Calling parents by their Christian names

It’s a personal choice and irritating that some feel they’ve the right to judge others for something so unimportant in the scale of ‘stuff’

Thanks for your kind comment and sorry you had a similar experience iam64. Btw I AM 64!

We survived and thrived autumncolours. I was just 64 when I joined this forum. I couldn’t quite believe I’d somehow reached the age in the Beatles song. 12 years later ……

I find it most odd that my grandchildren (both in primary school) call their parents by their first names. It seems to be a trend nowadays 😔

My adult daughter called me by my Christian name last week, she said “Sarah, you’re not listening”! Made us all burst out laughing 😆 as she always calls me Mum.

As an autistic adult I fully understand this. I have always called my parents by their name, it's very hard to process anything else that's who they are. Of course I understand they are my parents but they have an identity. It's also easier in busy places, family gatherings etc because if I was to shout mum half a dozen people could respond. I've called my parents by their names since childhood. I was always questioned as a child in the 80's or 90's and it was never by my own parents but other people making out I was disrespectful. Yet my parents fully understood it. They always defended me as I now do with my son who calls me and his dad by our names. I will not abide anyone who dares tell my child that it's not ok, because it is to me. It doesn't change how he loves and respects me in fact I feel I try to have one of the most respectful young pre-teens out there.

GD1 always calls her Dad by his name, I think it started when she was very young and was winding him up.
When she was cross with me she used to call me Daddy's Mummy rather than Grandma 😄

My children grew up in France, not in the English community. The French don’t shorten Maman, or I have never heard it said, and my DDs still call me Mummy, even though they lived/live in Australia and the UK. One set of GC call me Granny and the other by my Christian name.
I detest one of my SiLs calling me Granny as much as my next door nieghbour insisting their DGC with me protesting, call me by my Christain name, which the French cannot pronounce correctly.
When I was young I was told to call my parent’s friends Auntie and Uncle. It was thought respectful which was what the Chinese used for an older person Āyí/Shūshu when I lived there.

My grandson aged 11 calls his Dad, Gav. I asked why and he said everybody else does. Made me smile. I would prefer Dad as it is such a special title but I can see where he is coming from 😀

My paternal grandmother was named Priscilla and I always called her Sis like the rest of the family.

My mother was also a Kathleen and I called her Kate. We were the best of buddies. Occasionally I called Dad William when I was joking with him.

My sister still calls me TUB as I was a fanatical followed of the comedian Tony Hancock, know as Tub by his friends.

I find it a bit odd personally and it’s not how our families done it. I called my mum mum to the end and our adult children still call us mum and dad too thankfully.

I think it's nice to call your parents Mum and Dad. You can call anyone in the world Bob or Sue or whatever, but you only ever have one set of parents. They are unique. You will never (usually) have the opportunity to call someone Mum again as long as you live.

I really like that Primrose58 I'm sure your little lad went far sussing that out at such and early age :-)

I remember it must have been the very early 60's that there was a bit of a, what would it be called, I don't know anyway that teenagers were calling their parents mainly their mother by their Christian names. I think I lasted about two days it felt really weird and I went back to calling mine mum only in my case it was Mummy, my sister and I both talk about her that way now when we're chatting together. Still miss her terrible and she's been gone, because of an undiagnosed brain tumour, must be 50 odd years ago.

I only know one family where the children (now grown up) use their parents’ names. They also all walked around naked at home and possibly still do. This usually stops as children approach puberty but they thought it very natural to carry on indefinitely.

To me they are Christian names - which goes back to being named when you were christened. Admittedly not everyone is christened any more but it's an accepted term. Unless you're of a different religion and presumably they have their own term.

I wouldn’t have wanted to call my parents by their first names but my grandad insisted he was never called grandad by his grandchildren, we had to call him by his first name. That was in the 60s. He was a lovely grandad by the way!

We called neighbours and friends of my parents auntie and uncle, too.

my sister was a childminder and I was surprised at first when her son called her by her Christian name aged three then I could see he got her attention.

Also my daughter and her partner stayed here last week and I heard her refer to me by my Christian name and not Mum which I thought bit odd It didnt bother me though. I m just glad a became a mum after many failed ivf s and losing my baby son at birth.

Dh and his brothers called MiL by her first name from the time I first knew him, which is an awful long time ago. Mil never seemed to mind at all.

gentleshores

To me they are Christian names - which goes back to being named when you were christened. Admittedly not everyone is christened any more but it's an accepted term. Unless you're of a different religion and presumably they have their own term.

Many people have no religion nowadays. I think this is why the terms "first name" and "last name" are used.

I understand what someone means by 'Christian name' and wouldn't dream of correcting them if they used the term, but it's not one I use myself, and don't think it should be used in schools or by public bodies.

I was taught at school that my Christian name was Doodle and my surname was Dog, and it didn't cross my young mind that Jewish or Muslim (or whatever else) children might feel 'othered' by this. They will have done, though, just as I would be nonplussed by being told I had a Muslim name.

'Given name' and 'surname' (or 'family name') mean the same, and aren't taking away from any religious connotations that they may or may not have. I was christened, but am not religious myself, so there is that to consider, too. Not everyone who has a name that was given to them in a religious ceremony as a baby sees it in that way in adulthood.

When I was a child it would have been considered rude to call ANY adult by their first name. People were either Miss, Mrs or Mr Somebody. Or if we knew someone well they were Auntie or Uncle Somebody. When I started work at 18 years old I really struggled to call the adults I worked with by their first names.

The same for me.
My trendy Aunt wanted me to call her by her name, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

All four of our children called me Mummy, then Mum, once my daughters reached their mid teens they started to call me by my first name and still do unless very upset, then it’s Mum, our two boys still call me Mum.

None of it bothers me in the least!!