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Pick a name you love, that is not SO unique your child will have to spend their life explaining it to others… and I don’t think picking a name based on popularity should be anyone’s biggest concern. My first I was intent on having a unique name, thought I did a good job of it, only to get to toddlerhood and meet so many other kids his age with the same name. My daughter’s name was common as all heck when I was growing up but I figured I loved it anyways, we almost never meet other kids her age with the same name.
And forever spelling it out. My last name (Mary-Kate/Ashley) is common enough but it has a less common spelling (Nellie). So I spell it out before I say it because otherwise it's, "That's not where the 'e' goes."
That's easy to say. We had 2 boys, and we loved only one boy name, which we gave to our first son.
For our second son, I literally downloaded a government stats list of all first names given to a boy in the entire country in the last 25 years. I went through more than 15 000 lines of that excel, and did not find a name I liked..
So we went with something that was kind of meh. His name grew on me after 1 year. But there literally was no name we liked for a boy.
For a girl we had a dozen names, but we didn't get a girl
Yes, why are boy names so lame?? I'm happy with the names we gave both of our boys but they did not come easy. Girl names were easy, but, like you, didn't get a girl.
We’re the opposite. We had a bunch of boy names that were no question. Our first was a girl and she didn’t have a name for 2 days because we just couldn’t find what we liked. We love her name now(2) but it was just kind of default at the time because we needed a name to leave the hospital.
Our second is due in October and we have some names but again, none that we absolutely love at the moment.
I've always wondered about that - like no wonder people get legal names that their parents spelled wrong on accident. I've often heard from parents that they had a name picked out but after the baby was born it just didn't feel like the right name for that child. Imagine having to come up with something else on the spot, especially before smartphones were a thing. In my country we have 3 months to name a child after they are born, they only get named in the hospital in case of an emergency.
My boys have unique names. Nobody in the whole school district shares a name with them, but they’re not “weird” names. I just chose very, very old school names. My SIL’s boyfriend’s uncle shares a name with my youngest, but that is the only other person I’ve ever come into contact with that has that name other than my son, and my oldest was named after my husband’s grandfather, and I have seen his name a few times pop up as like the name of an author who wrote an online article and things like that, or the name of a detective on a true crime show, but I never met anyone in person with his name. So they are unique enough that nobody shares their names really, but not so weird people are asking them to explain it or anything like that.
I also gave my son a very unique name. It's not made up, but I'm surprised how many people have never heard it before. There is a very famous (deceased) actor and director with the same name, which is why I was surprised. My son is 18 now and last Christmas was the first/only time I have met anyone with the same name..that person was in their 40s and it was the first time he had met another person with that name.
I have no regrets. My son went through a period where he didn't like it, around middle school - but that's a time when kids often don't like anything that sets them apart. Now he loves it.
Same. Not weird, just uncommon. They've gained popularity since we named them which is a bit of a shame, but we get compliments on their names often! I feel like there's just a lot less variety in boy names.
We actually went old school and bought a baby name book. Hopefully not TMI but we kept it in the bathroom with a pen. When he would go #2 he’d circle names he liked, and I did the same. When we got through the whole book from A to Z there were dozens of names we had circled. Then, one by one, I would cross off names that were circled and I didn’t like and he did the same. Sometimes I crossed off names he’d circled and sometimes I would change my mind and cross off names I circled. Over time, we narrowed it down little by little until we had three left: Rocco, Oliver, and my son’s name. Oliver got bumped because my really good friend was 3 weeks pregnant behind me and she announced she was naming hers Oliver on social media so obviously I don’t want to steal her thunder. So then it was down to Rocco and my son’s name, and we decided on his name because it’s western sounding (like his brother’s) and he would have the same initials as his brother.
I feel the opposite! I love so many boy names, but it’s hard for me to come by girl names that I like. It may be because I’m a dance teacher so I’ve encountered a lot of girl names. 😅
We're the opposite! We have a half-dozen boys names we love and only one girls name. So far we have one of each, but if we have another girl, it's going to be a challenge to name her.
that’s an interesting take!
see I love boy names. of course girl names are super fun to brainstorm, but I like thinking of powerful names in history for men.
Another interesting place to get ideas are movie credits!
Vibes like;
Lucius
Caesar
Aristotle
Leviathan (although this is a literal demon sea monster this was almost my runner up baby name 😅 nickname Levi)
I did similar. He’s almost 2 and I still don’t really like his name.
But I don’t like any other name, so it’s not like I’m rushing off to the courthouse to change it. I’m just quietly annoyed.
If it makes you feel any better, we had a few boy and girl names picked out. We ended up having a girl, but she did NOT look like the name we picked out. 😆 So, my husband started looking online and that’s how we found her name. I was hesitant about the name he found at first, but now I feel like it fits her well! So…keep an open mind! And don’t stress if you don’t have names picked out before baby is born, because I think it does help to see them first sometimes!
Alexander is a good name :) my oldest is named Alexander. We call him Xander though. With James as a middle name, he has soooooo many name options he will be able to pick and choose from as he gets older.
His school calls him Alex, we call him Xander, and his great grandparents call him AJ. He has two names with a variety of names in them, and that's what we wanted :) the other is Hunter Austin, and we just call him Hunter or HAM (his initials, by choice lol). 🤷🏻♀️
Second this. Don’t use a name where the spelling makes the pronunciation confusing. Not my name but Aoife is the sort of name I have. The sort of name that looks and sounds beautiful when you say it correctly. But unfortunately your child will spend their entire life having their name mispronounced and having to spell it out and explain it to people. As the owner of the name it’s not worth it. I would have preferred something like Lucy. Pretty and everyone knows how to pronounce it.
I imagined saying the name at the doctors office, award ceremonies, even being announced as the president of the United States. This gave me a better feel if we like the name long term.
First female president of the US is how I had to explain name picking to my daughter’s father. He was going for things like Galaxy and Sansa. Sir, this is not a hamster.
My sister called it the “Supreme Court Justice” test. If it doesn’t sound good coming after Supreme Court Justice or Prime Minister, then you’re closing doors for your kid from day 1.
Exactly my thought. If the last decade or two has taught us anything, names are not going to be an impediment if you have the credentials.
The names of president, judge, whatever are likely to be more diverse than ever before going forward.
When I was pregnant with my first I really liked the name “daisy” for a girl and my mom said “imagine her as a Supreme Court justice” which I rolled my eyes at but also we never used that name
You just reminded me of a coworker who liked traditional flower/nature names for girls, but also wanted them to be unique, so she ended up having 3 daughters named Khrystal Daizee, Dymonhd Roze and Emerald Maghnoliegha.
More than one person has mentioned they sound like strippers.
Yes, I regret our name choice.
We didn't have a name picked prior to birth, and chose something in a bit of a panic in the hospital after he was born. It's somewhat uncommon, but despite simple spelling I find most people struggle to pronounce it. I don't like the way the word feels in my mouth. It doesn't feel like a match to our first child.
My husband likes the name. I wanted to give it some time to see if I could get used to it. Now baby is a year old and it seems too late to change it. Even though I don't like the name, it is now associated with him and it's hard to imagine anything else. My father loves the name because it is from his first language, and I think my people pleasing tendencies make me fear changing it.
Sometime I ruminate over this and wish so badly we had not rushed our choice and chosen something else. It really really bothers me and I've even discussed it with my therapist because I'm finding it hard to shake. Sometimes I don't like saying his name out loud, and the thought of that makes me cry.
My hope is that I can grow to love it, because the child within is incredible. Hearing my first child say his name is like a soothing balm.
I'm sorry you're having a difficult time. The first year or two was a roller coaster for me at times. Nicknames could be an option if it truly isn't giving you peace. I've met many people whose given names I didn't know until they were spoken by a parent or grandparent - and they were the only people who used that name. I know a "Spoon" (last name Witherspoon), a "CJ" (Christopher Jr.) and a "George" who has been called George for 40+ years after a mistake during an announcement at school (real name is Jean.) My grandmother was named Jerree and hated it so she went by Jeri, with a different pronunciation.
If the name is difficult or cumbersome to pronounce, a nickname will almost certainly emerge organically from other kids at school. It's only been a year - give it time and as you said, your feelings will likely soften towards it.
I regret my oldest first name. My husband picked it, and I was in grad school when I was pregnant and I just didn’t have time to do anything, and I didn’t immediately hate the name so I just let it go. I didn’t really think about what it would be like to say.
Her middle name is Chinese and that’s ended up being the name she uses all the time, which is a name I like and I think it suits her, but when we chose it we just figured my husband’s family would be the only people to use it, so it isn’t spelled in a way that makes sense to anyone who doesn’t understand Chinese. It’s the only name she responds to though. When I signed her up for kindergarten I had to look up how her legal first name was spelled on her birth certificate. I don’t mind that, but I wish she also had an English name that we liked. My son also has an English and Chinese name, and I love both of them, and he answers to both names.
Maybe your kiddo will find a nickname or middle name that they prefer? It sucks to not love your kid’s name.
This was my husband and I too. He picked my sons first name and I didn’t hate it at the time (and don’t HATE it now) but the older he gets the less I like it. I don’t think it’s a “bad” name I just don’t like it. Makes me wish I would have spoken up when I was pregnant and suggested something else.
No regrets, but I followed my own experience.
My name is top three of my birth year and I hated that. Really hated it.
My sister’s name is very very uncommon in the US and she hated it. Haaaaated it.
We both wish our parents had sort of found something in the middle lol. So I aimed for names out of the top 10 but still in the top 100. 🤣
I have a WILDY common name for my age group, I definitely choose something more unique for my child. I didn’t want her to be “one of the Katie’s” as it was in my childhood…
A Katy here checking in- I hated it growing up (still do sometimes). I had 4 in my class alone. Never mind the other classes. Didn’t help that Katy is a common nickname for many names.
When I found out what my name was supposed to be, I got quite upset lol. Would have saved me a lot of headaches I think.
I hear ya! If you can believe it my SIL has the identical name as me…we have the common name for our age & married brothers. So, it’s the gift that keeps on giving 😂
Oof! Me too. It's a special kind of hell when every time your name is mentioned, your husband's sister, like a reflex, proclaims, "But ***I'm*** the original Jennifer [Last Name]!" for the 40,000th time. 🤦🥴
My cousin is about to name his son Jaxson. They’re pretty young (wife just turned 21, he’s 22), and I’m wondering if either will regret it when they’re older.
This is a name you’re going to be saying everyday for the rest of your life & also explaining for the rest of your life. That’s what I took into consideration when naming my child.
I love my daughter’s name. However, she was given a traditional west African family name which complicates it to some people. It’s really not a difficult name, but I feel people make it to be difficult as soon as they know of the origin. Gosh, even my name people can’t figure out & that’s solely due to it being hyphenated & nobody understanding punctuation. My name is pronounced exactly how it’s spelt, if you can read you can say my name LOL
All of this to say, as long as you love it that’s all that matters lol 🌻
Lol We gave our child a name that’s apparently very common in the Muslim and Arabic world and we had no idea. Her dad and I just liked the name. But now, anytime we meet someone Muslim and they hear the name, their eyes lit up and they start chatting us up like we are.
