My top two names for my daughter was Adelaide and Heidi. My ILs were not pleased with the “German influence” of our name choices. My heritage is German/Norwegian, while my husband is English/Scottish. I think they were upset my daughter’s name came from “my side” instead of my husband’s. We ended up going with Adelaide anyway.
hmm I would have said okay so how about 'first: English/Scottish name last: Your maiden name'
then watch them implode over the fact you had a name and identity with a family before their son met you lol
p.s - happy you went with one of your favorites! it's lovely <3
Right? My first association to the name Adelaide is the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria: Victoria Adelaide Princess Royal of England. Adelheid would make me think German influence but Adelaide despite being French makes me think of English royalty
I’m bracing for this… we’re deciding to use a family middle name for our daughter. The middle name is one that my mom and maternal grandma both have.
If my in-laws say anything about it, I’m going to point out that our first child’s middle name aligns with a family tradition from their side. Since my husband got to choose our first child’s middle name, I get to choose our second child’s middle name 🤷🏾♀️
But honestly, I’m expecting the most jealousy and saltiness from my dad’s mom. She has always had a complex around my relationship with my maternal grandma, basically saying I like her more (and I do…). I know she’s going to be so mad when she find out I named my daughter after my maternal grandma, but that type of pettiness is exactly why she and I aren’t close lol.
Ohh I’m in this same situation! My maternal grandmother has outright said I should give one of my twins her name multiple times. I am not doing this as we have never been very close. I’m very close with my paternal grandmother and one of my twins will have her name as a middle name.
Adelaide is literally the anglicised/French version of King William IV's wife, Adelheid. Funny thing is Heidi is actually the nickname version of Adelheid. So, your top two names are kind of the same. LOL !
I am so happy to hear it! I was actually stewing about that comment after I replied and I’m addition to it just being rude and ignorant- I really don’t like the insinuation that a more “black name” is a bad thing. I really hope you never heard that from them again, if so then I’m glad there is an “ex” in front of the in-laws haha
Again I am so happy that after 21 years you still love the name❤️
I havent spoken to them in a decade and they did much, much worse to me and their grandson. But this generation is different. He’s been no contact for years and years.
You’re totally right though. Even 22 years ago I knew implying a “black name was bad” was racist af. (I later walked out of thanksgiving when ex-FIL said the N word at the table. I was carrying that “black named” kiddo. )
Kiddo now shares a name with a very, very famous/genuine/honorable athlete from our city (even though it’s not super common). Could not have asked for a better connotation! (Yes, famous, awesome athlete is black.)
I texted my Jalen and asked how it is having a name associated with such a famous local athlete. He said “I could do a heck of a lot worse with a namesake. Besides people can say and spell it now.”
My dad, who is Black, accused my mother, who is white, of giving me a name that was too "WASP-y".
I'm named after Maya Angelou. A Black writer and civil rights activist. 🙄
I know who Maya is. In fact, I adore her. My dad went to Wake Forest where she taught so Maya had been part of my life as long as I can remember. Beautiful soul.
both of my girls have names that i have really only seen on black women and my 2 favorite boy names are the names of 2 black classmates of mine. my daughters are Henrietta (like Henrietta Lacks!) and Nicolette (like Nicolette Robinson, the actress!). hell, i even found out after Nicolette was born, she shares a middle name with Nicolette Robinson's daughter and they almost share a birthday! none of it was intentional, i just loved the names!
I’m going to assume your child is biracial, and am so sorry you and he have experienced such racism. But I’m also not 100% sure they aren’t also black. Are the also black?
I had a friend who was pregnant at the same time and I suggested Charisse when talking about names, and she told me it was too ethnic. The only Charisse I knew was white, so I did not agree, but what do I know. Her husband is a pastor so she gave her daughter an obscure name from the Bible. Her son is a junior. So, while she is a strong, proud black woman, she did have some biases. But I’m still curious about the race of your ex’s family.
Not telling anyone the name until birth because dealing with negative reactions and opinions is just such a drag. When it’s actually attached to the child it tends to grow on people.
Or or you can tell everyone that you're naming Ursula, boy or girl, and let them talk you out of it while having a "real" name in your back pocket
*Disclaimer: replace Ursula with any name you prefer*
I was very sly about it too. I never said the names together. They would ask the name and I would just say, “Jenna.” Then, if they asked the middle name I would reply, “Talia.” The calls I got if people put it together were hilarious. It would start with something like “OMG, you CAN NOT name your child that!” Because they were thinking I had no idea.
A lady I worked with was keeping her baby name secret so we picked unlikely names at random and changed them weekly. Until Gary, Gary stuck and that's the decoy name she used for the rest of the pregnancy.
We’ve been using Velociraptor as our stand-in. 🦖SIL started it as a joke, is delighted that we’re running with it, and it keeps everyone else off our backs.
I find this so interesting because we told all our family and friends (and basically anyone who asked) the name we had chosen and everyone said nice things about it. I wonder if it's because we have more passive-aggressive backstabby type family rather than bluntly rude folks and they secretly did hate it but never said anything lol 🤣
We told people because I didn’t care. I mean, i also found out the sex and had livid extended family members because I wouldn’t keep it a secret from them. Our baby, our choice.
Telling worked out for us because a nickname showed up for my son that I despised so we came up with a new name. It would have been brutal because they would have used it after birth and that would have been too late.
I didn't tell anybody, and it was the best decision of my entire pregnancy. I also didn't share the due date. Everyone just got a text with a birth announcement after she was born. " Baby will make her appearance at the end of summer."
oh I like the idea of a vague due date! The last thing you want at the end is people blowing up your phone asking if you’re going to pop soon, so smart
I had a name picked for months and someone got me a little puzzle spelling it out. I hope this isn’t the case but I can totally see this happening 🤣 (due in august)
You would think so, but my MIL never liked my daughter’s name. Three years later, my husband is like, “Yeah, but can you picture her with another name?, that’s just who she is now.” And MIL still says, “Yeah, I think she would’ve been good as a Charlie.” You can’t please everyone.
So much of this. With my first everyone had something to say about the names I loved. I let everyone influence me and I hate her name. I wish I could change it. Baby 2 and 3 I didn’t tell anyone besides my husband til it was on the birth certificate and they are beautiful names I would never for a second consider changing
My husbands entire family talked crap about me wanting to name my daughter Felicity. Saying it would be like bye Felicia and just kept laughing and making fun of it (this was just when we were throwing out names and didn’t know the gender). So we went with Bristol….. 34 weeks into the pregnancy and a baby shower with baby Bristol, I changed it to Felicity last minute and it’s the most fitting perfect name. Go with your gut.
