Author Topic: Baby name  (Read 10340 times)

RetiredAt63

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #50 on: June 05, 2021, 07:48:45 AM »
Addy is actually a short form for Adele as well as Addison.  Just popping that in here.  Adele is a nice name, and great for when she spends a year in Paris.   ;-)

shelivesthedream

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #51 on: June 05, 2021, 02:10:04 PM »
How long is too long to ever be used, though? I have a name about as complex as Eleanor and am always called the equivalent of Ellie, except by doctors etc. I've loved having "Eleanor" available as a professional name to use when it suits me.

But I'm pretty sure we're not going to be calling our daughter Genevieve because it's just a hard name to live with, even though I love it.

Metalcat

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #52 on: June 05, 2021, 02:33:33 PM »
How long is too long to ever be used, though? I have a name about as complex as Eleanor and am always called the equivalent of Ellie, except by doctors etc. I've loved having "Eleanor" available as a professional name to use when it suits me.

But I'm pretty sure we're not going to be calling our daughter Genevieve because it's just a hard name to live with, even though I love it.

It's not that names are too long to be used, it's that if you fully intend to use a shortened version, then it's unlikely that they will ever use their full name, especially women for some reason. That's all I'm saying.

I can't tell you how many middle aged colleagues I've known who are Katie, Jenny, Janey, Ellie, Becky, Genie, Debbie, Kristy, Izzy, Allie, Patti, Danni, Vicky, Terri, Gabbi, etc, etc. Again, there's nothing wrong with that, my point is just that I know a lot of parents who fall in love with these elegant multisyllabic names that their kid literally never ends up identifying with.

Again, nothing wrong with it, they just shouldn't expect that their kid will ever transition into Deborah after growing up Debbie.

SunnyDays

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #53 on: June 05, 2021, 03:10:56 PM »
I wonder if all the y/ie versions of female names is somehow attempts at infantilizing grown women?  (How many Peteys, Daveys, Joeys and Mattys do you know?)  Somehow, it just takes authority and credibility away from females.

Imma

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #54 on: June 05, 2021, 03:15:02 PM »
How long is too long to ever be used, though? I have a name about as complex as Eleanor and am always called the equivalent of Ellie, except by doctors etc. I've loved having "Eleanor" available as a professional name to use when it suits me.

But I'm pretty sure we're not going to be calling our daughter Genevieve because it's just a hard name to live with, even though I love it.

It's not that names are too long to be used, it's that if you fully intend to use a shortened version, then it's unlikely that they will ever use their full name, especially women for some reason. That's all I'm saying.

I can't tell you how many middle aged colleagues I've known who are Katie, Jenny, Janey, Ellie, Becky, Genie, Debbie, Kristy, Izzy, Allie, Patti, Danni, Vicky, Terri, Gabbi, etc, etc. Again, there's nothing wrong with that, my point is just that I know a lot of parents who fall in love with these elegant multisyllabic names that their kid literally never ends up identifying with.

Again, nothing wrong with it, they just shouldn't expect that their kid will ever transition into Deborah after growing up Debbie.

I guess I'm the exception then? I have a bog standard 1980s name, say "Jennifer" and I grew up as "Jenny". In private I'm now "Jen" but I love that at work I'm actually "Jennifer". And my schoolfriend Chrissy is now Christina (on her LinkedIn page at least, not sure what she uses in private) although the other Chrissy in our class I think has remained a Chrissy.

My actual name was used for a character in an ad campaign for years so people really associate it with a little girl.  My full name is still a pretty boring standard name but at least it's an adult name. I grew up with a girl who was officially called "Jenny" and she doesn't really have the option of switching to a grown-up name - although I went to school with a "Patty" who is now known as "Pat". But it's awkward that she's "Patty" on her paperwork and has to correct the doctor/dentist/whatever that's she's actually "Pat" now.