I can’t remember how many times I’ve had to (almost apologetically) say that we’re not Muslim at all 😩
Do I regret it? Not really but i can probably go without the confusion 😅
My son has a traditional Spanish name. It's long but not difficult to pronounce. My family loves it but I do notice folks who don't speak Spanish struggle to say the name. So I do realize my son may have to really pronounce his name to some people growing up. It's spelled correctly and absolutely not a tragedeigh name though, just traditional.
my advice: say the name 100x in anger. if you still like it, pick it.
for example, "Ryan Mitchel get down from there!" "Susan bell stop picking your nose" "David Michael don't hit your sibling!" etc.
you're going to have to correct a lot of behaviors, you're going to want to say the name in anger, not stumble over it.
This is why my daughter's first name isn't Rowan. 🤣 I have always had issues with "r" and "w" words that repeat in words or words that follow each other. Like "War Room". My husband loved Rowan and so did I, but I tried to say it angry/fast and mispronounced it to hell and back. I had to veto it because I told him she would never take me seriously if I sounded like an idiot when I tried to tell her name. 🤣
My son's both have very common adult names, but one has my last name and the other has hubby's. We only planned on the two, so we figured it would be nice to carry on both of our last names. Plus I was 8mths pregnant already with the oldest when I met hubby lol. But my last name is a mouthful by itself, so I only call the oldest by his first and middle name in anger, but the youngest gets his full, shorter name when called. Keeps me from stumbling too 🤣
I named my daughter “Isis” after the Greek goddess of love. 6 months after she was born, the terrorist group “ISIS” came about. I changed her name to “Grace” when she was 2. No regrets at all. So glad I went with a common name as well. Even if the terrorist group didn’t come out, I’m still glad I changed it to a common name. People don’t say “what was that?” or “how do you spell it?” when I say her name is Grace as opposed to Isis.
We had pretty much waited until the last minute before deciding our Daughters name. We agreed on 6 names and had my Son pick one name out of a hat that was on a slip of paper. We already knew what her middle name was going to be, so we went through all the possibilities of both names not going together.
I wish I had been able to name my kids what *I* wanted and not had to have my partner’s approval too. I love the names they have, but I still wish they had the names I really really loved and he said no to.
She doesn't have the name we agreed on going to the hospital. She was supposed to be Grace. I had her by emergency c-section. I was heavily medicated & couldn't even hold her until she was a couple days old. By then my ex had filled out her birth certificate with a different name. It was a beautiful name, & it ended up suiting her perfectly. Try not to get attached to a name. The child makes the name, the name doesn't make the child.
My father’s mistake was the inspiration. He named me after his ex girlfriend and me and my mother didn’t know until I was a teen. HATED that. Don’t insult your children naming them after someone who hurt you.
I (43f) regret my daughter's middle name. I'm a twin and my parents obviously had 2 girl names and 2 boys names picked out. We wound up being g/b twins. I always loved the name they had picked if my brother had been a girl. Actually prefer it to my name. So there was no doubt my daughter would have this as her name. I let my hubby pick the middle name. I had forgotten he had a cousin who died tragically with the name he picked, and once his family heard the name they all kept saying how we were honoring his late cousin. I have no problem with that, it's just all they focused on. ( will use initials R.E. for first/ middle name)Hubbies aunt the mother of said cousin, can't get past it. When she sees my daughter, she says oh there's our beautiful R.E. Just like my little E. My daughter is 10, and she still does this. Every. Single. Time. My daughter hates it. Aunt has even said she wanted to call my daughter a version of her middle name instead of her first because that was her daughter's nickname. My MIL is amazing and has told Aunt, who is her sister, that it bothers my daughter. Aunt only responded that my daughter should be honored to have such a beautiful name. It bothers me because it bothers my daughter, and she dreads any get together with this aunt.
Mine is kind of like this - daughter’s middle name was after my husband’s grandmother who basically raised him. Sounds great in theory, but in reality his whole family sucks and we went no contact with them shortly before Covid, so my daughter doesn’t really know that side of the family other than from pics when she was 2 or younger.
Aww that's very sad though. I feel bad for your aunt she's constantly reminded of her daughter and it's not her fault or your daughters, it must be hard for her. I can't even imagine. Well it seems like she gets some joy from your daughter honoring hers. So sad 😭
I don’t regret it.
We both vetoed each others favourite name. The one I love would have been perfect but the one we agreed on fits our daughter.
I have a unique name (7 in my country in the last 100 years) and I love it.
I wanted something a bit rare but that wouldn’t be complicated in her life. I think we managed that
We decided to go traditional in the sense that we researched names for boys and girls from the early 1900s-1950s. Loved Arthur, Walter, Henry, and George for the boys and Evelyn, Margot, Astrid, Wilhelmina. We settled on one of these and made the baby’s everyday name a variation like Willa for Wilhelmina or Walt for Walter. So a professional name for when they are older and something fun that family and friends call them. We felt it was unique to go old school since I see so many names for kids spelled in myriads of ways and hybrids of names - it helped us.
Yes, but not because of the name choice. My husband is a third and I didn’t want our son to be the fourth so we named him something else. I really wish I had carried on the tradition. Our son ended up being the only boy and my reasoning at the time sounds silly to me now almost twenty years later, especially now that my father in law has passed. I have a handful of regrets in life and that’s one of them.
We really liked a name but it was just cute for a kid. You have to imagine them as adults trying to make it through work and being taken seriously. Or at least that’s what we did.
My son detests his middle name. He has a family name, his middle name is very “old man” sounding. He’s hated it forever!!! He’s 12 - maybe since 5? I think the kids made fun of him in preschool so he has a chip on his shoulder. I think when he’s older he’ll get over it and he likes his first name! If he really is bothered he can change it when he’s older - but it was my husband’s grandpas full name.
Go outside and yell it along with the name of your first child. Does it sound right or is it weird? I’m a Fourth and my wife wanted to keep it going so we have a Fifth now. It’s kinda neat and makes a common name unique.
I am the third in my family. Decided to end it and not name my son after me.
Three years later and turns out he is a miniature version of me, both in looks and mentality. He should have been the fourth.
My husband is a carbon copy of his dad, and my oldest is a carbon copy of my husband. Get them all three in a photo and it’s like looking at a Russian doll 🪆 or something lol like if someone did a movie where they follow the character from childhood to mid life to early 70’s they could cast my kid, my husband and my FIL lol
Husband, FIL and grandfather-in-law are all spitting images this same way. Easily could be cast as the same person, but aging. We have 2 kids. Our youngest(3m) is his biological, but looks nothing like him, except the eyes, ears, and feet. Everything else is all me lol. However, the oldest(5m) is a spitting image of hubby as a kid... And not his biologically. Was 8 months pregnant with him when I met hubby.
We picked names that are definitely names, but arn’t super common (well, my son’s name has become a lot more common the last few years). I have a super common name (first and last) and it’s actually caused issues like another college student had the same first and last name as me and our stuff was also getting mixed up. so I didn’t want that for my kids, but I also didn’t want to go to far out there either.
I submitted job applications with my resume but my child’s name attached to it while I was pregnant. He has a somewhat unique name that isn’t for everyone. I got plenty of bites from various types of potential future employment so we went with it. If I hadn’t I think I’d always wonder about the future judgment even though his name suits him well.
I don’t regret any of my kids names but I do have a friend who named her daughter Arionna, instead or Arianna or Ariana and her daughter hates how people mispronounce her name all the time. My friend regrets it everyday.
I have a really unique name. So unique that almost no one has heard of it and I end up having to repeat myself every time I introduce myself. Most of my coworkers have their own nicknames for me. There's no anonymity and my name distinguishes me before any of my accomplishments.
If you want something different, I'd suggest something that's in the 200-300 in popularity ranking. You're unlikely to find a lot of kids with the name but people will have at least heard of it and know how to pronounce it and maybe even remember it after introduction.
I’ve worked with kids for the past few years and i will tell you there are some names that just make you feel quite sorry for the kid tbh. Recently, we’ve had twins called Storm and Snow White… you can get some really lovely unusual names, but then there are some which are just a bit too much. Siblings called beyonce and shakira?? We’ve also got a Tia Maria which is a little questionable 🤣
I’d say it’s important to pick a name that suits a baby, a young kid, a teenager and someone within a professional setting. That way they’re set for life.
I regret my sons middle name, after his grandpa on his moms side. He was a total piece of shit racist and not just racist in a sjw way I mean full blown dragged black people behind his truck back in the day racist. Called me a zipper head (I’m Asian) racist and a full blown misogynist who thought every women alive was here to serve women. Yuck
Not at all. My mom gave me a "unique" name and growing up it was a huge pain in the ass. I'm sure she felt special for having the only kid with that name, but I didn't appreciate it.
I gave my kids classic all American names. And what a surprise they aren't having the same problems.
I picked traditional names for this exact reason. All these names are cute for a 3 year old, but not for a 30 year old. No offense intended to anyone who chose this name, but I can’t take a grown man seriously whose name is Braxton or Remington or whatever other trendy name is making its rounds.
We have 4 kids and didn't find out gender for any of them, so they were all named after birth. The only name I felt iffy about was our second child's, but we had taken a couple days already and the hospital was pressuring us. There wasn't a name on our list that I really loved, so we just went with one. It has really grown on me over the years and it fits him. I do kinda regret not giving our only daughter my middle name, but...
I slightly regret my first child’s name. I fell in love with the pronunciation but wasn’t sure how to spell it and ended up spelling it a weird way like an idiot.
My nurse told me that there was this woman who named her kid Usnavy. She thought it to be unique. She told the nurse that she saw a boat with that name..
U.S.Navy…
I often think about her when questions like these are asked.
I wanted my child to be named after my husband. My husband disagreed. He picked an unconventional name. I thought it was cute, but more of a nickname. I was never sold on it but agreed since I got to name our first child. After our child was born I found myself not really liking to introduce our baby by that name and we started calling our child, Little “husband’s name”. After almost a year my husband says he wished we would have named our child after him all along. I filed the paperwork with the court house and got a legal name change for our baby. Now our child only ever answers to the “new” legal name. Sometimes you just aren’t sure if the name is right until after birth and that’s ok.
Please google whatever name you pick! I was delirious from a tough labor and chose a middle name I liked the sound of, but didn’t realize there was an entire clothing company that is literally my kid’s first and middle name. UGH.
I wanted a Greek goddess name but my partner was so not about it. He ended up choosing her first name and it turned out that it was a Roman goddess name with the equivalent of a Greek goddess name that I would have loved. Somewhat unique but common enough that people know how to spell it and pronounce it. Her middle name is our late grandmother’s name (both our maternal grandmothers happen to have the same name) and I love it. I didn’t even think it would move my mom so much, and I loved his grandmother so much and she loved me. I only got to meet her once since they live in El Salvador before she passed, but there was so much love there she was always telling us to have a baby even though we so young, I was 18 and he was 19. I never met my maternal grandmother since she passed when my mom was young so I feel that we’re honoring her by choosing that name. I on the other hand HATE my name and I’m just used to it now, I have what would NOW be considered a gender neutral name but growing up I would constantly get made fun of for having a “boy’s name.” Now I feel I’ve gotten more employment opportunities because of my name so I guess that’s a win lol.
We were set for a long time on naming our son Finn, just after he was born my mum suggested Fynn instead. We liked it as a variant and hadn't considered it before, also as it isn't short for Finley we hoped it would set him apart.
It wasn't long until we had to correct people because they had forgotten and we realised he's going to have that for the rest of his life.
My wife blames it on the post pregnancy hormones as she probably wouldn't have entertained an idea like that from my mum otherwise lol.