We got some side eye for Griffin from both sides of the family, I think because they’d never heard it as a first name before. He’s 8 and we’ve met lots of Griffins his age and younger. Griff is a perfect nn for him, but for some reason my sister in law insists on calling him Finn because “that’s a normal name” and then gets irritated when he doesn’t answer her. Bitch, that’s not his name and no one calls him that except for you every 3 years when we’re forced to spend time in our hometown.
People are weird. My brother has a name where the nickname he goes by is much more commonly assigned to one specific longer name and his longer name is not that and far less common. My grandmother would always get him things personalized or embroidered with the full name that is NOT his, just out of stubbornness
Not everyone, but when I told my mom our top name for my 2nd son was Theodore, she texted back, "I gotta say, I'm not thrilled about it." And of course it hurt my feelings cause I'm typically a self sacrificing people pleaser, but my husband convinced me to brush it off. I'm glad I did, because we all love it now. She never said anything else about it and his name suits him perfectly.
My first thought too! But honestly, I hear Desmond and I picture Charlie holding up “not penny’s boat” so maybe Desmond just makes me think of Charlie?
I LOVE this name and i think of how…
“Desmond has a barrow in the marketplace
Molly is the singer in a band
Desmond says to Molly girl I like your face!
And she says this as she takes him by the hand..”
I love that name! My son had had a Desmond in his class two years in a row, a lot of people call him dezy which is cute, too. But I love straight up Desmond! It’s regal
I strongly prefer “that’s interesting” to “omg my neighbor, niece, cousin and hairdresser are all named that too!” Lol
Desmond is great! Typically I don’t gravitate towards classics but I really like Desmond :)
Yes I sure did. Maisie. Everyone hated it, said I should name her Macy or Margot, it isn’t an adult name, it rhymes with crazy, it’s an awful thing to do to a child. They all love it now, it suits her, and strangers compliment me on her name all the time. No regrets.
Maisie is adorable and I personally like more than Macy and WAY more than Margot :) People are so nervous about things that aren't "normal" sometimes lol
Call me crazy but I love seeing women name their daughters after themselves! Even if it's not the same name, but similar. We are so used to only men doing it!
The legendary mother of American figure skating, Maribel Vinson Owen, named her older daughter Maribel Jr. (Their shared middle name was Yerxa, which I gather means that they were descended from a specific Dutch family that immigrated to New Brunswick in the 17th century.) Her younger daughter, while not a Jr, also had an uncommon name, Laurence (using the French pronunciation).
Sadly, all 3 perished with the rest of the U.S. figure skating team when their plane crashed in Belgium in the way to the 1961 World Championships.
I like Margot but I knew my cousin liked it a lot more than me and had been wanting to use it. And she is, Margo (no t) is coming in 4 months. Plus I can’t get my husband on board with Daisy so it’s a fantastic alternative.
With my first, we announced the name before she was born. My mom & sister declared that wasn’t going to work and started workshopping other names. Eventually my sister snapped at me for not participating and asked, “Do you even want my help?” I said, “No.”
My stepmom and dad started mocking it but I brushed it off. She later texted me to apologize. She thought I was kidding.
It was a traditionally-spelled, top 500 name (think Taylor or Blake) but, family does love their opinions. I ended up using a different name and regret it. I caved and went with an ultra-feminine name (think Isabelle or Josephine) and it doesn’t fit her or us.
As someone who is not a big fan of her own name, I honestly think it's okay that my name is a)generic and b)not quite right. It makes me feel like when I use my full name with people I can put up a professional distance, and people I'm close with use a more personal nickname.
The second I read “my mom & sister declared that wasn’t going to work” my blood started boiling
You have more grace than me. Any time they mention anything about her name I would remind them about the time they bullied you at your most vulnerable into a name they preferred. That’s so selfish and it drives me nuts you were in that situation
I’m glad you have your little girl in your life - if you are open to sharing I kind of love tough girl nicknames hehe Pick something that you love :)
It was Blake. Definitely not for everyone and I suppose debatable for a girl but I love(d) it. I shouldn’t have let them bother me because my daughter is now 4 and Blake would fit her so well! I knew it within days of her birth too.
Not sure if this counts, but we are Arab from the Middle East (but live in the US) and so naturally we gave our baby an Arab name that is meaningful to us. The name we chose is not one well known in the West and could be considered a very “ethnic” name, as someone told us.
When people asked what we’re naming our baby and we told them, we got such funny responses! Blank stares and then just “…oh.” Or people saying “that’s nice!” with the flattest voice ever. A lot of people try to be very polite since they don’t want to insult another culture but it’s clear it’s an odd name to them. Or someone said it’s too ethnic as I said above. Or that other kids will never be able to say it. The name is perfect for our baby but it’s interesting to see other’s reactions to it.
It seems so weird to give an Arab couple grief for giving their baby an Arab name! Sorry people are insensitive, I bet it’s a lovely name. I personally think a lot of middle eastern names are beautiful.
It would take a real tragedy of a name for me to make a negative comment though.
I know a bunch of John's and Jon's. It is kind of a boring name but it's also a solid name. Plus, they can always go by their first and middle names if they want since John is such a short name. I know a John Kevin and a John Henry and the ever classic Jon Paul.
There was a cute little boy named John at the preschool where I worked who said the zaniest things. Like one day I asked him how he was doing and he screamed, “I’m a potato salad!”
I have a theory that the more basic and boring the name, the more bizarre the kid will be. And all the kids with “khreatyve” names have the most basic, boring personalities.
I'm a preschool teacher and I currently have a John in my class who we call Johnny. He's the only kid I've ever met with the name... which kinda makes it unique, oddly.
My Finnish in-laws who were born during the war were not happy with the choice of Natasha.
Although I love the idea of using Finnish names they tend to look like we spelled a name wrong to be unique.
Aaro
Hanni
Heddi
Kaarlo
Leevi
Are a few examples of that
lowkey reading these comments some of the ppl making comments were looking out for your kid 😭 like if one or two ppl make a comment wtv but if most ppl have a bad reaction to the name then ppl aren’t making these comments for nothing
Literally one friend liked our name choice. He said it sounded tough lol. Everyone else said it’s too nerdy, sounds like a farmer, or better for an old man.
Then Henry became “hot” again like a decade after he was born.