I agree with you @SunnyDays . It's one of my pet peeves that so many grown-up women still use childish nicknames. It doesn't really happen like that for men. No matter how many times I introduce myself as "Jennifer" some people are still going to call me "Jenny". Within the circle of friends and families, nicknames are a token of affection, and my parents will always probably always call me "Jenny", but I really don't appreciate when I introduce myself as "Jennifer" and the other person says "hey Jen, nice to meet you!". I can't imagine that happening if a man in a suit and tie introduces himself as William.

@shelivesthedream I think it's still pretty common for Catholics to name a child after that day's saint, at least where I'm from it is. I like that tradition. That's how one of my family members ended up being called Dionysius....  If your baby is born on a day that would force you to call him/her Habakkuk or something, maybe there's a patron saint of your city or another significant saint you could name them after? One of my family members is named after a saint the parents prayed to when his mother was pregnant and struggling. In my line of work, I have to sign certain documents with my full name, so I know all of my coworkers' full names. One has several long silly middle names. That's something to think about before you call your kid Emma Pippilotta Viktualia Johnson :)

RetiredAt63

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #55 on: June 05, 2021, 04:57:16 PM »
Imma, I  know a Barbara who defends it.  No matter how casual the situation, she is Barbara, not Barb or Barbra.  Good for her. And Barb is a lot less juvenile than Barbie (OMG, can any of us imagine being Barbies? SHUDDER).

She lives the dream, Genevieve is a lovely name.  But I grew up in Quebec, and Genevieve and Danielle and Marie-Claire and Marianne all sound fine to me.

SunnyDays

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #56 on: June 05, 2021, 07:23:41 PM »
Imma, I  know a Barbara who defends it.  No matter how casual the situation, she is Barbara, not Barb or Barbra.  Good for her. And Barb is a lot less juvenile than Barbie (OMG, can any of us imagine being Barbies? SHUDDER).

She lives the dream, Genevieve is a lovely name.  But I grew up in Quebec, and Genevieve and Danielle and Marie-Claire and Marianne all sound fine to me.


I like Genevieve too, but only if it's pronounced the French way.  Come to think of it, everything sounds better in French!

RetiredAt63

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #57 on: June 05, 2021, 07:39:39 PM »
Imma, I  know a Barbara who defends it.  No matter how casual the situation, she is Barbara, not Barb or Barbra.  Good for her. And Barb is a lot less juvenile than Barbie (OMG, can any of us imagine being Barbies? SHUDDER).

She lives the dream, Genevieve is a lovely name.  But I grew up in Quebec, and Genevieve and Danielle and Marie-Claire and Marianne all sound fine to me.


I like Genevieve too, but only if it's pronounced the French way.  Come to think of it, everything sounds better in French!

I hear the French pronunciation  in my head, I had to think of the English alternative.   "Geneveev"?   Definitely not as nice.  Danielle is the same in both, non?

Metalcat

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #58 on: June 05, 2021, 08:00:21 PM »
Imma, I  know a Barbara who defends it.  No matter how casual the situation, she is Barbara, not Barb or Barbra.  Good for her. And Barb is a lot less juvenile than Barbie (OMG, can any of us imagine being Barbies? SHUDDER).

She lives the dream, Genevieve is a lovely name.  But I grew up in Quebec, and Genevieve and Danielle and Marie-Claire and Marianne all sound fine to me.


I like Genevieve too, but only if it's pronounced the French way.  Come to think of it, everything sounds better in French!

Noooo, no this is not true. Not all French is pretty.

Morning Glory

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #59 on: June 05, 2021, 11:52:47 PM »
I wonder if all the y/ie versions of female names is somehow attempts at infantilizing grown women?  (How many Peteys, Daveys, Joeys and Mattys do you know?)  Somehow, it just takes authority and credibility away from females.