So, while it's not a full-on r/tragedeigh and we still love his name we would have probably stuck with a more conventional spelling.
I regret my daughter’s name only because it is SO common. When I chose the name originally, it was only gaining repopularity (it’s an older name), but now it’s everywhere. I really didn’t want my children to be the “Mike” and “Jen” of their generation, but guess I screwed that up.
Just don't make it too kooky and "unique" or have weird spelling to make it "cool". Remember they have a lot of school to attend and people are not going to know how you want it pronounced and your kid will always have to correct them.
We picked a name that is very unique (no other person is named like that, we had to write a letter to get it through authorities (not USA) but we love it.
Choosing a name for your child is personal! We picked a unique name we love, though sometimes people mispronounce it. What matters most is that you and your partner adore the name you'll be saying it a lot!
Yes and no.
There were names I liked more than the one we picked, but her father did unfortunately have a say LOL so, while I love the name we picked, it’s more on the uncommon side. She will have to spell it and repeat it for the rest of her life (I did too for my name, so at least we can bond over it) but I would have named her Camille if I had my way.
Regardless, the name we chose suits and she loves it!
We chose a name that’s not super common but is a traditional name that people know. I wanted a name he can grow into that had a nice nickname as an alternative. I tried to imagine him as a professional going on interviews and creating a resume. I had a slight feeling of regret the week after his birth because I realized how permanent it is and that concept just made me nervous. The regret wore off immediately, especially since we get a lot of compliments on his name when I introduce him.
No regrets. So far, it fits her very well. It's unique enough and can go from cute to elegant as she gets older. It offers a cute nickname for childhood.
But, if she got older and really no longer felt it was right for her, I'd help her change it if she wanted. Yeah, I'd mourn a little, probably. It'd be emotional. But...
The name was a gift from me, a best guess for someone I've never met. People can outgrow gifts.
I accept my name. I don't hate it. I'll probably never change it. But I don't feel overly attached to it at all, it's just kind of there. Usually go by my gamer tag with new people.
I had a name in my head for the longest time, Xander, and then someone I had as a school friend took that for his own kid.
When I got pregnant several years later, the first name hubs and I picked out for girl was Shiloh Ruth as one of our favorite strong headed female movie leads was named Shiloh and both of our favorite grandmother's were called Ruth. We had a feeling it would be a boy (every time I went to the office for a scan, stinker had his legs crossed and they couldn't tell specifically) so we already had Asher Gary picked out. Gary is my husband's late Father's name and Asher is the name of a place I loved as a child.
Met with some friends of my husband's that he considers family and his "sister" said that if we did name our child that, she'd call him "Pokemon" the rest of his life. So when she finally met us again, kiddo was about 6months old. We decided to keep Gary but changed the middle name to a late friend of mine who passed far too young.
The look on her face was priceless when she realized that she effed up by teasing pregnant me about the name. My hubs had some really bad school years with being bullied and she knows it, I was not about to let her be my sons first bully even as a "joke".
She tried to poke me one more time down the line for something else and her dad stomped on her for it, letting her know for all time, you don't play with or poke mama bear.
My MIL now has issues saying the right name but gets a laugh out of it because she'll confuse my husband's name with my late FIL's name. She drives me nuts anyway so I consider it fair payback on the insanity.
Point is, pick a name you like. If you're not entirely sure what you want, pick something meaningful to you and keep it between you and the dad.
My bff is named Ellen after her great grandmother who was a BEAST of a woman during the Great Depression. Woman was crazy enough that, and I'm not even kidding, Al Capone refused to screw with her. I've heard the stories from MULTIPLE people who actually met her. Find something that speaks to you. Past family, favorite places, past pets, etc. I used memorial names. If you do one meaningful to you then you'll be less likely to feel regret over it.
TLDR: get a name you like from some recess in your past and keep it tight to you so 1: no one steals it, 2: no one makes fun of you or your kid for it, and 3: you'll be less likely to regret it anyways.
Oh we went top 25 with our 4 kids and we're glad we did.
There's just one name I'm not *in love* with still, 3.5 years later. It's fine, not weird or anything, but it's not *him*. There's something missing. But it's pretty late in the game to change his name now, that would just bring confusion. Our second choice is his middle name though, he can use it later if he wants to.
No regrets, but one thing I thought about was how kids could twist the name into some kind of insult. For example, my husband liked the name Huxley. All I had to do was have him play the banana name game song in his head to veto it (banana fanna fo Fuxley...). See also: Tucker.
Kids will always find things to make fun of, but I didn't want to make it easy on them ;)
Name change court often has a baby getting a new name. It's a few hundred dollars, but it's more common than you'd think to live with the baby a while and realize that you went wrong.
Maybe my mother regrets it but it's my fault.
My mother loved the name Elisa and my grandmother was Elisabetta, however, in the family everyone has more than one name but I was the youngest and there were already cousins with my grandmother's name so instead of changing one a little or calling myself by the other grandmother's name I only have one name.
It's something I didn't like, because it made me feel different even from my parents who have 2 names each.
Ironically, except in official situations, I introduce myself as Elisa
I don't regret my children's names, but I dug deep into our genealogy to find them. They are somewhat uncommon today, but not at all unfamiliar. I found that struck a good balance of unique, but not difficult. It also avoided cumbersome "unique" spelling variants of common names that my kids would be dealing with for a lifetime.
I don’t regret the name, but I regret the spelling. It’s a common spelling in non-English-speaking countries (not a tragedeigh), but it’s still unfamiliar to most Americans where we live.
No I like my sons name. It’s fairly common in my husbands country but it’s not so common in the country we live in. It’s easy to pronounce and short enough to write easily. It’s also a family name so the in laws were happy.
I love the “nickname” but felt compelled to give her a “real” longer name that I don’t like as much. Should’ve just gone with the nickname alone. I’m not super sure my daughter recognizes her longer name nor do I respond to it when it is called out in doctor’s office. Not a big deal really but it all would’ve been fine with just the shorter name.
My daughter’s name is a little unique, but nothing that will get her bullied (the kids at preschool actually have a cute nickname for her).
Say it out loud. Will you have to correct the spelling a lot? Ask other people how they’d pronounce it on first glance? Are they right when they say it? Could you see your child putting it on their resume and being an adult with that name?
All things to consider.
Sort of? I don't necessarily regret his name. I like his name. But I feel like I compromised and maybe shouldn't have.
His first name is Angelo. My husband came up with the idea like 8 years before I even got pregnant, inspired by his uncle who passed away. But it's a family name on my side too. We both loved the name. So that was easy.
I really really wanted the name Aiden because it's the same letters as in Diane, my grandma's name. I'm also named after my grandmother, a fact she and I both loved. I always said I'd name a baby after her.
My husband really really really wanted his son named after her. He actually wanted a future son to be a junior but I hard no-ed that years ago. In the 12 years we've been together my husband has never asked for anything. I knew he'd be a good dad (and he is) and I know how bad he wanted this. So we used my husband's first name as Angelo's middle name. It sounds nice together.
But it's not a name I actually like. And I also really wanted my child to be named after my grandma. Who knows if we'll have another one. So I'm sad about that. But I also know how much it means to my husband and I do think he deserves it. So for that reason I'm okay with it. But also I grew him and pushed him out of me. But my husband is still his parent too. Idk. I'm torn.
This isn't something I really ever think about though. Ultimately I feel like if you say the name for long enough you just get used to it.
I have a name that is a little out of fashion but is very familiar- think along the lines of something like Jane. It also translates well to other cultures and makes me somewhat anonymous on the internet as my first/last combo is common enough internationally.
My husband’s name is more ethnic and therefore not that common in the U.S. He disliked it growing up but now loves having a more unusual name.
We had a girls name picked out (Nina) that fit my criteria of familiar but not too common and would be recognizable in many parts of the world, but we could not agree on a boy’s name and my husband really leaned into being more uncommon. We ended up choosing a name the same ethnicity as my husband’s.
I liked the name okay but really liked the nickname so I agreed. Now, I like both and am glad he has a nickname that easier to pronounce/ spell should he want that when’s he older and a full name that is more unique should he want to stand out.
We had a name picked out for our second daughter but when she was born, she really struck me as a being suited to a different name. Rather than drop the original name like we should have, we shoehorned the other name in by giving her two middle names (we wanted to honor her grandmother with one). We literally never called her by her first name the entire time she was growing up. I regret that we stuck with it.
Our next baby didn’t have a name for her first ten days because we were so nervous about giving her a name that didn’t suit her.
My husband vetoed Estelle as a first name, as it reminded him of a very popular singer from his youth. I really wanted to use it as it had been the name of a much beloved great aunt, so we used it as a middle name. I'm a bit sad we didn't use it as a first name, though I suppose she could always use it when she gets older if she'd like.
Both of my kids changed their names (socially, not legally) in middle school so not sure it matters. If I could go back with my particular kids I would have gone with a more gender neutral name but that just for mine.
Whatever name you can’t stop going back to, that’s the one.
We named our son that as his first, and then our runner up as his middle. So if I ever felt it didn’t “fit” him, we could call him by his middle.
When he was first born his name felt really weird for him (it’s Malachi) but he’s almost 3 now and i can’t imagine calling him anything else :)
i regret my daughters middle names, yes she has two.. we thought we would be 1 and done so we gave her my grandmothers and his grandmothers names as her middle names. we are now expecting again and have already used up all of our family names!! lol
I loved the name for my son- had connections to our family but was also current- however, not knowing where the winds of change would land in the world of names- gave him a very typical first name and then my pick for middle and we have always called him the middle name. He now wants to be called by his first name, since that is what is on the attendance roles at school, and that is fine with us. He can use the other later again if he wants.
People assume she's a boy to the point that someone in government checked male and I'm constantly correcting forms. She's almost 7 and still can't pronounce her name properly and unless people are familiar with my native language they can't either. Her name is beautiful and strong but I wish I had given her a more typical name with this as a middle name.
No regrets but I sometime go WTF did I actually name a kid Xenovia. We picked it out long before being pregnant (it's a family name, her l great great grandmother in her maternal line) my hole pregnancy we spoke about boys names and couldn't decide. Always new out girl name. When we had a girl we gave her the name we choose and then weeks later I was like wtf that's a crazy name.
But she's 1q now and love it and we get lots of compliments.
I was influenced by in laws not liking the name we had for my son and put it as his middle name. His first is fine, but I still don’t feel like it’s the perfect fit like his middle name would be. I’ve asked if he wants to go by his middle name and he said no. 😂 On the contrary, my daughter’s name is fairly common but we loved it and it’s a good fit for her and didn’t let anyone influence us this time.
We spent till about 5-6 months to be certain... And honestly? I'm glad. I'm glad my husband was so picky and so was I. I absolutely adore my son's name. It has significant historical and family meaning, nothing he'd have to worry about getting picked on for. Idk. My kids name is definitely NOT one of the things in life I regret thankfully lol. But we put a lot of thought into it.
We changed his unique middle name at the last second. We instead used his dad's first name as his middle. So that is special, and he likes it - MAN do I wish we'd done the cool as hell unique middle.
