Give Your Child a Name Friends and Family Don't Like?

July 27, 2009

Nine months is enough time to come up with a name. At least, that is how long nature allows. During those 40 weeks, moms and dads rattle their brains and flip through the pages of books to find and agree on the perfect moniker for their impending bundle of joy. Many couples even poll friends and family members on their choices, but don't always receive the feedback they are hoping for. Would you reconsider your children's names based on the opinions of others?

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26 Comments

Stephanie-Marie 48 weeks 5 days

I have 8 nieces/nephews on my husbands side and I don't really like any of their names, some less than others. But I call them what their parents call them out of respect. My husband and I have different tastes than his sisters, so I'm sure they won't like the names we pick either. I did try to convince one of my SIL out of a name before the baby was born, but she didn't budge and once he was born I shut up about it.

Stephanie-Marie 48 weeks 5 days

I have 8 nieces/nephews on my husbands side and I don't really like any of their names, some less than others. But I call them what their parents call them out of respect. My husband are much different than his sisters, so I'm sure they won't like the names we pick either. I did try to convince one of my SIL out of a name before the baby was born, but she didn't budge and once he was born I shut up about it.

Stephanie-Marie 48 weeks 5 days

@atlasburped I love the name Atlas, it reminds me of the Titan in greek mythology.

3 years 28 weeks

Normally I'd say it's up to the parents and the rest will have to deal with it. However, if any of my relatives/friends ever decided to name their child Mah'Najah'Toi, or something equally messed up, you better BELIEVE I'd be trying to stop that travesty from passing. Yes, someone out there in the world did name their daughter Mah'Najah'Toi.

joygwilson 3 years 42 weeks

i do not have children yet but many of my friends and family have had children lately....all with varied names: Mimi, Sawyer, Loretta, Ean, Bayli, etc. I adore each of the unique names because they are ones the parents chose for their child. My husband and I will be starting in the next few months to try and we have names picked out already- however, we do not tell anyone the names and plan to keep them a secret until the baby is born. I agree that people will love a name once they see the baby, its almost like they have no other choice. :)

CaterpillarGirl 3 years 42 weeks

We had a discussion the other night at my BIL house, and he was readily telling us names he and his wife have picked out for future children and when we said we wouldnt share ours he was offended, as if he wasnt good enough for us to tell, but the thing is, its our choices and I dont want anyones opinions on them, I dont want to hear "oh i hate that name, some kid in 3rd grade had that name and he picked his boogers" or "I love that name" and end up stealing it!

POPSUGAR Moms 3 years 42 weeks

We were set on our children's names and didn't let anyone influence our choices. What's funny is that some people who weren't fans of the names liked them once our kids were born. We have a girl name and a boy name picked for our impending baby and we're not budging. luckyme - I think London is a beautiful name!

luckyme 3 years 42 weeks

We are also the type that can't name our kids until we see them. We always have a list of our top 5, but what's funny is that both daughters did not end up with names off of those lists. So far, we've had the most comments about our newest daughters' name - London. Either people LOVE it or they make stupid jokes like, "what's her middle name, England?" Hardy, har, har.

skigurl 3 years 42 weeks

i would make an effort not to even tell them what we were considering because i would hate for someone to say UGH I HATE THAT NAME and ruin it for me

Akpril 3 years 42 weeks

I agree that you should pick a name that you love, but that you should also listen to others' comments. These are the comments that the kid is going to hear all its life- whether they be from family or their friends in school. For instance, my brother's friends named their baby Holly, a pretty name, but when coupled with their last name, Schmidt, not so pretty anymore. My brother still laughs every time they call their child because it sounds like they are saying "Holy Sh**!" Sometimes people have a good reason for not liking a name. That said, we named our baby Lincoln. Not everyone loved it, I myself didn't absolutely love it, but the name seemed to fit him. Even though I liked other names more, once I saw him I started calling him Lincoln in my head.I do find it hilarious when older people hear what his name is and all they can say in response is, "Oh!"

ilanac13 3 years 42 weeks

i think that it takes long enough (sometimes) to come up with a name that you like that you should just not worry about what others say. we're having twins and we knew what we'd name one baby but not 2 - but i think that everyone's been really supportive about the names that we picked.