My real name is one of those uber-feminine ie/y names, and doesn't lend itself to a good nickname either. I've always sort of hated it 

There was a book I loved called "Egalia's Daughters" that played with the gender/name issue among other things.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #60 on: June 06, 2021, 04:33:30 AM »
@Malcat I don't mean that having a formal name is nice because you can transition to it when you're older. I've never transitioned to "Eleanor". In person, people always call me "Ellie". Although curiously, even though the real version has an "-ie" ending, I don't think it sounds little-girl-diminutive the way Ellie does. Maybe I'm just biased, though!

What I mean is that it's nice to get it out as and when you want it. I worked in a creative field and was always credited as "Eleanor Dream" rather than "Ellie Dream", even though day to day on the project I was called Ellie. If I ever run for office it would be as Eleanor. Maybe Theresa May was always called Teddy at home, but I think that would have been a harder election to win!

---

@Imma There's always a choice of names as there are so many saints, but some of them are nuttier than others! Tbh, now we've had two who are named after a birthday saint, I think we'd just roll with it now! Genevieve Habbakuk Dream, anyone?!

---

@SunnyDays @RetiredAt63 This is just why we decided against it! It's neither common nor simple, so she'd forever be correcting pronunciation and spelling it out multiple times. Our first two might not be all that common, but they are very simple. 6-7 letters, very phonetic spelling. No risk of "Jean-viyve? Jenny-viv? Jen-ee-vee...uh... something?"

RetiredAt63

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #61 on: June 06, 2021, 04:36:22 AM »
I wonder if all the y/ie versions of female names is somehow attempts at infantilizing grown women?  (How many Peteys, Daveys, Joeys and Mattys do you know?)  Somehow, it just takes authority and credibility away from females.

I'm sure many of them were Jimmy, Davey, Joey etc. when they were little.  But boys seem to shed the diminutive ending sometime in their teens while girls mostly don't.  Is it that we just go along with what we were always called?  Or do others actively resist any change?  Or both? Or something else?  Do our names make it too easy to use a diminuitive and too hard to use the full name?  Hmm, I see a Ph. D. thesis here for an aspiring young social science student.    ;-)

partgypsy

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #62 on: June 06, 2021, 06:19:01 AM »
My initial reaction was "ack no".

But it is not terrible, just a little too alliterative for my taste.

but she could be a dc character (though 2 L names would be even better).

partgypsy

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #63 on: June 06, 2021, 06:29:50 AM »
Why can't you talk to people about baby names in real life?

There's a hater for every name. For all sorts of reasons. I hate some names because they remind me of mean girls at school - nothing wrong with the actual name, just my personal associations. If it's one you're seriously considering, you might end up using it. Then you'll forever know that that friend or family member hates the name you called your kid.

We announced our firm chosen name for our firstborn while I was pregnant and my mother hated on it and tried to persuade me to change it. Then said we should give him a "normal" middle name so he could use it when he grew up and inevitably wanted to change his name. Uh, no, this is our firm chosen name and we were telling you, not asking you. So now every time my mother says his name, I'm reminded that she hates it. Learned her fucking lesson there though - not a peep out of her when we announced our secondborn's name before she was born.

(We like to find out boy/girl so we can name our children early and start using their name while they're in the womb, so we basically committed firmly by 21 weeks each time. It just feels nice to us. I know some people have a few names on a shortlist and like to see what the baby looks like first. YMMV. But don't tell anyone until you are CERTAIN you have named the baby.)

Oh yeah. If you talk to too many people, all of your names will end up being ruled out, and you will be stuck! A funny (but maybe not at the time story), a family member in Greece gave birth to a male child and they were having the baptism and naming of the child. They had picked out a name X, but great grandmother disapproved of the choice, said the child needed to be named Y for some burning reason. The reception afterwards was to be at her house. After the couple walked out the front door of the house, great grandmother ran around, locked the doors of the house, and yelled through the window, that she wasn't going to let anyone into the reception, unless they named the child Y! So, they gave in. They named the child Y, with middle name X. And just called him his middle name his entire life. 
« Last Edit: June 06, 2021, 06:39:04 AM by partgypsy »

chaskavitch

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #64 on: June 06, 2021, 07:49:16 AM »
I love the name Evelyn.  I'm not sure why we discarded it for our daughter, but I'm sure we had a reason at the time :)