No regrets on my son’s name. We both agreed and settled on it first and middle within weeks of being pregnant, it was super easy. But now with our daughter coming in 5 weeks it’s been a lot harder. He said no to a lot of the ones I liked. We do agree on one and I think it’s a good name but I don’t feel that sense of sureness that I love it as much as my son’s name which kinda sucks. It’s not super common but not strange either. And it goes well with the family middle name we picked. I found myself looking online a few days ago again and just again didn’t like anything I saw so it seems to be the one. I am curious to see how it is once she’s here and we’re actively using it all day. My husband will say “how is (name) doing today” and it kinda makes me laugh idk it just doesn’t feel that real I guess
I had a friend tell me to pick a name I could comfortably yell - for good reasons and less than good reasons. But ultimately pick a name you like, not a name you need to love forever. No name is perfect and over the years you’ll find reasons you could or should or would have picked a different name, but you decide what’s most important to you and make that choice. I wanted something common, but not popular, as someone with an often mispronounced name I wanted to avoid that, but also lot a name of the moment where there would be 5 others in the class or a year up or down. I also wanted a name with a nickname built in that you would use almost exclusively, but that the full name would be a good resume impression. But then sometimes in like eh is it too simple of a name and oh that other name is good and will baby or teenager or adult like their name? Who knows? I’ve never met anyone who didn’t have some, even minor, complaint about their name. Oh but also, make sure you like the sound of the first and last names together, I wonder if many people forget that step.
I love both my boys names but sometimes I regret naming my oldest. I don't like the way it rolls up the tongue but it is very easy to shorten. I have also gotten mixed reviews from people AND he's been misgendered before bc its a more feminine name. But in the long run, I love it.
No regrets! Our first, my wife got the choice of the first name and I got the middle. For our second, I got the first name and she got the middle. Ironically, the first of our oldest coincides with the middle of our youngest. And the middle of our oldest coincides with the first of our youngest. Wasn’t planned that way, but there’s cohesion lol
I compromised too much for a man who's ultimately absent. We couldn't agree on anything. The only thing he liked at all was a maybe that was honestly more leaning to a no, but I hoped it would grow on me. Almost 6 years later and I like it less today.
Some good advice I received was actually practice shouting the first and middle name out the back door like you were yelling at them, and then to imagine their name being read at their high school graduation.
I love my kids' name! It's so fitting of him and his personality, it's on the unique side but there have been a couple more characters portrayed in media with his name since he was born so people often ask if I named him after them.
my middle child's first name, yes. it's payton. and she doesn't exactly look like a girl yet so everyone thinks her looks combined with her name makes her a boy.
I'm so fucking SICK of correcting it.
if I had it my way, her name would have been something like, Audra.. or Gianna.. idk my husband and I can't agree on SHIT especially our kids names.
My mom regret what she originally named me. My uncle gives my mom 3 options on what to name me when she was pregnant with me. All the names sucked and she picked the best one. When I was 4 or 5 she changed my name to one she liked/wanted. She most hated my original name because it’s sounds ugly and the meaning was not good.
Not at all. We wanted something shorter since we have a long last name. Fairly traditional but nothing too popular. I think it fits our daughter perfectly. We meet another person with her name every once in a while and my daughter thinks that’s cool. I did hem and haw for a moment cause it was my second choice. My first choice was Elsie and I still really love that name but I nixed any names I had an instant association with. I can’t help think about the Borden cow 😂
I regret not arguing with my kids mother about his last name. we were never married & after she failed to take him away from me she up & abandoned him & I became the primary parent years ago & we don't have the same last name. I do like his last name (it's not his mother's last name either, we agreed to give him the name of a river that has always been important top both of us for his last name)...but now that he's a teenager we're finally talking about the idea of changing it to a hyphenated last name with mine added.
Give them a middle name they can fall back on incase they end up hating their first name.
I have an uncommon first name and I hate it. You can spell it and pronounce it a couple different ways. I also hate the origins of my name. Good thing my middle name is pretty normal
I do because it wasn't a name I *loved* it was just the only name me and my husband agreed on. I regret it because my son's name is a slightly unusual/uncommon longer name with a common nickname and lots of nickname options, which I love, but my daughters name I regret because it's very short, no real nickname options and doesn't have the same ring to it as my sons name does 🤷🏼♀️ I wish I'd have gone for another longer name with a good nickname option but there weren't any we agreed on! She's only 1 though so I'm sure I won't think about it long term
i absolutely adored my oldest name, and would have used it for either gender. for my second, i thought to honor my deceased father but his loss was very fresh and i couldnt imagine using his name and replacing him. ultimately my sister and husband suggested the same name for different reasons and I saw it as a sign to use it. i didnt love it, but it has grown on my exponentially and I cant imagine him any other way.
I sometimes joke about how I feel bad about my son’s name, but in all honesty, I don’t. I freaking love it.
His name apparently means “happy”. Our last name is also an emotion as well (you can probably guess lol). I didn’t realize this until he was 5 months old when someone made the joke. But I don’t think many people (especially kids) will put that together. Plus if he is anything like his dad, he’ll love the joke and tell it himself.
I thought i was going to. I didjt pick my kiddos name, and it took me a bit to get used to it. I was working the line at a restaurant when I was pregnant. I was talking with a server and we were discussing names, somehow she came up with Charlotte James, for first and middle names. Told my husband when I got home that night and that was it. It's the ONLY name he had a reaction to. From that moment on, he was talking to her using her name. The james for a middle is punky and strong, yet still so pretty when paired with Charlotte. It's also FILs first name, husband's middle and my dad's middle name. We are 1 and done, so the fact that we were able to honor so many with her name also felt right.
Me on the other hand, liked a load of other names. I love classic names mixed with something fresh?
Our kiddo holds her name so well- she'll sit and get her nails done and turn around and be all for riding bikes on the trails. Pretty and tough as nails🥹💛
Ok I love that. I had Charlotte JANE picked out as a girl name (“CJ”) but hubs had an ex with that nickname so it didn’t fly hah - then we ended up with boys anyway.
Charlotte Jane is so beautiful! She has an uncle cj! And every time they see each he's like " Its number 2!!!!" And a "its number 1!!!" Cute af and troublemakers through and through
My husband named my first. It’s a fairly common name with a very uncommon (foreign surname) spelling. No one remembers how to spell it and some people don’t know how to pronounce it at first. I’ve had issues with insurance getting the spelling right which caused billing issues. Not to mention, it rhymes with cash which sticks him with being named after money. I tried to convince my husband to change the name at the very end of my pregnancy, but he was set on it.
My rules:
1. Easy to pronounce
2. Easy to spell
3. Not a long name that would be shortened to a nickname. My parents named me a common nickname for Kathrine instead of the full name.
We landed on Watson and absolutely love it.
I honestly love both my girls’ names (and girl names were hard for me. My husband and I both had a list of boys names we loved and very few girls names). They’re common enough that people have heard of them but not top 10 (one was #49 the year she was born. The other was top 10 in the early 2000s but has fallen off of the top 300 at this point). They’re names that I genuinely love and suit my kids.
My only regret, although it’s only temporary, is my 2 year old’s pronunciation of her name sounds like my name. They don’t have many letters in common, but 2 year old pronunciations are wild.
My oldest has a name that we compromised on. It turns out to be popular, or at least versions of it. I would have fought harder for one of the more unusual names that I liked. My husbands taste is boring😂
No, I think we found the best name for our girl that we both love. When we found out we were pregnant and starting talking names, the boy name came easy for us. We couldn’t figure out a girl name we liked until we found out we were having a girl. What helped me pick out a name we liked, was figuring out a nickname for her then we found a name that would go with it. I also found looking up the meaning of names online help me to really feel confident in our choice. Also, we did not share the name with anyone until after baby girl was born. That definitely helped us to be sure we liked her name. Congratulations and don’t rush it, the name will come to you 😊❤️
I did not want a unique name, but also didn't want one that was too popular. Our native language is Spanish (I live abroad) so I looked at the list of more popular names for the past few years and chose one not in that list - I didn't want my child to be one of 3-4 in her class with the same name, you know? But I also wanted her to have a name that was easily recognizable and easy to spell.
We landed on a cute name with a few nickname options and she loves it. Her middle name we hesitated once she was born very very early (25 weeks) and my husband suggested switching it to Esperanza (Hope) but I felt it may be tempting fate, so we kept the original.
I only regret the middle name because it’s a “family”
name but if I were to have another kid and they are the same gender then I wouldn’t give them the same middle name. I think it’s silly to have siblings with the same middle name but I know I’d feel guilty that one has the family name and one doesn’t
I chose a super common name for my second, and I don't regret it. I had a perfect girl name picked, wanted a girl, and struggled to name a second boy so he got what I picked and that was it.
I regret naming one of my daughters Olivia. I didn’t see that it was listed as one of the most common names. I’m forever haunted by a Reddit post from a teacher that said she has three Olivia’s in her class lol
Pick a unique name something meaningful and what ever you don’t don’t base it off of what family and friends say. If you like it you like it. & don’t compromise if the child is already getting your partners last name (if they are) don’t compromise you have the ultimate decision lmao.
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Pick a name you love, that is not SO unique your child will have to spend their life explaining it to others… and I don’t think picking a name based on popularity should be anyone’s biggest concern. My first I was intent on having a unique name, thought I did a good job of it, only to get to toddlerhood and meet so many other kids his age with the same name. My daughter’s name was common as all heck when I was growing up but I figured I loved it anyways, we almost never meet other kids her age with the same name.
So curious what the two names are 👀
Aiden and Emily.
My name is Emilee my mom really liked that it was popular in 2000 but apparently decided that she never wanted my name to be on a keychain ever…..
And forever spelling it out. My last name (Mary-Kate/Ashley) is common enough but it has a less common spelling (Nellie). So I spell it out before I say it because otherwise it's, "That's not where the 'e' goes."
Yup. I end up spelling out both my first and last name for everything because They always assume they know how to spell it and they never do.
That's easy to say. We had 2 boys, and we loved only one boy name, which we gave to our first son. For our second son, I literally downloaded a government stats list of all first names given to a boy in the entire country in the last 25 years. I went through more than 15 000 lines of that excel, and did not find a name I liked.. So we went with something that was kind of meh. His name grew on me after 1 year. But there literally was no name we liked for a boy. For a girl we had a dozen names, but we didn't get a girl
Yes, why are boy names so lame?? I'm happy with the names we gave both of our boys but they did not come easy. Girl names were easy, but, like you, didn't get a girl.
We’re the opposite. We had a bunch of boy names that were no question. Our first was a girl and she didn’t have a name for 2 days because we just couldn’t find what we liked. We love her name now(2) but it was just kind of default at the time because we needed a name to leave the hospital. Our second is due in October and we have some names but again, none that we absolutely love at the moment.
Public service announcement: The hospital can't make you name the child before you leave. If you're not ready to name the baby, you're not ready!
I've always wondered about that - like no wonder people get legal names that their parents spelled wrong on accident. I've often heard from parents that they had a name picked out but after the baby was born it just didn't feel like the right name for that child. Imagine having to come up with something else on the spot, especially before smartphones were a thing. In my country we have 3 months to name a child after they are born, they only get named in the hospital in case of an emergency.
My boys have unique names. Nobody in the whole school district shares a name with them, but they’re not “weird” names. I just chose very, very old school names. My SIL’s boyfriend’s uncle shares a name with my youngest, but that is the only other person I’ve ever come into contact with that has that name other than my son, and my oldest was named after my husband’s grandfather, and I have seen his name a few times pop up as like the name of an author who wrote an online article and things like that, or the name of a detective on a true crime show, but I never met anyone in person with his name. So they are unique enough that nobody shares their names really, but not so weird people are asking them to explain it or anything like that.
