Do you like your grandchild's name?

We have a Ruairaidh!

I have to tell you, I have a new grandson, born yesterday evening, 5lb 4oz and his name is Evan James. I think his name is perfect.

A college friend was Edna and disliked it. We asked her why she didn't use her middle name, it was Gladys, both after aunts.
My own aunts were Beatrice and Elsie both of which have now come back after seeming old fashioned.

I think on the other side of the family there is a boy on the way, who will get family names, and traditional ones at that, but the girl name she would have
sounds very old fashioned to our generation - maybe one coming back in

I have an Annie and a Summer as granddaughters, one old fashioned and one very modern. They both fit into there names I thought at first it would be/sound strange calling the name for her attention but it seems so normal now.

They aren't Star wars fans, but my grandchild's name is Leia. I love it, it suits her. No-one can spell it, the great nana generation can't pronounce anything beyond Lella (my great aunt's name) or Leah (the better known variation), but whatever! it's nice.

Jacky - yes, and teachers often have certain names which they wouldn't consider because of a pupil who had it. Also they tend to avoid names they have found to be too popular.
My first class, South London 1960, had 4 girls named Linda.
In the 80s I remember having a party which was full of women named Ann(e) and men named Paul!

Not the name of anyone in my family but I do know a couple of Fionas. Would someone please explain the Scottish/English attitudes to the name?
Mine all have traditional, predominantly Scottish names.

I always reckon you should be happy to shout the name aloud in, say, a supermarket and not be embarrassed! And, as someone else said, imagine it in their old age and on job applications especially if it's difficult to pronounce. And if it's called out in public, folks should immediately know if the person is male or female I feel. Some dear friends recently had their first DGC given a most unusual name from the Bible which none of us had ever heard of. We all had to keep a straight face but I really feel for the child. I think as grandparents you can always say 'wow' and ask where they got it from and possibly offer names that have been in the family but other than that it is the parents choice-in France more the mother's choice.

I love the names of my three grandchildren - I chose two

Just to comment that my last GS had one name whilst he was a 'bump' but was called something entirely different when he was born. You never know TinyTwo there may still be hope. Keep your fingers crossed and don't say a word.

I have one out of three grandchildren's names that I hate. I don't know what possessed the parents as their other child has a perfectly normal name. I abbreviate it to something which sounds quite modern and no-one objects. It can also have "ie" added on affectionately so the full name is rarely used!

I know an Isis too, which is unfortunate, as the terrorists group was unheard of when she was born.

In terms of how things change over time, my mother who would have been nearly 100 now was called Amy. She absolutely loathed it and never called herself that except on official documents. In the latter part of her life it became very popular and is a really nice name now.

JackyB - intrigued about Fiona, I've always thought it a beautiful name. Interesting about Jacqueline too, I wonder why it's unpopular in Germany.

In the 1960s we sang a campfire song at Guides about 'Vreneley, my pretty one'. I thought that a lovely name - I'm unsure of the spelling. A few years later I met a German Vreneley who hated her name, I think because it was old fashioned, and insisted upon Veronika instead!

One of my GDs has a name derived from cherie/cerise, the spelling not the usual form either. It leads to inaccurate assumptions about her ethnicity. The next GD has a Welsh name which topped a UK popularity list for girls in 2000 and the the youngest a flower name from 100 years ago which is gradually coming back!

The 4 boys all have traditional names. One's father was overruled by his OH when he suggested Maverick as a middle name and didn't appear to be joking ..

My MIL's first words on meeting her first GC was 'I hate that name, you really must be very stupid to call her that' It goes without saying MIL was a first class nightmare..... She said it in front of my mum who was speechless!

I hasten to add that DD's name is nothing outrageous or unusual, in fact it's biblical (which should have pleased the three times a week church-going hypocrite)

She was equally unpleasant about DS's name (very traditional and nothing out of the ordinary)

What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Me again - sorry! This is so very subjective, isn't it? Not only the connotations which certain countries and social groups connect with certain names, but personal taste - not to mention things like"there was a horrible/nice girl in my class at school called that" or "not after (insert celeb name here) - I can't stand him/her".

Some parents can't win when choosing their children's names!

Lona, I'm sure we would have grown to love it but we all struggled to get over the surprise at the time. You may remember my shock at DGD3'S name and how you alleles my cope!! She is gorgeous and couldn't now be called anything else.

And, our step gs has a completely made up name but that was the fault of his real father - we still love him!

kitty How very dare you?!! My step gs is called Roman! His middle name and surname are Chinese!
It really suits him, he's a lovely boy.

Whoops - I moved the first paragraph up one and forgot to change the wording - please read "criteria mentioned below"

My GS and GD both have very short names which I yet have to learn to become fond of, but it's the little person themselves that we love, not their label. At least their names follow the criteria mentioned above, although they have caused raised eyebrows on the English side of the family.

Our boys were carefully given names which were not uncommon but not over-used, not old-fashioned although two were named after their grandfather and great-grandfather. Most important was that the names were familiar in many languages and "foreigners" would not have trouble with the pronunciation, or worse still, get the pronunciation wrong. By happy coincidence they were also all traditional Catholic names (my in-laws were devout Catholics), so everyone was happy.

Names also have strong connotations, which can vary from country to country. Look at the name "Fiona" and the different way it is regarded in Scotland as opposed to England.

My own name, Jacqueline, is the epitome of a chav name here in Germany. How many times have I chuckled to myself, when I have heard people saying to pregnant friends "If it's a girl, I hope you won't be calling her Jacqueline".

Absent I believe the Beckham's called their daughter after Harper Lee who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird as supposedly it was Victoria's favourite book. To be honest I was surprised she was into literature.

I quite like David, not the tattoos, but whenever I see him round young children he is lovely with them.

I digress, back to names.

My 3 GDS are all called after literary characters. They are pretty, easy to spell, uncommon names, but not unusual.

We gave our sons reasonably well known names, that had gone out of favour. In fact when DS2 was born, the midwife said ' my grandad's called that'. A couple of his friends have used the name for their children.

x

My work involves calling out children's names. Some of them are truly unpronounceable. The parents of said children are often very miffed that we don't pronounce the names correctly. I smile through gritted teeth and think to myself. "Should have called them somthing bloody easy to say then" I'm not the only one who thinks it. It causes great mirth back in the office. Parents should think that their children will carry these names all their lives. Poor things. Ps one of the worse I ever heared was 'sorrow' easy to pronounce but FFS Why would you?

phoenix I read somewhere – can't remember where as I have no interest in the Beckhams, but probably in passing on the internet – that Harper is the name of the other Beckham children's favourite character in some tv programme and that was their suggestion for their sister. Who knows or cares?

Oh Petra, that's a real shame and probably quite discriminatory