Our daughter is Saoirse Lane (last name).  We couldn't decide between Katherine and Saoirse until after she was born and we were like "We really need to pick now!"  I love the way it looks, and I love the way it sounds, but they just don't match (see also, Saoirse Ronan's SNL skit about herself - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xCr6IQtYqk)  Sometimes I regret it, and sometimes I'm sure it will be fine.  She's only 2, so she has no opinions about it yet :)  On the other hand, we live in a city of 165,000 people, and there are at least 4 other Saoirses under the age of 6 who live here, so at least she's not alone.

Good luck.  Baby names are so hard.  Also, if you name her something and it just doesn't fit once you start using it, you CAN change it very easily within the first year or so.  It wouldn't be the end of the world.

ETA - Her only nickname is basically "Sursh", which is hideous to spell, but we usually call her Saoirse. 
« Last Edit: June 06, 2021, 09:07:25 AM by chaskavitch »

Dicey

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #65 on: June 06, 2021, 08:58:29 AM »
Grandbaby the first has a three syllable first and last name. It promptly got shortened to the first two letters of her first name. Grandbaby the second got a one syllable first name. Lesson learned.

I used to work with a guy named Don Kool. Easiest named her  to say, spell and remember .

Speaking of alliteration, my maiden name begins with a hard consonant pairing. One brother got a first name with the same pairing, which somehow makes it easier to say.

Also, the way names are shortened changes with time. Christopher's nicknames have morphed from Chris to Kit or Topher. And Andrew has become Drew more than Andy. I've recently heard "Adda" instead of Addy.

SunnyDays

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #66 on: June 06, 2021, 09:16:49 AM »
I love the name Evelyn.  I'm not sure why we discarded it for our daughter, but I'm sure we had a reason at the time :)

Our daughter is Saoirse Lane (last name).  We couldn't decide between Katherine and Saoirse until after she was born and we were like "We really need to pick now!"  I love the way it looks, and I love the way it sounds, but they just don't match (see also, Saoirse Ronan's SNL skit about herself - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xCr6IQtYqk)  Sometimes I regret it, and sometimes I'm sure it will be fine.  She's only 2, so she has no opinions about it yet :)  On the other hand, we live in a city of 165,000 people, and there are at least 4 other Saoirses under the age of 6 who live here, so at least she's not alone.

Good luck.  Baby names are so hard.  Also, if you name her something and it just doesn't fit once you start using it, you CAN change it very easily within the first year or so.  It wouldn't be the end of the world.

ETA - Her only nickname is basically "Sursh", which is hideous to spell, but we usually call her Saoirse. 

My 2 cents?  Saoirse sounds nice (isn't it pronounced Seer-sha?), but outside of Ireland, most people will never have heard the name, won't know how to spell it or pronounce it.  So she will spend her whole life spelling it out and telling people how to say it.  And mostly will be called Source or Sourcee by strangers.  Like you said, still time to change it!  How about Sasha?  But you might not want to listen to me, because I hate "Evelyn."

SunnyDays

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #67 on: June 06, 2021, 09:29:17 AM »
Imma, I  know a Barbara who defends it.  No matter how casual the situation, she is Barbara, not Barb or Barbra.  Good for her. And Barb is a lot less juvenile than Barbie (OMG, can any of us imagine being Barbies? SHUDDER).

She lives the dream, Genevieve is a lovely name.  But I grew up in Quebec, and Genevieve and Danielle and Marie-Claire and Marianne all sound fine to me.


I like Genevieve too, but only if it's pronounced the French way.  Come to think of it, everything sounds better in French!

I hear the French pronunciation  in my head, I had to think of the English alternative.   "Geneveev"?   Definitely not as nice.  Danielle is the same in both, non?