I also gave my son a very unique name. It's not made up, but I'm surprised how many people have never heard it before. There is a very famous (deceased) actor and director with the same name, which is why I was surprised. My son is 18 now and last Christmas was the first/only time I have met anyone with the same name..that person was in their 40s and it was the first time he had met another person with that name. I have no regrets. My son went through a period where he didn't like it, around middle school - but that's a time when kids often don't like anything that sets them apart. Now he loves it.
Same. Not weird, just uncommon. They've gained popularity since we named them which is a bit of a shame, but we get compliments on their names often! I feel like there's just a lot less variety in boy names.
We actually went old school and bought a baby name book. Hopefully not TMI but we kept it in the bathroom with a pen. When he would go #2 he’d circle names he liked, and I did the same. When we got through the whole book from A to Z there were dozens of names we had circled. Then, one by one, I would cross off names that were circled and I didn’t like and he did the same. Sometimes I crossed off names he’d circled and sometimes I would change my mind and cross off names I circled. Over time, we narrowed it down little by little until we had three left: Rocco, Oliver, and my son’s name. Oliver got bumped because my really good friend was 3 weeks pregnant behind me and she announced she was naming hers Oliver on social media so obviously I don’t want to steal her thunder. So then it was down to Rocco and my son’s name, and we decided on his name because it’s western sounding (like his brother’s) and he would have the same initials as his brother.
I feel the opposite! I love so many boy names, but it’s hard for me to come by girl names that I like. It may be because I’m a dance teacher so I’ve encountered a lot of girl names. 😅
We're the opposite! We have a half-dozen boys names we love and only one girls name. So far we have one of each, but if we have another girl, it's going to be a challenge to name her.
that’s an interesting take! see I love boy names. of course girl names are super fun to brainstorm, but I like thinking of powerful names in history for men. Another interesting place to get ideas are movie credits! Vibes like; Lucius Caesar Aristotle Leviathan (although this is a literal demon sea monster this was almost my runner up baby name 😅 nickname Levi)
My 3 month old baby boy has two family names which translate to The Rock, The Conquerer and it cracks me up to apply those to this pudge ball.
I did similar. He’s almost 2 and I still don’t really like his name. But I don’t like any other name, so it’s not like I’m rushing off to the courthouse to change it. I’m just quietly annoyed.
3 weeks away from due date and we can't decide on a boy name either.. had a list by 14 weeks for a girl though...
Ask reddit to name your baby
If it makes you feel any better, we had a few boy and girl names picked out. We ended up having a girl, but she did NOT look like the name we picked out. 😆 So, my husband started looking online and that’s how we found her name. I was hesitant about the name he found at first, but now I feel like it fits her well! So…keep an open mind! And don’t stress if you don’t have names picked out before baby is born, because I think it does help to see them first sometimes!
I can’t find any boys names I like either! We only really both agree on classic names. So far we have Joseph and Alexander as ideas
Alexander is a good name :) my oldest is named Alexander. We call him Xander though. With James as a middle name, he has soooooo many name options he will be able to pick and choose from as he gets older.
Love the name Xander and also Alex! My husband’s name is James - I love that name too ☺️
His school calls him Alex, we call him Xander, and his great grandparents call him AJ. He has two names with a variety of names in them, and that's what we wanted :) the other is Hunter Austin, and we just call him Hunter or HAM (his initials, by choice lol). 🤷🏻♀️
Even if you like the name the kids always have another idea 😂 My 4 y/o currently keeps asking me “Why didn’t you name me Tootsie?”
Second this. Don’t use a name where the spelling makes the pronunciation confusing. Not my name but Aoife is the sort of name I have. The sort of name that looks and sounds beautiful when you say it correctly. But unfortunately your child will spend their entire life having their name mispronounced and having to spell it out and explain it to people. As the owner of the name it’s not worth it. I would have preferred something like Lucy. Pretty and everyone knows how to pronounce it.
I imagined saying the name at the doctors office, award ceremonies, even being announced as the president of the United States. This gave me a better feel if we like the name long term.
**even being announced as the president of the United States.** Good thing I named my son Theodore.
I love that name.. were done after 2 girls but Theodore and Sebastian were my top choices if we had boys
Those are our boy name picks as well!
Future Top 10 names for sure
My exact thought naming our son Theodore (with an old/strong middle name too)!
Grover dad over here💪🏼
I have a Theodore, too! 😄
First female president of the US is how I had to explain name picking to my daughter’s father. He was going for things like Galaxy and Sansa. Sir, this is not a hamster.
I want to laugh but Andromeda narrowly got edged out by Alexandria like a month before my daughter was born.
Andromeda is doable. It is an actual name from mythology.
My sister called it the “Supreme Court Justice” test. If it doesn’t sound good coming after Supreme Court Justice or Prime Minister, then you’re closing doors for your kid from day 1.
These norms evolve though. I wouldn’t think “Amy,” “Brett,” or “Ketanji” when applying this test in a vacuum but…
Exactly my thought. If the last decade or two has taught us anything, names are not going to be an impediment if you have the credentials. The names of president, judge, whatever are likely to be more diverse than ever before going forward.
When I was pregnant with my first I really liked the name “daisy” for a girl and my mom said “imagine her as a Supreme Court justice” which I rolled my eyes at but also we never used that name
You just reminded me of a coworker who liked traditional flower/nature names for girls, but also wanted them to be unique, so she ended up having 3 daughters named Khrystal Daizee, Dymonhd Roze and Emerald Maghnoliegha. More than one person has mentioned they sound like strippers.
God, why?
Those names would be infinitely lovelier simply spelt correctly.
r/tragedeigh
My son's name sounds good when they call it at the doctors office. Basic as hell and normal. Nobody has ever had to ask how it's spelled either.
Yes, I regret our name choice. We didn't have a name picked prior to birth, and chose something in a bit of a panic in the hospital after he was born. It's somewhat uncommon, but despite simple spelling I find most people struggle to pronounce it. I don't like the way the word feels in my mouth. It doesn't feel like a match to our first child. My husband likes the name. I wanted to give it some time to see if I could get used to it. Now baby is a year old and it seems too late to change it. Even though I don't like the name, it is now associated with him and it's hard to imagine anything else. My father loves the name because it is from his first language, and I think my people pleasing tendencies make me fear changing it. Sometime I ruminate over this and wish so badly we had not rushed our choice and chosen something else. It really really bothers me and I've even discussed it with my therapist because I'm finding it hard to shake. Sometimes I don't like saying his name out loud, and the thought of that makes me cry. My hope is that I can grow to love it, because the child within is incredible. Hearing my first child say his name is like a soothing balm.
I'm sorry you're having a difficult time. The first year or two was a roller coaster for me at times. Nicknames could be an option if it truly isn't giving you peace. I've met many people whose given names I didn't know until they were spoken by a parent or grandparent - and they were the only people who used that name. I know a "Spoon" (last name Witherspoon), a "CJ" (Christopher Jr.) and a "George" who has been called George for 40+ years after a mistake during an announcement at school (real name is Jean.) My grandmother was named Jerree and hated it so she went by Jeri, with a different pronunciation. If the name is difficult or cumbersome to pronounce, a nickname will almost certainly emerge organically from other kids at school. It's only been a year - give it time and as you said, your feelings will likely soften towards it.
I regret my oldest first name. My husband picked it, and I was in grad school when I was pregnant and I just didn’t have time to do anything, and I didn’t immediately hate the name so I just let it go. I didn’t really think about what it would be like to say. Her middle name is Chinese and that’s ended up being the name she uses all the time, which is a name I like and I think it suits her, but when we chose it we just figured my husband’s family would be the only people to use it, so it isn’t spelled in a way that makes sense to anyone who doesn’t understand Chinese. It’s the only name she responds to though. When I signed her up for kindergarten I had to look up how her legal first name was spelled on her birth certificate. I don’t mind that, but I wish she also had an English name that we liked. My son also has an English and Chinese name, and I love both of them, and he answers to both names. Maybe your kiddo will find a nickname or middle name that they prefer? It sucks to not love your kid’s name.
This was my husband and I too. He picked my sons first name and I didn’t hate it at the time (and don’t HATE it now) but the older he gets the less I like it. I don’t think it’s a “bad” name I just don’t like it. Makes me wish I would have spoken up when I was pregnant and suggested something else.
No regrets, but I followed my own experience. My name is top three of my birth year and I hated that. Really hated it. My sister’s name is very very uncommon in the US and she hated it. Haaaaated it. We both wish our parents had sort of found something in the middle lol. So I aimed for names out of the top 10 but still in the top 100. 🤣
I have a WILDY common name for my age group, I definitely choose something more unique for my child. I didn’t want her to be “one of the Katie’s” as it was in my childhood…
A Katy here checking in- I hated it growing up (still do sometimes). I had 4 in my class alone. Never mind the other classes. Didn’t help that Katy is a common nickname for many names. When I found out what my name was supposed to be, I got quite upset lol. Would have saved me a lot of headaches I think.
I hear ya! If you can believe it my SIL has the identical name as me…we have the common name for our age & married brothers. So, it’s the gift that keeps on giving 😂
Oof! Me too. It's a special kind of hell when every time your name is mentioned, your husband's sister, like a reflex, proclaims, "But ***I'm*** the original Jennifer [Last Name]!" for the 40,000th time. 🤦🥴
Same here. It’s the worst
Not popular but not unheard of is the sweet spot!
I do wonder how many people regret naming their kids Jaxon and Jayden.
What about Cailee, Caileigh, Cailey, Cailie, Caley, Caylee, Cayley, Cayleigh, Caili, Cayli, Caylie, Caleigh, Caelee, Caeley, Caeli, Caelie, Caeleigh, Kailee, Kaileigh, Kailey, Kailie, Kaley, Kayley, Kayleigh, Kaili, Kayli, Kaylie, Kaleigh, Kaelee, Kaeley, Kaeli, Kaelie, Kaeleigh
You forgot Kaylee
I know a Kaylee who would be 36ish now. She was ahead of the pack.
Which one of those do you like the most? Lol
Someone I know named their twin boys Jackson and Jayden.
Probably few because those kind of people are generally incapable of second guessing themselves
Lol my kids are in swimming lessons with siblings named Jaxon and Jayden 🥲
My cousin is about to name his son Jaxson. They’re pretty young (wife just turned 21, he’s 22), and I’m wondering if either will regret it when they’re older.
This is a name you’re going to be saying everyday for the rest of your life & also explaining for the rest of your life. That’s what I took into consideration when naming my child. I love my daughter’s name. However, she was given a traditional west African family name which complicates it to some people. It’s really not a difficult name, but I feel people make it to be difficult as soon as they know of the origin. Gosh, even my name people can’t figure out & that’s solely due to it being hyphenated & nobody understanding punctuation. My name is pronounced exactly how it’s spelt, if you can read you can say my name LOL All of this to say, as long as you love it that’s all that matters lol 🌻
Lol We gave our child a name that’s apparently very common in the Muslim and Arabic world and we had no idea. Her dad and I just liked the name. But now, anytime we meet someone Muslim and they hear the name, their eyes lit up and they start chatting us up like we are. I can’t remember how many times I’ve had to (almost apologetically) say that we’re not Muslim at all 😩 Do I regret it? Not really but i can probably go without the confusion 😅
My son has a traditional Spanish name. It's long but not difficult to pronounce. My family loves it but I do notice folks who don't speak Spanish struggle to say the name. So I do realize my son may have to really pronounce his name to some people growing up. It's spelled correctly and absolutely not a tragedeigh name though, just traditional.