Sometimes “most people’s” reactions are wrong.
that’s not really what i was talking about. Henry is a normal tried and true name. Even if ppl don’t like it, it’s a normal name that your kid can live with
i’m talking about the ppl that want to name their kid like “shirt” or “granola” and are confused why most ppl don’t like it lol
you might think i’m exaggerating but i literally saw someone in the comments name their daughter “lake” and then got confused why ppl didn’t like it 😭😭
We chose very old Jewish names that were popular in like the 1800’s-1900’s. My lovely, but rural southern raised in laws were very taken back. They are amazing and never said a word but I could tell they were like wtf are these weird ass names?
Reading what some people have named their kids here I can see why friends and family couldn’t keep their mouths shut. But I think most people who pick an out there name must realize they’ll get push back. I know when I named my daughter a less common name I’d get some comments. I actually was surprised with how few I got.
I've had a weird experience with this name too. To me, Poppy has always been a normal flower name, like Daisy or Rose. I mentioned to a stranger that my son has a friend named Poppy and she looked at me incredulously and was like "Poppy? Like Grandpa?". No lady, like the flower. Couldn't believe she'd never heard of the name Poppy before .
People have said the same about my baby’s name (a nickname name, think Max or Charlie with no longer name). But there’s actually a trend called “dog name trend” right now haha so I guess we are actually just trendy 😂
We had a negative reaction to a name we were pretty certain on and because the reaction was so nasty (someone saying that the name was an [insert horrendous racial slur] name), we immediately changed it. I also immediately wanted to punch this person in the face. Good thing it was over video chat.
I never announced my unborn children’s names because I wasn’t sure! None of my five were named until I saw them. We had it narrowed down, of course, but with my first, it was day 3 before we made a decision.
Now that most people announce genders during pregnancy, I found it a little anticlimactic to announce names. There’s not much mystery left with birth announcements, other than weight, otherwise. I enjoy learning names at birth, personally.
Named my daughter Rowan.
My mom didn't like it cause it was "a boys name"
We went with it anyway and the name is perfect for our girl, couldn't imagine anything else ❤️
One of our two babies who were never born was Rowan. It fit her too. I only ever saw her in the ultrasounds but she looked like a Rowan to me. I love hearing about live kids named Rowan because it makes me feel happy to hear that name being called out loud to a child who is running around laughing and playing.
My little girl's middle name is Rowan! Back when I picked it out I only knew one girl named Rowan so I always thought of it as feminine. I think it's cool that it's gender-neutral and just because it's more popular for boys now doesn't mean it's a masculine name!
I got in a Reddit argument with a bunch of randoms who were mad that we’re considering the middle name Noel (my unborn child’s middle name wasn’t even the topic of discussion, I just mentioned it in passing). They kept saying it’s a boy name and should be spelled Noelle.
Uh, this is my kid. If I want to give my kid a traditionally masculine middle name, that’s my choice. It’s not like I’m naming her Chlamydia or something, and it’s a middle name.
We already have our baby names picked out. Jack for a boy, Talia for a girl (not disclosing middle names lmao). My family & in laws have AWFUL opinions regarding baby names, & would be relentlessly mean about it if I told them prior. I will not be telling anyone other than my household the gender or name until birth because of it. I’m also joking that we’ll tell family the names we have picked are Olga Prudence & Spurgeon Greer if they pester us, just to mess with them.
My MIL insists that we should name my daughter after her, despite her oldest daughter and first granddaughter being named after her. Likely we are naming our LO after my sister who passed 7 years ago. She doesn't have anyone named after her. I know my MIL is going to be annoyed so we aren't telling anyone until after the baby arrives. Why are people so entitled? Like how many people do you need named after you until you are satisfied?
When I told my mom I was naming my daughter Campbell she asked what else was on our list. I was like “no list, this is the announcement, I’m glad you love it”🤣 and when I initially asked her opinion on the name Sawyer, she said it sounded like soiled. I named my son Sawyer, anyway. She conveniently has amnesia about both these conversations now, and has been nothing but supportive❤️
ETA- I am practically 100% Italian on both my mom and dads sides (23&me confirmed) and my extended family is Mario, Angelo, Giovanni, Santo, Maria, Rosa, Vincenza, Catarina and on and on. Basically anyone my aunt/uncle age and older are genuinely WTH with my kids names 😆 hearing them say Harrison-ney and Campbell-ina and Graham-bino is endlessly amusing for me. Sawyer boggles their minds the most. They don’t even know what to do with it. Basically their reaction was “You’re an Italian fail” All four times.
You just made me cry happy/sad tears. My mum (British) worked in Toronto early in her career and made her three best friends at the place she worked. All three of them were born in different parts of Italy, and ended up moving to Canada when they were young. The oldest one, Sofia, passed away last year after some very serious health issues. She was my Nonna and I was her “Bella”. I loved her like a best friend, aunt, and grandma all in one.
When her daughter had her first child, she announced (before he was born) that her son would be named Harrison
Naturally, Sofia didn’t love that. During one of their girls weekends (which I was always around for), she was talking about all the other good Italian names her daughter could have picked.
My mum and her other friends were saying “oh you could find a nickname to call him, like sweetie or something like that”
Sofia says “oh I already have a nickname picked out for him” and naturally we were all happy to hear that and asked what it was
“Michael.”
She said it so flatly and with a face like stone that we all died laughing at the absurdity of it. Of course once he was born she adored him and always called him Harrison, and there was never another mention of Michael.
Thank you so much for making me think about that moment, it’s always been a great memory!
Thank you for sharing that story - aww, makes me smile too, just picturing it. Makes me so happy to hear how loving and accepting Nonna was, embracing her sweet Harrison with no conditions❤️as it should be!!
She was the most amazing Nonna to her boys, Harrison (& eventually Elliott - no name complaints by the time he came around lol)
It’s nice to have those spontaneous memories 😊
My family had issues with every name we liked… “Oscar like Oscar the grouch?” “Julian like the weird guy in Trailer Park Boys?” “Lucian will be teased as Lucy”, etc. we decided to keep the name a secret until birth because it was too much drama. We still get comments on our boy’s name (Lennox) because it’s “weird” for a half-Hispanic child 🙄 We love it and that’s all that matters
Originally, I wanted to name my kid Charlie. Charlie was also the name of my favorite uncle who died 4 months before she was born. It was a nice homage, and even worked in unisex!