Yeah, in English, it would be "Geneveev."  Oui, "Danielle" est le meme chose dans les deux langues.  But the clipped way of saying it in French sounds better than the English dragged out way.

I think boys shed the childish version of their name sooner than girls because they know it makes them sound more mature.  Girls are conditioned by society to remain immature.  Not so long ago, we were considered the property of men (in many countries, this is still the case) and had no rights.  Maybe our only source of security was to trigger the protective instinct of men by being babyish.  Like you say, there are lots of possible theses around this topic.  (Don't even get me started on high pitched voices - have you listened to female newscasters?  Ugh.  Most make me think of Mini Mouse.)

shelivesthedream

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #68 on: June 06, 2021, 10:08:57 AM »
I love the name Evelyn.  I'm not sure why we discarded it for our daughter, but I'm sure we had a reason at the time :)

Our daughter is Saoirse Lane (last name).  We couldn't decide between Katherine and Saoirse until after she was born and we were like "We really need to pick now!"  I love the way it looks, and I love the way it sounds, but they just don't match (see also, Saoirse Ronan's SNL skit about herself - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xCr6IQtYqk)  Sometimes I regret it, and sometimes I'm sure it will be fine.  She's only 2, so she has no opinions about it yet :)  On the other hand, we live in a city of 165,000 people, and there are at least 4 other Saoirses under the age of 6 who live here, so at least she's not alone.

Good luck.  Baby names are so hard.  Also, if you name her something and it just doesn't fit once you start using it, you CAN change it very easily within the first year or so.  It wouldn't be the end of the world.

ETA - Her only nickname is basically "Sursh", which is hideous to spell, but we usually call her Saoirse. 

My 2 cents?  Saoirse sounds nice (isn't it pronounced Seer-sha?), but outside of Ireland, most people will never have heard the name, won't know how to spell it or pronounce it.  So she will spend her whole life spelling it out and telling people how to say it.  And mostly will be called Source or Sourcee by strangers.  Like you said, still time to change it!  How about Sasha?  But you might not want to listen to me, because I hate "Evelyn."

My tuppence? Chaskavitch was telling you what their toddler's name is, not asking for suggestions. How about not saying anything at all if you can't say anything nice?

shelivesthedream

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #69 on: June 06, 2021, 10:12:05 AM »
Oh yeah. If you talk to too many people, all of your names will end up being ruled out, and you will be stuck! A funny (but maybe not at the time story), a family member in Greece gave birth to a male child and they were having the baptism and naming of the child. They had picked out a name X, but great grandmother disapproved of the choice, said the child needed to be named Y for some burning reason. The reception afterwards was to be at her house. After the couple walked out the front door of the house, great grandmother ran around, locked the doors of the house, and yelled through the window, that she wasn't going to let anyone into the reception, unless they named the child Y! So, they gave in. They named the child Y, with middle name X. And just called him his middle name his entire life.

Totally facepalmed at this! I really really super duper do not get the thing where you give your name-you-100%-plan-to-use-in-daily-life as a middle name. My friends did it with both of their kids and I just think, why not swap the names round? But they moved back to America and I know it's more common there, so I guess it won't be the problem it would have been over here. When I encounter people who use their middle names, I always think, "Whoa, what happened with your first name that you can't use it any more?!"

Imma

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #70 on: June 06, 2021, 10:22:55 AM »
Imma, I  know a Barbara who defends it.  No matter how casual the situation, she is Barbara, not Barb or Barbra.  Good for her. And Barb is a lot less juvenile than Barbie (OMG, can any of us imagine being Barbies? SHUDDER).

She lives the dream, Genevieve is a lovely name.  But I grew up in Quebec, and Genevieve and Danielle and Marie-Claire and Marianne all sound fine to me.


I like Genevieve too, but only if it's pronounced the French way.  Come to think of it, everything sounds better in French!

I hear the French pronunciation  in my head, I had to think of the English alternative.   "Geneveev"?   Definitely not as nice.  Danielle is the same in both, non?