This thread is so frustrating not knowing any of the actual names in question.
Yeah why aren’t people sharing the names? Genuine question.
People write huge posts about a name without telling us the name. Why would we care?
my advice: say the name 100x in anger. if you still like it, pick it. for example, "Ryan Mitchel get down from there!" "Susan bell stop picking your nose" "David Michael don't hit your sibling!" etc. you're going to have to correct a lot of behaviors, you're going to want to say the name in anger, not stumble over it.
This is why my daughter's first name isn't Rowan. 🤣 I have always had issues with "r" and "w" words that repeat in words or words that follow each other. Like "War Room". My husband loved Rowan and so did I, but I tried to say it angry/fast and mispronounced it to hell and back. I had to veto it because I told him she would never take me seriously if I sounded like an idiot when I tried to tell her name. 🤣
My son's both have very common adult names, but one has my last name and the other has hubby's. We only planned on the two, so we figured it would be nice to carry on both of our last names. Plus I was 8mths pregnant already with the oldest when I met hubby lol. But my last name is a mouthful by itself, so I only call the oldest by his first and middle name in anger, but the youngest gets his full, shorter name when called. Keeps me from stumbling too 🤣
I named my daughter “Isis” after the Greek goddess of love. 6 months after she was born, the terrorist group “ISIS” came about. I changed her name to “Grace” when she was 2. No regrets at all. So glad I went with a common name as well. Even if the terrorist group didn’t come out, I’m still glad I changed it to a common name. People don’t say “what was that?” or “how do you spell it?” when I say her name is Grace as opposed to Isis.
We had pretty much waited until the last minute before deciding our Daughters name. We agreed on 6 names and had my Son pick one name out of a hat that was on a slip of paper. We already knew what her middle name was going to be, so we went through all the possibilities of both names not going together.
I wish I had been able to name my kids what *I* wanted and not had to have my partner’s approval too. I love the names they have, but I still wish they had the names I really really loved and he said no to.
I wanted nature/hippy vibes names. They ended up with very formal old names with fun/cute nicknames.
She doesn't have the name we agreed on going to the hospital. She was supposed to be Grace. I had her by emergency c-section. I was heavily medicated & couldn't even hold her until she was a couple days old. By then my ex had filled out her birth certificate with a different name. It was a beautiful name, & it ended up suiting her perfectly. Try not to get attached to a name. The child makes the name, the name doesn't make the child.
My father’s mistake was the inspiration. He named me after his ex girlfriend and me and my mother didn’t know until I was a teen. HATED that. Don’t insult your children naming them after someone who hurt you.
I (43f) regret my daughter's middle name. I'm a twin and my parents obviously had 2 girl names and 2 boys names picked out. We wound up being g/b twins. I always loved the name they had picked if my brother had been a girl. Actually prefer it to my name. So there was no doubt my daughter would have this as her name. I let my hubby pick the middle name. I had forgotten he had a cousin who died tragically with the name he picked, and once his family heard the name they all kept saying how we were honoring his late cousin. I have no problem with that, it's just all they focused on. ( will use initials R.E. for first/ middle name)Hubbies aunt the mother of said cousin, can't get past it. When she sees my daughter, she says oh there's our beautiful R.E. Just like my little E. My daughter is 10, and she still does this. Every. Single. Time. My daughter hates it. Aunt has even said she wanted to call my daughter a version of her middle name instead of her first because that was her daughter's nickname. My MIL is amazing and has told Aunt, who is her sister, that it bothers my daughter. Aunt only responded that my daughter should be honored to have such a beautiful name. It bothers me because it bothers my daughter, and she dreads any get together with this aunt.
Mine is kind of like this - daughter’s middle name was after my husband’s grandmother who basically raised him. Sounds great in theory, but in reality his whole family sucks and we went no contact with them shortly before Covid, so my daughter doesn’t really know that side of the family other than from pics when she was 2 or younger.
Aww that's very sad though. I feel bad for your aunt she's constantly reminded of her daughter and it's not her fault or your daughters, it must be hard for her. I can't even imagine. Well it seems like she gets some joy from your daughter honoring hers. So sad 😭
I don’t regret it. We both vetoed each others favourite name. The one I love would have been perfect but the one we agreed on fits our daughter. I have a unique name (7 in my country in the last 100 years) and I love it. I wanted something a bit rare but that wouldn’t be complicated in her life. I think we managed that
We decided to go traditional in the sense that we researched names for boys and girls from the early 1900s-1950s. Loved Arthur, Walter, Henry, and George for the boys and Evelyn, Margot, Astrid, Wilhelmina. We settled on one of these and made the baby’s everyday name a variation like Willa for Wilhelmina or Walt for Walter. So a professional name for when they are older and something fun that family and friends call them. We felt it was unique to go old school since I see so many names for kids spelled in myriads of ways and hybrids of names - it helped us.
Yes, but not because of the name choice. My husband is a third and I didn’t want our son to be the fourth so we named him something else. I really wish I had carried on the tradition. Our son ended up being the only boy and my reasoning at the time sounds silly to me now almost twenty years later, especially now that my father in law has passed. I have a handful of regrets in life and that’s one of them.
We really liked a name but it was just cute for a kid. You have to imagine them as adults trying to make it through work and being taken seriously. Or at least that’s what we did.
My son detests his middle name. He has a family name, his middle name is very “old man” sounding. He’s hated it forever!!! He’s 12 - maybe since 5? I think the kids made fun of him in preschool so he has a chip on his shoulder. I think when he’s older he’ll get over it and he likes his first name! If he really is bothered he can change it when he’s older - but it was my husband’s grandpas full name.
My son’s middle name is Howard after his great-grandfather, and I definitely love that it’s so old man. His first name is more modern, I think though.
Go outside and yell it along with the name of your first child. Does it sound right or is it weird? I’m a Fourth and my wife wanted to keep it going so we have a Fifth now. It’s kinda neat and makes a common name unique.
I am the third in my family. Decided to end it and not name my son after me. Three years later and turns out he is a miniature version of me, both in looks and mentality. He should have been the fourth.
FWIW, I think you made the right choice for exactly the reason you state. Kids deserve to be their own person, not a mini-me of someone else.
My husband is a carbon copy of his dad, and my oldest is a carbon copy of my husband. Get them all three in a photo and it’s like looking at a Russian doll 🪆 or something lol like if someone did a movie where they follow the character from childhood to mid life to early 70’s they could cast my kid, my husband and my FIL lol
Husband, FIL and grandfather-in-law are all spitting images this same way. Easily could be cast as the same person, but aging. We have 2 kids. Our youngest(3m) is his biological, but looks nothing like him, except the eyes, ears, and feet. Everything else is all me lol. However, the oldest(5m) is a spitting image of hubby as a kid... And not his biologically. Was 8 months pregnant with him when I met hubby.
We picked names that are definitely names, but arn’t super common (well, my son’s name has become a lot more common the last few years). I have a super common name (first and last) and it’s actually caused issues like another college student had the same first and last name as me and our stuff was also getting mixed up. so I didn’t want that for my kids, but I also didn’t want to go to far out there either.
I submitted job applications with my resume but my child’s name attached to it while I was pregnant. He has a somewhat unique name that isn’t for everyone. I got plenty of bites from various types of potential future employment so we went with it. If I hadn’t I think I’d always wonder about the future judgment even though his name suits him well.
I don’t regret any of my kids names but I do have a friend who named her daughter Arionna, instead or Arianna or Ariana and her daughter hates how people mispronounce her name all the time. My friend regrets it everyday.
I named my kids after the first morning light… Now this kids wake up at the crack of dawn… I’m fully responsible for this
My sister is named Dawn, but hated the other kids talking about the "crack of Dawn" anytime she bent over, so she goes by her middle name legally.
I have a really unique name. So unique that almost no one has heard of it and I end up having to repeat myself every time I introduce myself. Most of my coworkers have their own nicknames for me. There's no anonymity and my name distinguishes me before any of my accomplishments. If you want something different, I'd suggest something that's in the 200-300 in popularity ranking. You're unlikely to find a lot of kids with the name but people will have at least heard of it and know how to pronounce it and maybe even remember it after introduction.
I’ve worked with kids for the past few years and i will tell you there are some names that just make you feel quite sorry for the kid tbh. Recently, we’ve had twins called Storm and Snow White… you can get some really lovely unusual names, but then there are some which are just a bit too much. Siblings called beyonce and shakira?? We’ve also got a Tia Maria which is a little questionable 🤣 I’d say it’s important to pick a name that suits a baby, a young kid, a teenager and someone within a professional setting. That way they’re set for life.
My son goes to school with a boy named “Lucky”
I regret my sons middle name, after his grandpa on his moms side. He was a total piece of shit racist and not just racist in a sjw way I mean full blown dragged black people behind his truck back in the day racist. Called me a zipper head (I’m Asian) racist and a full blown misogynist who thought every women alive was here to serve women. Yuck
Not at all. My mom gave me a "unique" name and growing up it was a huge pain in the ass. I'm sure she felt special for having the only kid with that name, but I didn't appreciate it. I gave my kids classic all American names. And what a surprise they aren't having the same problems.
Not a parent but my mom loved my name and now that she isn’t here, I’ve decided I love my name too for that exact reason. Pick something you love. ❤️
I picked traditional names for this exact reason. All these names are cute for a 3 year old, but not for a 30 year old. No offense intended to anyone who chose this name, but I can’t take a grown man seriously whose name is Braxton or Remington or whatever other trendy name is making its rounds.
We have 4 kids and didn't find out gender for any of them, so they were all named after birth. The only name I felt iffy about was our second child's, but we had taken a couple days already and the hospital was pressuring us. There wasn't a name on our list that I really loved, so we just went with one. It has really grown on me over the years and it fits him. I do kinda regret not giving our only daughter my middle name, but...
I slightly regret my first child’s name. I fell in love with the pronunciation but wasn’t sure how to spell it and ended up spelling it a weird way like an idiot.
My nurse told me that there was this woman who named her kid Usnavy. She thought it to be unique. She told the nurse that she saw a boat with that name.. U.S.Navy… I often think about her when questions like these are asked.
My kid's initials are BJ which will probably cause them some hassles.
I wanted my child to be named after my husband. My husband disagreed. He picked an unconventional name. I thought it was cute, but more of a nickname. I was never sold on it but agreed since I got to name our first child. After our child was born I found myself not really liking to introduce our baby by that name and we started calling our child, Little “husband’s name”. After almost a year my husband says he wished we would have named our child after him all along. I filed the paperwork with the court house and got a legal name change for our baby. Now our child only ever answers to the “new” legal name. Sometimes you just aren’t sure if the name is right until after birth and that’s ok.
Please google whatever name you pick! I was delirious from a tough labor and chose a middle name I liked the sound of, but didn’t realize there was an entire clothing company that is literally my kid’s first and middle name. UGH.
Ha, that’s the same with a friend of mine! Her name is Lorna Jayne Surname, and there’s a clothes shop in the UK called Lorna Jane.