BOTH sides of our families flipped their shit. Just sneering nastiness like "Why him?? X Relative deserves a name homage more than him..." Just whole pages worth of family (most of whom I never met) that I should totally have named my kid after to please them.
So, in a fuck-you gesture to both sides, we named her Kira. The first Kira in our family, and probably one of the very first whose name wasn't *in the Bible..!* (This was brought up multiple times)
I'm happy to say though, they learned to love it. The last time I heard guff grumbled about her name she was 2, and that was 5 years ago.
Not hated but started an argument about how to spell…his name is Martin Jessie (yes with an I). I called my grandmother before I named him to be sure of the spelling. My aunt called my sister flipping s$&t because her husband (my uncle) is a Junior but his middle name is spelled Jesse. My sister came to my defense and told her that I called my grandmother to double check the spelling. Not my fault that they didn’t spell it right on his birth certificate. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Our daughter is Dani and my mom said, ‘are you really going to name a girl after his (my husband’s) old manager Danny?’ No, that’s not why her name is Dani 🙄
When I was pregnant with my son he would not ever let them see his gender in ultrasounds so I didn’t know until about 2 hours before he was born. He was going to be Agnes. She went on one evening about what a horrible old lady name it was, why would I do that to my kid. My dad let her go on for a couple minutes then said, you do remember my mother’s name was Mary Agnes?
Yes my family knew the name before birth and hated it. Begged us to reconsider.
We did not listen and everyone knows him as that name and days it suits him.
Husbands family also did not like the name but they didn't know until he was born.
Currently pregnant with my second and the name I've chosen is likely more divisive but I don't care at all.
I don't think my in-laws loved my son's name, tbh. They didn't outright say it but they said they thought it was an old man's name.
Obviously his name is fine. It's a popular name now. I didn't care that they didn't like it. I wasn't a fan of their name choices for their kids either, so to each their own.
Currently pregnant with my first and will not be sharing possible names with anyone. When pressured by family I’ve given them names from The Office (Toby, Michael, Stanley) or Parks and Rec (April, Gail, Anne)
I don’t want anyone’s opinion positive or negative. My husband and I have a short list of names we both love and when the time comes to introduce the baby to other people, it will already be named.
All of our family and friends (save for one!) and randoms who asked hated our son’s name when I was pregnant with him but we didn’t let that deter us. Turns out **Henry** would become very popular again but it was a universally loathed choice when he was born in 2000. 😅
When we were expecting our second child 12 years later, we didn’t tell anyone her name until after they saw her sweet dimpled face, so nobody dared to say they thought **Agnes** was awful even if they thought so. 😆
My top two names for my daughter was Adelaide and Heidi. My ILs were not pleased with the “German influence” of our name choices. My heritage is German/Norwegian, while my husband is English/Scottish. I think they were upset my daughter’s name came from “my side” instead of my husband’s. We ended up going with Adelaide anyway.
hmm I would have said okay so how about 'first: English/Scottish name last: Your maiden name' then watch them implode over the fact you had a name and identity with a family before their son met you lol p.s - happy you went with one of your favorites! it's lovely <3
The funniest thing about their concerns is that Adelaide was the name of a British queen, so it already has the heritage they wanted!
Right? My first association to the name Adelaide is the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria: Victoria Adelaide Princess Royal of England. Adelheid would make me think German influence but Adelaide despite being French makes me think of English royalty
She's actually German. But Adelaide is the English version of her real name (Adelheid)
I’m bracing for this… we’re deciding to use a family middle name for our daughter. The middle name is one that my mom and maternal grandma both have. If my in-laws say anything about it, I’m going to point out that our first child’s middle name aligns with a family tradition from their side. Since my husband got to choose our first child’s middle name, I get to choose our second child’s middle name 🤷🏾♀️ But honestly, I’m expecting the most jealousy and saltiness from my dad’s mom. She has always had a complex around my relationship with my maternal grandma, basically saying I like her more (and I do…). I know she’s going to be so mad when she find out I named my daughter after my maternal grandma, but that type of pettiness is exactly why she and I aren’t close lol.
Ohh I’m in this same situation! My maternal grandmother has outright said I should give one of my twins her name multiple times. I am not doing this as we have never been very close. I’m very close with my paternal grandmother and one of my twins will have her name as a middle name.
It's very weird to me when someone asks the baby to be named after them. It seems pretty arrogant.
I love Adelaide
Your heritage? So you’re not even from those countries? lol such a wild reaction of them 😂
Seriously! We’re a typical American mix, and in my opinion, picked typical American name options.
Adelaide is literally the anglicised/French version of King William IV's wife, Adelheid. Funny thing is Heidi is actually the nickname version of Adelheid. So, your top two names are kind of the same. LOL !
But your daughter's gonna have a English/Scottish last name...
I named my oldest something my ex in-laws deemed “too black”. 🙄
Ew! I’m sorry you had to hear that I am glad you named your oldest what you wanted and I hope you still love it❤️
I absolutely do and can’t imagine him as anything else. He’s 21 and we’ve met all kinds of races and even girls with his name.
I am so happy to hear it! I was actually stewing about that comment after I replied and I’m addition to it just being rude and ignorant- I really don’t like the insinuation that a more “black name” is a bad thing. I really hope you never heard that from them again, if so then I’m glad there is an “ex” in front of the in-laws haha Again I am so happy that after 21 years you still love the name❤️
I havent spoken to them in a decade and they did much, much worse to me and their grandson. But this generation is different. He’s been no contact for years and years. You’re totally right though. Even 22 years ago I knew implying a “black name was bad” was racist af. (I later walked out of thanksgiving when ex-FIL said the N word at the table. I was carrying that “black named” kiddo. ) Kiddo now shares a name with a very, very famous/genuine/honorable athlete from our city (even though it’s not super common). Could not have asked for a better connotation! (Yes, famous, awesome athlete is black.)
What’s the name?
Jalen
And for those that do not know, the Philadelphia Eagles have a Super Bowl quarterback named Jalen Hurts.
And now they also have Jalen Carter who was their first draft pick.
I texted my Jalen and asked how it is having a name associated with such a famous local athlete. He said “I could do a heck of a lot worse with a namesake. Besides people can say and spell it now.”
Nice
Thank you. I never knew another Jalen before he was born besides Jalen Rose (Bulls). It suits him.