Yeah, in English, it would be "Geneveev."  Oui, "Danielle" est le meme chose dans les deux langues.  But the clipped way of saying it in French sounds better than the English dragged out way.

I think boys shed the childish version of their name sooner than girls because they know it makes them sound more mature.  Girls are conditioned by society to remain immature.  Not so long ago, we were considered the property of men (in many countries, this is still the case) and had no rights.  Maybe our only source of security was to trigger the protective instinct of men by being babyish.  Like you say, there are lots of possible theses around this topic.  (Don't even get me started on high pitched voices - have you listened to female newscasters?  Ugh.  Most make me think of Mini Mouse.)

I think it's not just the boys themselves, I think adults also find it somehow weird to call a tall teenager bigger than themselves "Freddy" but as girls and women are cute and immature, they can keep the cutesy nicknames forever. My brother "William" was "Billy" until he was about the age he learned to read and write, then "Bill," and he informed us in highschool that he was now "William". Everyone accepted that. It was also a natural progression for me as by that time he was a couple of heads taller than me. That was also the time I switched from introducing him as my "little brother" to my "brother". No one in my family will ever call me "Jennifer" but at least they've switched to "Jen" now.

My great grandmother, raised in the days when she was the property of a man. She had earned some money pre-marriage, got married to a decent enough man by the standards of those days as he didn't drink, gamble or beat her, and a short time later he announced he had bought a family home that she hadn't even seen before in an area that he knew she didn't like, using her money as the downpayment, and this was totally normal and accepted and within his rights as a husband. She always used to say that she hated that no one called her by her name anymore after her own mother and sister had died. Everyone called her Mother (including her husband) or Mrs. Johnson - which technically wasn't even her own name of course.  She felt very dehumanized and wished someone would just call her Martha. Many Patty's, Annie's, Terry's, Carrie's and Debby's saw that happening to their own mothers and maybe they figured they were lucky enough that they at least got to keep a name. My MIL got rid of her y-name when she divorced and got her maiden name back, so she went from "Debby" Hisname to "Deb" Maidenname (not Deborah). I think that's not uncommon, many women experience their divorce as an emancipation.

@chaskavitch I actually love Irish names! I think Saoirse is well-known enough that many people will recognize it. They won't be able to spell it but then I've had to spell "Jennifer" about a million times and people still get it wrong. There are probably people that can't spell John or Mary.

iluvzbeach

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #71 on: June 06, 2021, 10:40:53 AM »
Along the lines of cutesy abbreviations of female names and how it can seem immature as we become adults, it drives me insane when women running for political office use just their first names on political signs. For example, in big letters, “Debbie” for such and such office. It feels like they are running for some type of sorority or homecoming position. You’d never see a man running for a political office position just put “Bob” on the sign. Men use their last names, such as “Smith” or “Bob Smith” for (insert position name here.)

I know this has nothing to do with the OPs original question and probably belongs on the words/phrases thread instead, but I couldn’t resist sharing my thoughts here while we’re having similar discussions.

oldladystache

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #72 on: June 06, 2021, 11:39:31 AM »
My first name ends with a vowel and my original last name began with a consonant. That works. After marriage my new last name began with vowel. It flows better with vowel-consonant or consonant-vowel rather than vowel-vowel or consonant-consonant.

In my opinion.

I'd go back to using my original name but everyone knows me by my married name so it isn't worth the trouble of changing it back.

Dicey

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #73 on: June 06, 2021, 01:06:44 PM »
Oh yeah. If you talk to too many people, all of your names will end up being ruled out, and you will be stuck! A funny (but maybe not at the time story), a family member in Greece gave birth to a male child and they were having the baptism and naming of the child. They had picked out a name X, but great grandmother disapproved of the choice, said the child needed to be named Y for some burning reason. The reception afterwards was to be at her house. After the couple walked out the front door of the house, great grandmother ran around, locked the doors of the house, and yelled through the window, that she wasn't going to let anyone into the reception, unless they named the child Y! So, they gave in. They named the child Y, with middle name X. And just called him his middle name his entire life.