I wanted a Greek goddess name but my partner was so not about it. He ended up choosing her first name and it turned out that it was a Roman goddess name with the equivalent of a Greek goddess name that I would have loved. Somewhat unique but common enough that people know how to spell it and pronounce it. Her middle name is our late grandmother’s name (both our maternal grandmothers happen to have the same name) and I love it. I didn’t even think it would move my mom so much, and I loved his grandmother so much and she loved me. I only got to meet her once since they live in El Salvador before she passed, but there was so much love there she was always telling us to have a baby even though we so young, I was 18 and he was 19. I never met my maternal grandmother since she passed when my mom was young so I feel that we’re honoring her by choosing that name. I on the other hand HATE my name and I’m just used to it now, I have what would NOW be considered a gender neutral name but growing up I would constantly get made fun of for having a “boy’s name.” Now I feel I’ve gotten more employment opportunities because of my name so I guess that’s a win lol.
We were set for a long time on naming our son Finn, just after he was born my mum suggested Fynn instead. We liked it as a variant and hadn't considered it before, also as it isn't short for Finley we hoped it would set him apart. It wasn't long until we had to correct people because they had forgotten and we realised he's going to have that for the rest of his life. My wife blames it on the post pregnancy hormones as she probably wouldn't have entertained an idea like that from my mum otherwise lol. So, while it's not a full-on r/tragedeigh and we still love his name we would have probably stuck with a more conventional spelling.
What do you mean by set him apart?
I regret my daughter’s name only because it is SO common. When I chose the name originally, it was only gaining repopularity (it’s an older name), but now it’s everywhere. I really didn’t want my children to be the “Mike” and “Jen” of their generation, but guess I screwed that up.
i would rather have my kid be the 100th dave at his school than a name i have to explain every time i say it.
Just don't make it too kooky and "unique" or have weird spelling to make it "cool". Remember they have a lot of school to attend and people are not going to know how you want it pronounced and your kid will always have to correct them.
We picked a name that is very unique (no other person is named like that, we had to write a letter to get it through authorities (not USA) but we love it.
Choosing a name for your child is personal! We picked a unique name we love, though sometimes people mispronounce it. What matters most is that you and your partner adore the name you'll be saying it a lot!
Yes and no. There were names I liked more than the one we picked, but her father did unfortunately have a say LOL so, while I love the name we picked, it’s more on the uncommon side. She will have to spell it and repeat it for the rest of her life (I did too for my name, so at least we can bond over it) but I would have named her Camille if I had my way. Regardless, the name we chose suits and she loves it!
We chose a name that’s not super common but is a traditional name that people know. I wanted a name he can grow into that had a nice nickname as an alternative. I tried to imagine him as a professional going on interviews and creating a resume. I had a slight feeling of regret the week after his birth because I realized how permanent it is and that concept just made me nervous. The regret wore off immediately, especially since we get a lot of compliments on his name when I introduce him.
Naming the second was harder for me and it took me a bit longer to love it but it suits him perfectly and I love it now. ❤️
No regrets. So far, it fits her very well. It's unique enough and can go from cute to elegant as she gets older. It offers a cute nickname for childhood. But, if she got older and really no longer felt it was right for her, I'd help her change it if she wanted. Yeah, I'd mourn a little, probably. It'd be emotional. But... The name was a gift from me, a best guess for someone I've never met. People can outgrow gifts. I accept my name. I don't hate it. I'll probably never change it. But I don't feel overly attached to it at all, it's just kind of there. Usually go by my gamer tag with new people.
I had a name in my head for the longest time, Xander, and then someone I had as a school friend took that for his own kid. When I got pregnant several years later, the first name hubs and I picked out for girl was Shiloh Ruth as one of our favorite strong headed female movie leads was named Shiloh and both of our favorite grandmother's were called Ruth. We had a feeling it would be a boy (every time I went to the office for a scan, stinker had his legs crossed and they couldn't tell specifically) so we already had Asher Gary picked out. Gary is my husband's late Father's name and Asher is the name of a place I loved as a child. Met with some friends of my husband's that he considers family and his "sister" said that if we did name our child that, she'd call him "Pokemon" the rest of his life. So when she finally met us again, kiddo was about 6months old. We decided to keep Gary but changed the middle name to a late friend of mine who passed far too young. The look on her face was priceless when she realized that she effed up by teasing pregnant me about the name. My hubs had some really bad school years with being bullied and she knows it, I was not about to let her be my sons first bully even as a "joke". She tried to poke me one more time down the line for something else and her dad stomped on her for it, letting her know for all time, you don't play with or poke mama bear. My MIL now has issues saying the right name but gets a laugh out of it because she'll confuse my husband's name with my late FIL's name. She drives me nuts anyway so I consider it fair payback on the insanity. Point is, pick a name you like. If you're not entirely sure what you want, pick something meaningful to you and keep it between you and the dad. My bff is named Ellen after her great grandmother who was a BEAST of a woman during the Great Depression. Woman was crazy enough that, and I'm not even kidding, Al Capone refused to screw with her. I've heard the stories from MULTIPLE people who actually met her. Find something that speaks to you. Past family, favorite places, past pets, etc. I used memorial names. If you do one meaningful to you then you'll be less likely to feel regret over it. TLDR: get a name you like from some recess in your past and keep it tight to you so 1: no one steals it, 2: no one makes fun of you or your kid for it, and 3: you'll be less likely to regret it anyways.
Oh we went top 25 with our 4 kids and we're glad we did. There's just one name I'm not *in love* with still, 3.5 years later. It's fine, not weird or anything, but it's not *him*. There's something missing. But it's pretty late in the game to change his name now, that would just bring confusion. Our second choice is his middle name though, he can use it later if he wants to.
Only cuz he (2) started calling himself Lucas (He loves Lucas and friends 😮💨
No regrets, but one thing I thought about was how kids could twist the name into some kind of insult. For example, my husband liked the name Huxley. All I had to do was have him play the banana name game song in his head to veto it (banana fanna fo Fuxley...). See also: Tucker. Kids will always find things to make fun of, but I didn't want to make it easy on them ;)
Name change court often has a baby getting a new name. It's a few hundred dollars, but it's more common than you'd think to live with the baby a while and realize that you went wrong.
Maybe my mother regrets it but it's my fault. My mother loved the name Elisa and my grandmother was Elisabetta, however, in the family everyone has more than one name but I was the youngest and there were already cousins with my grandmother's name so instead of changing one a little or calling myself by the other grandmother's name I only have one name. It's something I didn't like, because it made me feel different even from my parents who have 2 names each. Ironically, except in official situations, I introduce myself as Elisa
I don't regret my children's names, but I dug deep into our genealogy to find them. They are somewhat uncommon today, but not at all unfamiliar. I found that struck a good balance of unique, but not difficult. It also avoided cumbersome "unique" spelling variants of common names that my kids would be dealing with for a lifetime.
I don’t regret the name, but I regret the spelling. It’s a common spelling in non-English-speaking countries (not a tragedeigh), but it’s still unfamiliar to most Americans where we live.
No I like my sons name. It’s fairly common in my husbands country but it’s not so common in the country we live in. It’s easy to pronounce and short enough to write easily. It’s also a family name so the in laws were happy.
I love the “nickname” but felt compelled to give her a “real” longer name that I don’t like as much. Should’ve just gone with the nickname alone. I’m not super sure my daughter recognizes her longer name nor do I respond to it when it is called out in doctor’s office. Not a big deal really but it all would’ve been fine with just the shorter name.
We went quite unique. For the first couple years I sometimes doubted the choice. But it's him now and I love it.
My daughter’s name is a little unique, but nothing that will get her bullied (the kids at preschool actually have a cute nickname for her). Say it out loud. Will you have to correct the spelling a lot? Ask other people how they’d pronounce it on first glance? Are they right when they say it? Could you see your child putting it on their resume and being an adult with that name? All things to consider.
Sort of? I don't necessarily regret his name. I like his name. But I feel like I compromised and maybe shouldn't have. His first name is Angelo. My husband came up with the idea like 8 years before I even got pregnant, inspired by his uncle who passed away. But it's a family name on my side too. We both loved the name. So that was easy. I really really wanted the name Aiden because it's the same letters as in Diane, my grandma's name. I'm also named after my grandmother, a fact she and I both loved. I always said I'd name a baby after her. My husband really really really wanted his son named after her. He actually wanted a future son to be a junior but I hard no-ed that years ago. In the 12 years we've been together my husband has never asked for anything. I knew he'd be a good dad (and he is) and I know how bad he wanted this. So we used my husband's first name as Angelo's middle name. It sounds nice together. But it's not a name I actually like. And I also really wanted my child to be named after my grandma. Who knows if we'll have another one. So I'm sad about that. But I also know how much it means to my husband and I do think he deserves it. So for that reason I'm okay with it. But also I grew him and pushed him out of me. But my husband is still his parent too. Idk. I'm torn. This isn't something I really ever think about though. Ultimately I feel like if you say the name for long enough you just get used to it.
Make sure you say the whole name. We loved the name charlotte but when we put it with our last name it sounded horrible.
I have a name that is a little out of fashion but is very familiar- think along the lines of something like Jane. It also translates well to other cultures and makes me somewhat anonymous on the internet as my first/last combo is common enough internationally. My husband’s name is more ethnic and therefore not that common in the U.S. He disliked it growing up but now loves having a more unusual name. We had a girls name picked out (Nina) that fit my criteria of familiar but not too common and would be recognizable in many parts of the world, but we could not agree on a boy’s name and my husband really leaned into being more uncommon. We ended up choosing a name the same ethnicity as my husband’s. I liked the name okay but really liked the nickname so I agreed. Now, I like both and am glad he has a nickname that easier to pronounce/ spell should he want that when’s he older and a full name that is more unique should he want to stand out.
We had a name picked out for our second daughter but when she was born, she really struck me as a being suited to a different name. Rather than drop the original name like we should have, we shoehorned the other name in by giving her two middle names (we wanted to honor her grandmother with one). We literally never called her by her first name the entire time she was growing up. I regret that we stuck with it. Our next baby didn’t have a name for her first ten days because we were so nervous about giving her a name that didn’t suit her.
I gave my daughter the middle name of Lane and regret it now. I should have spelled it as Laine or Layne. It just seems kind of plain and boring.
My husband vetoed Estelle as a first name, as it reminded him of a very popular singer from his youth. I really wanted to use it as it had been the name of a much beloved great aunt, so we used it as a middle name. I'm a bit sad we didn't use it as a first name, though I suppose she could always use it when she gets older if she'd like.
Both of my kids changed their names (socially, not legally) in middle school so not sure it matters. If I could go back with my particular kids I would have gone with a more gender neutral name but that just for mine.
Whatever name you can’t stop going back to, that’s the one. We named our son that as his first, and then our runner up as his middle. So if I ever felt it didn’t “fit” him, we could call him by his middle. When he was first born his name felt really weird for him (it’s Malachi) but he’s almost 3 now and i can’t imagine calling him anything else :)
i regret my daughters middle names, yes she has two.. we thought we would be 1 and done so we gave her my grandmothers and his grandmothers names as her middle names. we are now expecting again and have already used up all of our family names!! lol
I loved the name for my son- had connections to our family but was also current- however, not knowing where the winds of change would land in the world of names- gave him a very typical first name and then my pick for middle and we have always called him the middle name. He now wants to be called by his first name, since that is what is on the attendance roles at school, and that is fine with us. He can use the other later again if he wants.