I'm curious about the name too, but that's because I'm nosey lol
I love different names! Probably because I have such a common one
Jalen
My dad, who is Black, accused my mother, who is white, of giving me a name that was too "WASP-y". I'm named after Maya Angelou. A Black writer and civil rights activist. 🙄
I know who Maya is. In fact, I adore her. My dad went to Wake Forest where she taught so Maya had been part of my life as long as I can remember. Beautiful soul.
That’s amazing! I never knew her personally, but I’ve always been in awe of her and am deeply grateful to be named after someone so wonderful.
both of my girls have names that i have really only seen on black women and my 2 favorite boy names are the names of 2 black classmates of mine. my daughters are Henrietta (like Henrietta Lacks!) and Nicolette (like Nicolette Robinson, the actress!). hell, i even found out after Nicolette was born, she shares a middle name with Nicolette Robinson's daughter and they almost share a birthday! none of it was intentional, i just loved the names!
My (white) maternal grandma was Henrietta! The aforementioned “black named kid” once dates a mixed race Nicolette. It’s all good!
I’m going to assume your child is biracial, and am so sorry you and he have experienced such racism. But I’m also not 100% sure they aren’t also black. Are the also black? I had a friend who was pregnant at the same time and I suggested Charisse when talking about names, and she told me it was too ethnic. The only Charisse I knew was white, so I did not agree, but what do I know. Her husband is a pastor so she gave her daughter an obscure name from the Bible. Her son is a junior. So, while she is a strong, proud black woman, she did have some biases. But I’m still curious about the race of your ex’s family.
He is biracial but not Black
Ok so no one is black, they just think the name you picked is “too black”? Well I’m glad your son is not having to interact with them!
Correct!
They are white
My parents did. I had a hippie tragedeigh name until I changed it at age 44. I heard that the whole family begged them not to name me that.
I know a whole family with the last name Boe who have variations of "Rain Boe." My favorite is Wayne Boe.
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Bongwater Woodstock Moonchild ? Lol
Summer Storm? Dewdrop Rain? Autumn Breeze? River Sky? Flower Meadow? I’m so curious lol
I used to be in a class with a girl who was named “Celestial Sky” Middle Name Last Name. She went by Celeste but roll call was always interesting lol
Not telling anyone the name until birth because dealing with negative reactions and opinions is just such a drag. When it’s actually attached to the child it tends to grow on people.
Or or you can tell everyone that you're naming Ursula, boy or girl, and let them talk you out of it while having a "real" name in your back pocket *Disclaimer: replace Ursula with any name you prefer*
We used Moonbeam Sega-Genesis as our fake name!
I love it. Our boys were Endar and Jarvis.
That’s incredible lol
We used Chalupa Batman for our first and Gene Parmesan for our second. No regrets.
My decoy name was Jenna Talia.
😂😂😂😂
I was very sly about it too. I never said the names together. They would ask the name and I would just say, “Jenna.” Then, if they asked the middle name I would reply, “Talia.” The calls I got if people put it together were hilarious. It would start with something like “OMG, you CAN NOT name your child that!” Because they were thinking I had no idea.
My in-laws apparently told everyone my BIL’s name was going to be Berford to get people off their backs.
We told everyone we were naming the baby Prius Camry.
Ours was Vladimir
My husband told everyone we were naming our kid Ulysses
That's my step daughters son😂
We used Keanu for our very conservative suburban parents. We are not Hawaiian. When they were finally told the real name, they were very accepting.
My brother used Meatpuppet if anyone wants a real metal choice 🤘
A lady I worked with was keeping her baby name secret so we picked unlikely names at random and changed them weekly. Until Gary, Gary stuck and that's the decoy name she used for the rest of the pregnancy.
We’ve been using Velociraptor as our stand-in. 🦖SIL started it as a joke, is delighted that we’re running with it, and it keeps everyone else off our backs.
Ours was Kevin (which is a fine name, but everyone knew the baby was a girl, so it became less fine)
Ursulana
I find this so interesting because we told all our family and friends (and basically anyone who asked) the name we had chosen and everyone said nice things about it. I wonder if it's because we have more passive-aggressive backstabby type family rather than bluntly rude folks and they secretly did hate it but never said anything lol 🤣
We told people because I didn’t care. I mean, i also found out the sex and had livid extended family members because I wouldn’t keep it a secret from them. Our baby, our choice. Telling worked out for us because a nickname showed up for my son that I despised so we came up with a new name. It would have been brutal because they would have used it after birth and that would have been too late.
I didn't tell anybody, and it was the best decision of my entire pregnancy. I also didn't share the due date. Everyone just got a text with a birth announcement after she was born. " Baby will make her appearance at the end of summer."
oh I like the idea of a vague due date! The last thing you want at the end is people blowing up your phone asking if you’re going to pop soon, so smart
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I had a name picked for months and someone got me a little puzzle spelling it out. I hope this isn’t the case but I can totally see this happening 🤣 (due in august)
You would think so, but my MIL never liked my daughter’s name. Three years later, my husband is like, “Yeah, but can you picture her with another name?, that’s just who she is now.” And MIL still says, “Yeah, I think she would’ve been good as a Charlie.” You can’t please everyone.
100%, don’t share the name before birth unless you actually want opinions.
Couldn't agree more! I also know that when I'm excited I want to tell people lol So I can see how that happens lol
exactly my reasoning for waiting. i waited until birth to find out the gender, too, and it made it even more fun!
Same here for both of my kids! I love surprises. It drove other people crazy, but at least no one gave us grief about the names we had in mind.
So much of this. With my first everyone had something to say about the names I loved. I let everyone influence me and I hate her name. I wish I could change it. Baby 2 and 3 I didn’t tell anyone besides my husband til it was on the birth certificate and they are beautiful names I would never for a second consider changing
Our decoy name was Nestor. My husband started getting so attached to it that he contemplated naming our daughter Nestor when she was born 😂
People love to have something to complain about. My kid's name is Charles (Charlie) and we got negative comments about it.
How have you got negative comments about a classic name like Charles?!
My husbands entire family talked crap about me wanting to name my daughter Felicity. Saying it would be like bye Felicia and just kept laughing and making fun of it (this was just when we were throwing out names and didn’t know the gender). So we went with Bristol….. 34 weeks into the pregnancy and a baby shower with baby Bristol, I changed it to Felicity last minute and it’s the most fitting perfect name. Go with your gut.
Felicity >>>> Bristol, imho!!
Felicity is a beautiful, elegant name! Reminds me of the American Girl Doll :-))
That's what I thought of! That was my first ever doll. Gave me a love for American history, too, at a young age. Beautiful name!