Totally facepalmed at this! I really really super duper do not get the thing where you give your name-you-100%-plan-to-use-in-daily-life as a middle name. My friends did it with both of their kids and I just think, why not swap the names round? But they moved back to America and I know it's more common there, so I guess it won't be the problem it would have been over here. When I encounter people who use their middle names, I always think, "Whoa, what happened with your first name that you can't use it any more?!"
My grandmother was Mary. Her daughter was Mary Ann and went by both names. Her daughter (my sister) was Mary (different middle name that started with A). My sister has gone by her middle name her whole life. It was thought to be a way to honor the generations with less confusion.

I'd go back to using my original name but everyone knows me by my married name so it isn't worth the trouble of changing it back.
Lol, I wasn't given a middle name at birth, so I use my maiden name as my middle name. It's at the beginning of the alphabet. My married name is at the end of the alphabet. I joke if I want iwhatever it is they're handing out, I use my maiden name. If I don't, I use my married name.
« Last Edit: June 06, 2021, 08:32:13 PM by Dicey »

ender

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #74 on: June 06, 2021, 01:19:41 PM »
Imma, I  know a Barbara who defends it.  No matter how casual the situation, she is Barbara, not Barb or Barbra.  Good for her. And Barb is a lot less juvenile than Barbie (OMG, can any of us imagine being Barbies? SHUDDER).

My wife has a similar name where she always uses the long name and corrects people who abbreviate it.

Which is basically everyone she interacts with..

shelivesthedream

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #75 on: June 06, 2021, 01:20:25 PM »
Quote
There are probably people that can't spell John or Mary.

Sorry, did you mean people who can't spell Jon or Marie? ;)

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #76 on: June 06, 2021, 01:24:45 PM »
Quote
There are probably people that can't spell John or Mary.

Sorry, did you mean people who can't spell Jon or Marie? ;)

Who could fuck up spelling Jahn or Meri?

RetiredAt63

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #77 on: June 06, 2021, 01:52:48 PM »
Quote
There are probably people that can't spell John or Mary.

Sorry, did you mean people who can't spell Jon or Marie? ;)

Who could fuck up spelling Jahn or Meri?

Ian, Jan and Mhari   ;-)

teen persuasion

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #78 on: June 06, 2021, 01:58:46 PM »
Oh yeah. If you talk to too many people, all of your names will end up being ruled out, and you will be stuck! A funny (but maybe not at the time story), a family member in Greece gave birth to a male child and they were having the baptism and naming of the child. They had picked out a name X, but great grandmother disapproved of the choice, said the child needed to be named Y for some burning reason. The reception afterwards was to be at her house. After the couple walked out the front door of the house, great grandmother ran around, locked the doors of the house, and yelled through the window, that she wasn't going to let anyone into the reception, unless they named the child Y! So, they gave in. They named the child Y, with middle name X. And just called him his middle name his entire life.

Totally facepalmed at this! I really really super duper do not get the thing where you give your name-you-100%-plan-to-use-in-daily-life as a middle name. My friends did it with both of their kids and I just think, why not swap the names round? But they moved back to America and I know it's more common there, so I guess it won't be the problem it would have been over here. When I encounter people who use their middle names, I always think, "Whoa, what happened with your first name that you can't use it any more?!"
My grandmother was Mary. Her daughter was Mary Ann and went by both names. Her daughter (my sister) was Mary (different middle name that started with A). My sister has gone by her middle name her whole life. It was thought to be a way to honor the generations with less confusion.

I'd go back to using my original name but everyone knows me by my married name so it isn't worth the trouble of changing it back.
Lol, I wasn't given a middle name at birth, so I use my maiden name as my middle name. It's at the beginning of the alphabet. My married name is at the end of the alphabet. I joke if I want it whatever it is they're handing out, I use my maiden name. If I don't, I use my married name.
DH's family uses the same first name over and over, but different middle names.  His father has the name.  The first born son had the name, but died in infancy.  DH was adopted, and also given the same first name, but was called by his different middle name (first born son was Little <Dad's name>).  DH got tired of explaining about the first/middle switcheroo to employers for official documents, so switched back to first name as an adult, but still uses middle name with family and older friends. 