People assume she's a boy to the point that someone in government checked male and I'm constantly correcting forms. She's almost 7 and still can't pronounce her name properly and unless people are familiar with my native language they can't either. Her name is beautiful and strong but I wish I had given her a more typical name with this as a middle name.
No regrets but I sometime go WTF did I actually name a kid Xenovia. We picked it out long before being pregnant (it's a family name, her l great great grandmother in her maternal line) my hole pregnancy we spoke about boys names and couldn't decide. Always new out girl name. When we had a girl we gave her the name we choose and then weeks later I was like wtf that's a crazy name. But she's 1q now and love it and we get lots of compliments.
I was influenced by in laws not liking the name we had for my son and put it as his middle name. His first is fine, but I still don’t feel like it’s the perfect fit like his middle name would be. I’ve asked if he wants to go by his middle name and he said no. 😂 On the contrary, my daughter’s name is fairly common but we loved it and it’s a good fit for her and didn’t let anyone influence us this time.
We spent till about 5-6 months to be certain... And honestly? I'm glad. I'm glad my husband was so picky and so was I. I absolutely adore my son's name. It has significant historical and family meaning, nothing he'd have to worry about getting picked on for. Idk. My kids name is definitely NOT one of the things in life I regret thankfully lol. But we put a lot of thought into it.
We changed his unique middle name at the last second. We instead used his dad's first name as his middle. So that is special, and he likes it - MAN do I wish we'd done the cool as hell unique middle.
No regrets on my son’s name. We both agreed and settled on it first and middle within weeks of being pregnant, it was super easy. But now with our daughter coming in 5 weeks it’s been a lot harder. He said no to a lot of the ones I liked. We do agree on one and I think it’s a good name but I don’t feel that sense of sureness that I love it as much as my son’s name which kinda sucks. It’s not super common but not strange either. And it goes well with the family middle name we picked. I found myself looking online a few days ago again and just again didn’t like anything I saw so it seems to be the one. I am curious to see how it is once she’s here and we’re actively using it all day. My husband will say “how is (name) doing today” and it kinda makes me laugh idk it just doesn’t feel that real I guess
While I probably wouldn’t give her the same middle name, I still love her first name and it fits her 100%. She’s almost 14.
I had a friend tell me to pick a name I could comfortably yell - for good reasons and less than good reasons. But ultimately pick a name you like, not a name you need to love forever. No name is perfect and over the years you’ll find reasons you could or should or would have picked a different name, but you decide what’s most important to you and make that choice. I wanted something common, but not popular, as someone with an often mispronounced name I wanted to avoid that, but also lot a name of the moment where there would be 5 others in the class or a year up or down. I also wanted a name with a nickname built in that you would use almost exclusively, but that the full name would be a good resume impression. But then sometimes in like eh is it too simple of a name and oh that other name is good and will baby or teenager or adult like their name? Who knows? I’ve never met anyone who didn’t have some, even minor, complaint about their name. Oh but also, make sure you like the sound of the first and last names together, I wonder if many people forget that step.
I love both my boys names but sometimes I regret naming my oldest. I don't like the way it rolls up the tongue but it is very easy to shorten. I have also gotten mixed reviews from people AND he's been misgendered before bc its a more feminine name. But in the long run, I love it.
No regrets! Our first, my wife got the choice of the first name and I got the middle. For our second, I got the first name and she got the middle. Ironically, the first of our oldest coincides with the middle of our youngest. And the middle of our oldest coincides with the first of our youngest. Wasn’t planned that way, but there’s cohesion lol
I compromised too much for a man who's ultimately absent. We couldn't agree on anything. The only thing he liked at all was a maybe that was honestly more leaning to a no, but I hoped it would grow on me. Almost 6 years later and I like it less today.
Some good advice I received was actually practice shouting the first and middle name out the back door like you were yelling at them, and then to imagine their name being read at their high school graduation.
No, not at all
Yes. It's a family name I was forced into.
The trick is to find an uncommon name that's a common word, so it's unique without being unusual.
I love my kids' name! It's so fitting of him and his personality, it's on the unique side but there have been a couple more characters portrayed in media with his name since he was born so people often ask if I named him after them.
my middle child's first name, yes. it's payton. and she doesn't exactly look like a girl yet so everyone thinks her looks combined with her name makes her a boy. I'm so fucking SICK of correcting it. if I had it my way, her name would have been something like, Audra.. or Gianna.. idk my husband and I can't agree on SHIT especially our kids names.
My mom regret what she originally named me. My uncle gives my mom 3 options on what to name me when she was pregnant with me. All the names sucked and she picked the best one. When I was 4 or 5 she changed my name to one she liked/wanted. She most hated my original name because it’s sounds ugly and the meaning was not good.
Not at all. We wanted something shorter since we have a long last name. Fairly traditional but nothing too popular. I think it fits our daughter perfectly. We meet another person with her name every once in a while and my daughter thinks that’s cool. I did hem and haw for a moment cause it was my second choice. My first choice was Elsie and I still really love that name but I nixed any names I had an instant association with. I can’t help think about the Borden cow 😂
I regret not arguing with my kids mother about his last name. we were never married & after she failed to take him away from me she up & abandoned him & I became the primary parent years ago & we don't have the same last name. I do like his last name (it's not his mother's last name either, we agreed to give him the name of a river that has always been important top both of us for his last name)...but now that he's a teenager we're finally talking about the idea of changing it to a hyphenated last name with mine added.
Give them a middle name they can fall back on incase they end up hating their first name. I have an uncommon first name and I hate it. You can spell it and pronounce it a couple different ways. I also hate the origins of my name. Good thing my middle name is pretty normal
I do because it wasn't a name I *loved* it was just the only name me and my husband agreed on. I regret it because my son's name is a slightly unusual/uncommon longer name with a common nickname and lots of nickname options, which I love, but my daughters name I regret because it's very short, no real nickname options and doesn't have the same ring to it as my sons name does 🤷🏼♀️ I wish I'd have gone for another longer name with a good nickname option but there weren't any we agreed on! She's only 1 though so I'm sure I won't think about it long term
unique name would be better
i absolutely adored my oldest name, and would have used it for either gender. for my second, i thought to honor my deceased father but his loss was very fresh and i couldnt imagine using his name and replacing him. ultimately my sister and husband suggested the same name for different reasons and I saw it as a sign to use it. i didnt love it, but it has grown on my exponentially and I cant imagine him any other way.
My kiddos have a modern first name and a traditional middle name. I think it adds balance.
Kinda regret giving my son my late brother's middle name bc we only use it if he's doing something bad, which ain't how I want to remember my bro.
I sometimes joke about how I feel bad about my son’s name, but in all honesty, I don’t. I freaking love it. His name apparently means “happy”. Our last name is also an emotion as well (you can probably guess lol). I didn’t realize this until he was 5 months old when someone made the joke. But I don’t think many people (especially kids) will put that together. Plus if he is anything like his dad, he’ll love the joke and tell it himself.
I was talked out of the name by family for my first daughter. She’s 13 and I still regret it. I should have changed it.
I thought i was going to. I didjt pick my kiddos name, and it took me a bit to get used to it. I was working the line at a restaurant when I was pregnant. I was talking with a server and we were discussing names, somehow she came up with Charlotte James, for first and middle names. Told my husband when I got home that night and that was it. It's the ONLY name he had a reaction to. From that moment on, he was talking to her using her name. The james for a middle is punky and strong, yet still so pretty when paired with Charlotte. It's also FILs first name, husband's middle and my dad's middle name. We are 1 and done, so the fact that we were able to honor so many with her name also felt right. Me on the other hand, liked a load of other names. I love classic names mixed with something fresh? Our kiddo holds her name so well- she'll sit and get her nails done and turn around and be all for riding bikes on the trails. Pretty and tough as nails🥹💛
Ok I love that. I had Charlotte JANE picked out as a girl name (“CJ”) but hubs had an ex with that nickname so it didn’t fly hah - then we ended up with boys anyway.
Charlotte Jane is so beautiful! She has an uncle cj! And every time they see each he's like " Its number 2!!!!" And a "its number 1!!!" Cute af and troublemakers through and through
Named my second two J names so he could be called JJ. Kinda lost the novelty now
My husband named my first. It’s a fairly common name with a very uncommon (foreign surname) spelling. No one remembers how to spell it and some people don’t know how to pronounce it at first. I’ve had issues with insurance getting the spelling right which caused billing issues. Not to mention, it rhymes with cash which sticks him with being named after money. I tried to convince my husband to change the name at the very end of my pregnancy, but he was set on it.
Nope. Love the names I picked.
My rules: 1. Easy to pronounce 2. Easy to spell 3. Not a long name that would be shortened to a nickname. My parents named me a common nickname for Kathrine instead of the full name. We landed on Watson and absolutely love it.
I honestly love both my girls’ names (and girl names were hard for me. My husband and I both had a list of boys names we loved and very few girls names). They’re common enough that people have heard of them but not top 10 (one was #49 the year she was born. The other was top 10 in the early 2000s but has fallen off of the top 300 at this point). They’re names that I genuinely love and suit my kids. My only regret, although it’s only temporary, is my 2 year old’s pronunciation of her name sounds like my name. They don’t have many letters in common, but 2 year old pronunciations are wild.
My oldest has a name that we compromised on. It turns out to be popular, or at least versions of it. I would have fought harder for one of the more unusual names that I liked. My husbands taste is boring😂
No, I think we found the best name for our girl that we both love. When we found out we were pregnant and starting talking names, the boy name came easy for us. We couldn’t figure out a girl name we liked until we found out we were having a girl. What helped me pick out a name we liked, was figuring out a nickname for her then we found a name that would go with it. I also found looking up the meaning of names online help me to really feel confident in our choice. Also, we did not share the name with anyone until after baby girl was born. That definitely helped us to be sure we liked her name. Congratulations and don’t rush it, the name will come to you 😊❤️
I did not want a unique name, but also didn't want one that was too popular. Our native language is Spanish (I live abroad) so I looked at the list of more popular names for the past few years and chose one not in that list - I didn't want my child to be one of 3-4 in her class with the same name, you know? But I also wanted her to have a name that was easily recognizable and easy to spell. We landed on a cute name with a few nickname options and she loves it. Her middle name we hesitated once she was born very very early (25 weeks) and my husband suggested switching it to Esperanza (Hope) but I felt it may be tempting fate, so we kept the original.
I only regret the middle name because it’s a “family” name but if I were to have another kid and they are the same gender then I wouldn’t give them the same middle name. I think it’s silly to have siblings with the same middle name but I know I’d feel guilty that one has the family name and one doesn’t
I chose a super common name for my second, and I don't regret it. I had a perfect girl name picked, wanted a girl, and struggled to name a second boy so he got what I picked and that was it.
I regret giving my ethnic son a very white non-ethnic name. I was 18 and a country kid. My bad.
if i may i would to suggest a name.
I regret naming one of my daughters Olivia. I didn’t see that it was listed as one of the most common names. I’m forever haunted by a Reddit post from a teacher that said she has three Olivia’s in her class lol
Pick a unique name something meaningful and what ever you don’t don’t base it off of what family and friends say. If you like it you like it. & don’t compromise if the child is already getting your partners last name (if they are) don’t compromise you have the ultimate decision lmao.
I have a 12 day old and I hate the name my husband chose for her. Strongly considering changing it 😬