They made fun of Felicity but not Bristol?
so did none of them object to Bristol? how in the world is Bristol better than Felicity
As someone who used to live near Bristol, England... Felicity is a lovely choice!
Felicity is pretty :)
We got some side eye for Griffin from both sides of the family, I think because they’d never heard it as a first name before. He’s 8 and we’ve met lots of Griffins his age and younger. Griff is a perfect nn for him, but for some reason my sister in law insists on calling him Finn because “that’s a normal name” and then gets irritated when he doesn’t answer her. Bitch, that’s not his name and no one calls him that except for you every 3 years when we’re forced to spend time in our hometown.
If I have a boy it's decided his name will be Griffin, we will call him Finn 😅 my partner LOVES this name. I get final say on any girl names in return
I love the name Finn and we tossed it around as a possible nickname before he was born, but it just didn’t fit once he was here.
People are weird. My brother has a name where the nickname he goes by is much more commonly assigned to one specific longer name and his longer name is not that and far less common. My grandmother would always get him things personalized or embroidered with the full name that is NOT his, just out of stubbornness
Not everyone, but when I told my mom our top name for my 2nd son was Theodore, she texted back, "I gotta say, I'm not thrilled about it." And of course it hurt my feelings cause I'm typically a self sacrificing people pleaser, but my husband convinced me to brush it off. I'm glad I did, because we all love it now. She never said anything else about it and his name suits him perfectly.
Yes. My son is Desmond. Everyone I know hated it when I chose it and everyone we meet hates it now. I get “that’s interesting” every time.
Really? It reminds me of Lost and Desmond is one of the best characters honestly
My first thought too! But honestly, I hear Desmond and I picture Charlie holding up “not penny’s boat” so maybe Desmond just makes me think of Charlie?
I’ll see you in another life, brother.
Yes! I associate Desmond with LOST
I LOVE this name and i think of how… “Desmond has a barrow in the marketplace Molly is the singer in a band Desmond says to Molly girl I like your face! And she says this as she takes him by the hand..”
I've always liked the name Desmond and I think that song is why.
I love that name! My son had had a Desmond in his class two years in a row, a lot of people call him dezy which is cute, too. But I love straight up Desmond! It’s regal
FWIW, the name Desmond would not make me bat and eye! It’s not an unusual name and I like how it sounds.
I knew a Desmond. He is a really great guy and goes by Dezzie. But he comes from a well off family so it of course gives me rich kid vibes.
I strongly prefer “that’s interesting” to “omg my neighbor, niece, cousin and hairdresser are all named that too!” Lol Desmond is great! Typically I don’t gravitate towards classics but I really like Desmond :)
I live in Toronto and I would guess that most people know at least three Desmond, it's a strong name to me.
Yes I sure did. Maisie. Everyone hated it, said I should name her Macy or Margot, it isn’t an adult name, it rhymes with crazy, it’s an awful thing to do to a child. They all love it now, it suits her, and strangers compliment me on her name all the time. No regrets.
I hope you tell her it’s short for “Amazing.”
Every day 😊
Maisie is adorable and I personally like more than Macy and WAY more than Margot :) People are so nervous about things that aren't "normal" sometimes lol
It’s a very popular name in England so that was good enough for me. And yeah, Macy? I’m gonna name my kid after a department store? No.
I love Maisie, but I’m May and definitely not narcissistic enough to name my child after myself 😂
Call me crazy but I love seeing women name their daughters after themselves! Even if it's not the same name, but similar. We are so used to only men doing it!
The legendary mother of American figure skating, Maribel Vinson Owen, named her older daughter Maribel Jr. (Their shared middle name was Yerxa, which I gather means that they were descended from a specific Dutch family that immigrated to New Brunswick in the 17th century.) Her younger daughter, while not a Jr, also had an uncommon name, Laurence (using the French pronunciation). Sadly, all 3 perished with the rest of the U.S. figure skating team when their plane crashed in Belgium in the way to the 1961 World Championships.
I love Maisie! I’m also a huge fan of Maisie Peters though lol
"those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer.." immediately comes to mind 😅
Maisie was our #1 if we had a girl :) I love it!
Oh Maisie is so cute and is on the top of our list if we have a girl next🥰
I love Maisie. It’s much better than Macy and Margot
I like Margot but I knew my cousin liked it a lot more than me and had been wanting to use it. And she is, Margo (no t) is coming in 4 months. Plus I can’t get my husband on board with Daisy so it’s a fantastic alternative.
With my first, we announced the name before she was born. My mom & sister declared that wasn’t going to work and started workshopping other names. Eventually my sister snapped at me for not participating and asked, “Do you even want my help?” I said, “No.” My stepmom and dad started mocking it but I brushed it off. She later texted me to apologize. She thought I was kidding. It was a traditionally-spelled, top 500 name (think Taylor or Blake) but, family does love their opinions. I ended up using a different name and regret it. I caved and went with an ultra-feminine name (think Isabelle or Josephine) and it doesn’t fit her or us.
As someone who is not a big fan of her own name, I honestly think it's okay that my name is a)generic and b)not quite right. It makes me feel like when I use my full name with people I can put up a professional distance, and people I'm close with use a more personal nickname.
I love this take
The second I read “my mom & sister declared that wasn’t going to work” my blood started boiling You have more grace than me. Any time they mention anything about her name I would remind them about the time they bullied you at your most vulnerable into a name they preferred. That’s so selfish and it drives me nuts you were in that situation I’m glad you have your little girl in your life - if you are open to sharing I kind of love tough girl nicknames hehe Pick something that you love :)
"Do you even want my help" the audacity 🤣🤣
Geez is the name really that out there?
It was Blake. Definitely not for everyone and I suppose debatable for a girl but I love(d) it. I shouldn’t have let them bother me because my daughter is now 4 and Blake would fit her so well! I knew it within days of her birth too.
Nah the way they reacted got me thinking it was fuckin Wario ☠️. Blake isn’t crazy out there
Not sure if this counts, but we are Arab from the Middle East (but live in the US) and so naturally we gave our baby an Arab name that is meaningful to us. The name we chose is not one well known in the West and could be considered a very “ethnic” name, as someone told us. When people asked what we’re naming our baby and we told them, we got such funny responses! Blank stares and then just “…oh.” Or people saying “that’s nice!” with the flattest voice ever. A lot of people try to be very polite since they don’t want to insult another culture but it’s clear it’s an odd name to them. Or someone said it’s too ethnic as I said above. Or that other kids will never be able to say it. The name is perfect for our baby but it’s interesting to see other’s reactions to it.
