I feel very strongly about names, and was very relieved when both my grandchildren finished up with names I like. Some of the suggestions beforehand had worried me! I like names with a long history, but which are relatively unusual now. I think I achieved that with my own children, except for the one called Oliver. When we called him that it was quite unusual and original. Now, it has been one of the most frequently used boys’ names for years. I’m not pleased, but he doesn’t mind.

To be honest, falling out because of a name, is just nonsense and totally unnecessary.

My DD was set to call my youngest DGD a name which was my mum and grandmother’s first name which they both hated as did I. I remember feeling embarrassed about it as a child! I made no bones about expressing my dislike of the name even saying I would call her something else. My DD and I speak our mind (both stubborn and opinionated!) but we have a relationship that we can be totally honest with each other without any ill feeling. I am often surprised how many mums on here have to walk on eggshells. I would not say anything to my DDIL though, lovely as she is I would not want to offend her so I would just have to suck it up!

I wonder if the Queen expressed her thoughts on the name Archie?
Jacob Rees Mogg’s children have impressive names: Sextus Boniface and Anselm being just three of them.
My son is hugely relieved we did not finally choose Rupert, which was seriously considered.

was it a test-tube baby.
or do you mean, in utero.

My daughter asked our opinion on baby names when the baby was still in vitro.

She read out a list of eight or nine names and we reacted with hoots of laughter at one of them....the one that was their favourite and 'hidden' in the middle of the list. Oops!

We love the name now and it really suits the child.

Be very very careful, prospective grandparents!!

Working in a school I've come across some pretty strange names!
Two sisters called Antique and Unique!
A boy called Maverick - now that is asking for trouble if they grow into their name!
On teaching practice I taught a boy called Gordon Bennett!
My boss in one school, whose surname was 'Head', responded to being called a Dickhead by an unruly student with "I'm so glad my parents didn't call me Richard!

Some parents really don't think! My mother was taught by a teacher called Phyllis Irene Greenwood who had her initials on her briefcase! No prizes for guessing what the students called her!

i once met a Funki at a training day.
always thought it was a great name.

I was a school secretary for a number of years so I have seen some very unusual names and even more unusual spellings

A friend who was enrolling a child into her infant school gave the mother a tour of the school, with her son Gooey. When they got down to the written forms it was actually Guy.

I once had three differing spelling of Siobhan in one class, they all insisted their version was correct so I was glad to tell them they were all wrong! Ballykissangel had a lot to answer for.

It's to be hoped we don't start getting a crop of Coronas and Covid/Covidas!

I know some teachers who had difficulty naming their own children or liking the names chosen for their grandchildren because every name seemed to conjure up the memory of a ghastly pupil.

This was certainly the case when naming our own babies, we had joke-names for them before they were born based on our nightmare pupils!
It also influenced buying clothes at times, our daughter wanted a particular jacket but being sick of seeing a dirty one on the back of my bete-noir I wouldn't buy it.

Sazzl - so do I! She lives in Canada, and when she was a baby a little girl moved into the neighbourhood called Lake!! All they needed was a Pond and a Stream.... DS had wanted to call her Echo which I love, but dearesf DIL won.

In my GD's class at school, there are 2 little girls called Skye, a Scarlett and Savannah. The boy's unusual names are Blue, Beau and Forest. Don't know what to think really.

We called our first child an unusual name. It was pre decided whether we had either gender. After the initial 'what?!!' my Mum's concern was that people would make a fool of him all through his life. He's now 51 and I asked him recently if his name had every given him any grief. Not once. Hallelujah. His mates have abbreviated it (of course!). Only started with five letters....

I knew soneone (In the navy) who named his daughter after all the ships he had served on. I Cant remember them all but it started Fearless Victory Porpoise... she was called Fearless but everyone thought it was Phyllis !