Zivanod 3 years 42 weeks

Whenever we have mentioned the possible names, we are met with sneers from family. And they're not bad names! We will name our child whatever we like, not what our parents like. Besides the name I ended up with, I've heard the other top contenders for me and well, my mom had NO taste in names. I could have been Bobbi-Sue! YUCK!

3 years 42 weeks

I worked with a woman who decided along with her husband to not share the names they had picked for their baby until after it was born! They knew what they would name it if it were a girl or a boy, but told no one. They didn't want anyone's comments to effect their decision, and they wanted to go with what they liked best. I give them a lot of credit for having the restraint to not share such an exciting decision with others! I also think it's a great decision to put in place so that you prevent others from raining on your parade.

MissSushi 3 years 42 weeks

aww Thank you!! That was really sweet! She's a bundle of fun.

atlasburped 3 years 42 weeks

Nobody really liked the name Atlas because most of them thought..."why the heck would you name your kid after a book of maps?" or a brow-raising, "ohhh, why that's innnnntereesting.." I'd simply tell them that they should go a research the name. the name proved to be quite fitting for our son. and why not a book of maps...I most definitely would like my son to be a worldly person. bottom line is..I love it. My hubby loves it. That's all that matter.

atlasburped 3 years 42 weeks

missSushi if that is a pic of ur DD, then YES Kairi is an absolutely brilliant name for her. She's beautiful!

lickety split 3 years 42 weeks

cole is a really nice name :) we picked names our families didn't like, and when they pointed that i shared with them the names they had chosen that i didn'y like; game over :rotfl:

lynp 3 years 42 weeks

I have a 2 month old son whom we named Cole. My brother made no secret of the fact that he hates the name and tried to convince me my whole pregnancy to reconsider, but I told him it wasn't his kid and this was a name my husband and I both liked. I know my grandma and dad don't really like it either, but I just don't care. My kids my decision.

Chrstne 3 years 42 weeks

If I was going to name my kid "Kayla" or something, and my mom pointed out that a 60 year old Kayla is kinda off...then I would consider it. I hate, hate, hate childish names. When it comes down to it, it's about what you can see yourself calling that person. My brother's name is James, which is age appropriate and most people like. My sister's name is Deena, and I have heard tons of people say "you're sister has such a cool/nice/unique name" -- and then there are relatives like mine, one whose name is Jayden, and some people either love it, or hate it like I do. It's all about personal opinion. If I wanted to name my child Horace, and I liked the name Horace -- what mommy and daddy, or Phil and Lill say doesn't matter at all to me.

3 years 42 weeks

No, we didn't consider if others liked it. It's not their child. I don't expect family members to choose names I like either. We don't choose what's "fun" either, we chose what we like and what we think suits us as a family.

bluepuppybites 3 years 42 weeks

I grew up with the name Timmi. I hated it growing up. I've learned to accept it. So I think it's a good idea to consider what others may think as well as think about what the child will think, not just what will be fun for the moment we picked out the name.

3 years 42 weeks

Naming your child is probably one of the hardest things to do as a parent! You are chosing what they will be called for the rest of their lives! It took until after delivery for my husband and I to decide on the names each of our children would have as we wanted to meet these little people before the final decision. Some people just can't carry the names that you chose for them. I know some of our family aren't thrilled with the names we've used, same as we don't love the names they've chosen, but it's not like we'd start calling their child soemthing different or make fun of them for it!

MissSushi 3 years 42 weeks

by conforming i mean to your families wishes..

MissSushi 3 years 42 weeks

Nope.. its your child and your decision, the only person i think that should come into consideration is the child and the name you're choosing. We named our daughter Kairi (pronounced ky-ree) and it was pretty obvious no one liked it, but we did, and its grown on most people. I cant imagine comforming.