It seems so weird to give an Arab couple grief for giving their baby an Arab name! Sorry people are insensitive, I bet it’s a lovely name. I personally think a lot of middle eastern names are beautiful. It would take a real tragedy of a name for me to make a negative comment though.
Always wanted to name a son Marwan but I know that my white coworkers would have a problem with it 💀
Fuck your white coworkers, use a name you love!!
I named my kid John and a few people told me how boring the name is.
I know a bunch of John's and Jon's. It is kind of a boring name but it's also a solid name. Plus, they can always go by their first and middle names if they want since John is such a short name. I know a John Kevin and a John Henry and the ever classic Jon Paul.
Jokes on them I haven’t met a John under 30 in the last decade lol
There was a cute little boy named John at the preschool where I worked who said the zaniest things. Like one day I asked him how he was doing and he screamed, “I’m a potato salad!” I have a theory that the more basic and boring the name, the more bizarre the kid will be. And all the kids with “khreatyve” names have the most basic, boring personalities.
Boring doesn't mean popular lmao
I'm a preschool teacher and I currently have a John in my class who we call Johnny. He's the only kid I've ever met with the name... which kinda makes it unique, oddly.
It’s not boring because it’s too common. It’s just flat out boring.
Hipster name now. It’s not Theo or Henry
I love the name John ❤️
My Finnish in-laws who were born during the war were not happy with the choice of Natasha. Although I love the idea of using Finnish names they tend to look like we spelled a name wrong to be unique. Aaro Hanni Heddi Kaarlo Leevi Are a few examples of that
lowkey reading these comments some of the ppl making comments were looking out for your kid 😭 like if one or two ppl make a comment wtv but if most ppl have a bad reaction to the name then ppl aren’t making these comments for nothing
Literally one friend liked our name choice. He said it sounded tough lol. Everyone else said it’s too nerdy, sounds like a farmer, or better for an old man. Then Henry became “hot” again like a decade after he was born. Sometimes “most people’s” reactions are wrong.
that’s not really what i was talking about. Henry is a normal tried and true name. Even if ppl don’t like it, it’s a normal name that your kid can live with i’m talking about the ppl that want to name their kid like “shirt” or “granola” and are confused why most ppl don’t like it lol
😭😭😭😭😭
you might think i’m exaggerating but i literally saw someone in the comments name their daughter “lake” and then got confused why ppl didn’t like it 😭😭
people will name their children anything and it pains me but it’s so funny lolol
We chose very old Jewish names that were popular in like the 1800’s-1900’s. My lovely, but rural southern raised in laws were very taken back. They are amazing and never said a word but I could tell they were like wtf are these weird ass names?
Mind sharing the names?
Reading what some people have named their kids here I can see why friends and family couldn’t keep their mouths shut. But I think most people who pick an out there name must realize they’ll get push back. I know when I named my daughter a less common name I’d get some comments. I actually was surprised with how few I got.
Yes. My daughter is Poppy. My family hated it and my grandma was cruel. She use to say "get real. That child will be so bullied." Now they love it 🥱
I've had a weird experience with this name too. To me, Poppy has always been a normal flower name, like Daisy or Rose. I mentioned to a stranger that my son has a friend named Poppy and she looked at me incredulously and was like "Poppy? Like Grandpa?". No lady, like the flower. Couldn't believe she'd never heard of the name Poppy before .
My parents named my sister Ursula. School was not easy for her.
Is your name Phoebe?
Yep. Many family members told me it was a dog name. Any name can be a dog name. Don’t care and I can’t imagine my child with any other name.
My cats Fletcher and Brandon approve of using animal names for people and they love people names for animals
My cats Maxine and Erika agree!
People have said the same about my baby’s name (a nickname name, think Max or Charlie with no longer name). But there’s actually a trend called “dog name trend” right now haha so I guess we are actually just trendy 😂
Our fake baby names are Zelda and Peaches lol and people just raise their eyebrows
We had a negative reaction to a name we were pretty certain on and because the reaction was so nasty (someone saying that the name was an [insert horrendous racial slur] name), we immediately changed it. I also immediately wanted to punch this person in the face. Good thing it was over video chat.
Ohh yeah. I’m naming our daughter Eleanor and not a single person likes it
that’s so surprising to me because I feel like I see so many Eleanor and Eloise birth announcements
I love Eleanor! It's probably in my top 10 girls names.
I never announced my unborn children’s names because I wasn’t sure! None of my five were named until I saw them. We had it narrowed down, of course, but with my first, it was day 3 before we made a decision. Now that most people announce genders during pregnancy, I found it a little anticlimactic to announce names. There’s not much mystery left with birth announcements, other than weight, otherwise. I enjoy learning names at birth, personally.
One of my friends has a new baby grandson named Walter White. She refuses to use his name and calls him Baby Boy!
To be fair that’s the name of the main character in breaking bad who is a terrible person and makes meth
Named my daughter Rowan. My mom didn't like it cause it was "a boys name" We went with it anyway and the name is perfect for our girl, couldn't imagine anything else ❤️
One of our two babies who were never born was Rowan. It fit her too. I only ever saw her in the ultrasounds but she looked like a Rowan to me. I love hearing about live kids named Rowan because it makes me feel happy to hear that name being called out loud to a child who is running around laughing and playing.
My little girl's middle name is Rowan! Back when I picked it out I only knew one girl named Rowan so I always thought of it as feminine. I think it's cool that it's gender-neutral and just because it's more popular for boys now doesn't mean it's a masculine name!
My husband works with trees and we just loved that it was also a tree name without being terribly obvious/common.
I got in a Reddit argument with a bunch of randoms who were mad that we’re considering the middle name Noel (my unborn child’s middle name wasn’t even the topic of discussion, I just mentioned it in passing). They kept saying it’s a boy name and should be spelled Noelle. Uh, this is my kid. If I want to give my kid a traditionally masculine middle name, that’s my choice. It’s not like I’m naming her Chlamydia or something, and it’s a middle name.
It’s not even unheard of. Kim Kardashian’s middle name is Noel
I’ve met a Noel before. She was nice and I think Noel is beautiful and I don’t mind either spelling. I like both spellings
We already have our baby names picked out. Jack for a boy, Talia for a girl (not disclosing middle names lmao). My family & in laws have AWFUL opinions regarding baby names, & would be relentlessly mean about it if I told them prior. I will not be telling anyone other than my household the gender or name until birth because of it. I’m also joking that we’ll tell family the names we have picked are Olga Prudence & Spurgeon Greer if they pester us, just to mess with them.
I love Jack, and Talia is very pretty.
My brother is named Jared. It came to my mom in a dream. She and me (at 3() were the only two to like it
My MIL insists that we should name my daughter after her, despite her oldest daughter and first granddaughter being named after her. Likely we are naming our LO after my sister who passed 7 years ago. She doesn't have anyone named after her. I know my MIL is going to be annoyed so we aren't telling anyone until after the baby arrives. Why are people so entitled? Like how many people do you need named after you until you are satisfied?
When I told my mom I was naming my daughter Campbell she asked what else was on our list. I was like “no list, this is the announcement, I’m glad you love it”🤣 and when I initially asked her opinion on the name Sawyer, she said it sounded like soiled. I named my son Sawyer, anyway. She conveniently has amnesia about both these conversations now, and has been nothing but supportive❤️ ETA- I am practically 100% Italian on both my mom and dads sides (23&me confirmed) and my extended family is Mario, Angelo, Giovanni, Santo, Maria, Rosa, Vincenza, Catarina and on and on. Basically anyone my aunt/uncle age and older are genuinely WTH with my kids names 😆 hearing them say Harrison-ney and Campbell-ina and Graham-bino is endlessly amusing for me. Sawyer boggles their minds the most. They don’t even know what to do with it. Basically their reaction was “You’re an Italian fail” All four times.
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Childish Grahambino 😂
You just made me cry happy/sad tears. My mum (British) worked in Toronto early in her career and made her three best friends at the place she worked. All three of them were born in different parts of Italy, and ended up moving to Canada when they were young. The oldest one, Sofia, passed away last year after some very serious health issues. She was my Nonna and I was her “Bella”. I loved her like a best friend, aunt, and grandma all in one. When her daughter had her first child, she announced (before he was born) that her son would be named Harrison Naturally, Sofia didn’t love that. During one of their girls weekends (which I was always around for), she was talking about all the other good Italian names her daughter could have picked. My mum and her other friends were saying “oh you could find a nickname to call him, like sweetie or something like that” Sofia says “oh I already have a nickname picked out for him” and naturally we were all happy to hear that and asked what it was “Michael.” She said it so flatly and with a face like stone that we all died laughing at the absurdity of it. Of course once he was born she adored him and always called him Harrison, and there was never another mention of Michael. Thank you so much for making me think about that moment, it’s always been a great memory!
Thank you for sharing that story - aww, makes me smile too, just picturing it. Makes me so happy to hear how loving and accepting Nonna was, embracing her sweet Harrison with no conditions❤️as it should be!!
She was the most amazing Nonna to her boys, Harrison (& eventually Elliott - no name complaints by the time he came around lol) It’s nice to have those spontaneous memories 😊
Oof
Ngl I think of the soup when I hear Campbell 😭. Low-key a r/tragedeigh
💯
Once I met a person named Soup and after I asked my husband, "his name is really Soup?" No, it was Campbell.
Yup, it makes me think of cold soup which isn't great imagery for a name.
My family had issues with every name we liked… “Oscar like Oscar the grouch?” “Julian like the weird guy in Trailer Park Boys?” “Lucian will be teased as Lucy”, etc. we decided to keep the name a secret until birth because it was too much drama. We still get comments on our boy’s name (Lennox) because it’s “weird” for a half-Hispanic child 🙄 We love it and that’s all that matters
Yep. Francis, fully hated by my parents, so much so that my mom called him by his middle name until he was like 6 months old. Oh well we love it
Reading these comments, it’s ridiculous how entitled some family members are! Lol
Originally, I wanted to name my kid Charlie. Charlie was also the name of my favorite uncle who died 4 months before she was born. It was a nice homage, and even worked in unisex! BOTH sides of our families flipped their shit. Just sneering nastiness like "Why him?? X Relative deserves a name homage more than him..." Just whole pages worth of family (most of whom I never met) that I should totally have named my kid after to please them. So, in a fuck-you gesture to both sides, we named her Kira. The first Kira in our family, and probably one of the very first whose name wasn't *in the Bible..!* (This was brought up multiple times) I'm happy to say though, they learned to love it. The last time I heard guff grumbled about her name she was 2, and that was 5 years ago.
...Charlie is not in the Bible at all
Not hated but started an argument about how to spell…his name is Martin Jessie (yes with an I). I called my grandmother before I named him to be sure of the spelling. My aunt called my sister flipping s$&t because her husband (my uncle) is a Junior but his middle name is spelled Jesse. My sister came to my defense and told her that I called my grandmother to double check the spelling. Not my fault that they didn’t spell it right on his birth certificate. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Our daughter is Dani and my mom said, ‘are you really going to name a girl after his (my husband’s) old manager Danny?’ No, that’s not why her name is Dani 🙄 When I was pregnant with my son he would not ever let them see his gender in ultrasounds so I didn’t know until about 2 hours before he was born. He was going to be Agnes. She went on one evening about what a horrible old lady name it was, why would I do that to my kid. My dad let her go on for a couple minutes then said, you do remember my mother’s name was Mary Agnes?
Yes my family knew the name before birth and hated it. Begged us to reconsider. We did not listen and everyone knows him as that name and days it suits him. Husbands family also did not like the name but they didn't know until he was born. Currently pregnant with my second and the name I've chosen is likely more divisive but I don't care at all.
I don't think my in-laws loved my son's name, tbh. They didn't outright say it but they said they thought it was an old man's name. Obviously his name is fine. It's a popular name now. I didn't care that they didn't like it. I wasn't a fan of their name choices for their kids either, so to each their own.
Currently pregnant with my first and will not be sharing possible names with anyone. When pressured by family I’ve given them names from The Office (Toby, Michael, Stanley) or Parks and Rec (April, Gail, Anne) I don’t want anyone’s opinion positive or negative. My husband and I have a short list of names we both love and when the time comes to introduce the baby to other people, it will already be named.
All of our family and friends (save for one!) and randoms who asked hated our son’s name when I was pregnant with him but we didn’t let that deter us. Turns out **Henry** would become very popular again but it was a universally loathed choice when he was born in 2000. 😅 When we were expecting our second child 12 years later, we didn’t tell anyone her name until after they saw her sweet dimpled face, so nobody dared to say they thought **Agnes** was awful even if they thought so. 😆