Our oldest son also has first name, uses middle name (different, again).  He sometimes uses a concatenated version of the first syllable of each name.

A generation or two back in one branch of the family, ALL the males were given the same first name with unique middle names - which is what they were known by, of course.  There were like 7 of them!



About the maiden name as middle, and optionality - my maiden name is at the end of the alphabet, and no one knows how to spell it after hearing it.  I can remember my father using my mother's maiden name when ordering pizza - easier to spell, say.  Mom changed her middle name to be her maiden name.  When I married, I followed suit.  I wanted to keep my rather unique maiden name in addition to my married name (which moved me up closer to the beginning of the alphabet, shorter name).  I also liked the unique combo of my initials, which I'd lose w/o maiden name.

Spelling/pronunciation is still an issue, though.   At least DH and i reverted to the French pronunciation, versus the hideous mangling English speakers try to force it into.

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #79 on: June 06, 2021, 03:01:24 PM »
Oh yeah. If you talk to too many people, all of your names will end up being ruled out, and you will be stuck! A funny (but maybe not at the time story), a family member in Greece gave birth to a male child and they were having the baptism and naming of the child. They had picked out a name X, but great grandmother disapproved of the choice, said the child needed to be named Y for some burning reason. The reception afterwards was to be at her house. After the couple walked out the front door of the house, great grandmother ran around, locked the doors of the house, and yelled through the window, that she wasn't going to let anyone into the reception, unless they named the child Y! So, they gave in. They named the child Y, with middle name X. And just called him his middle name his entire life.

Totally facepalmed at this! I really really super duper do not get the thing where you give your name-you-100%-plan-to-use-in-daily-life as a middle name. My friends did it with both of their kids and I just think, why not swap the names round? But they moved back to America and I know it's more common there, so I guess it won't be the problem it would have been over here. When I encounter people who use their middle names, I always think, "Whoa, what happened with your first name that you can't use it any more?!"
My grandmother was Mary. Her daughter was Mary Ann and went by both names. Her daughter (my sister) was Mary (different middle name that started with A). My sister has gone by her middle name her whole life. It was thought to be a way to honor the generations with less confusion.

I'd go back to using my original name but everyone knows me by my married name so it isn't worth the trouble of changing it back.
Lol, I wasn't given a middle name at birth, so I use my maiden name as my middle name. It's at the beginning of the alphabet. My married name is at the end of the alphabet. I joke if I want it whatever it is they're handing out, I use my maiden name. If I don't, I use my married name.
DH's family uses the same first name over and over, but different middle names.  His father has the name.  The first born son had the name, but died in infancy.  DH was adopted, and also given the same first name, but was called by his different middle name (first born son was Little <Dad's name>).  DH got tired of explaining about the first/middle switcheroo to employers for official documents, so switched back to first name as an adult, but still uses middle name with family and older friends. 

Our oldest son also has first name, uses middle name (different, again).  He sometimes uses a concatenated version of the first syllable of each name.

A generation or two back in one branch of the family, ALL the males were given the same first name with unique middle names - which is what they were known by, of course.  There were like 7 of them!



About the maiden name as middle, and optionality - my maiden name is at the end of the alphabet, and no one knows how to spell it after hearing it.  I can remember my father using my mother's maiden name when ordering pizza - easier to spell, say.  Mom changed her middle name to be her maiden name.  When I married, I followed suit.  I wanted to keep my rather unique maiden name in addition to my married name (which moved me up closer to the beginning of the alphabet, shorter name).  I also liked the unique combo of my initials, which I'd lose w/o maiden name.

Spelling/pronunciation is still an issue, though.   At least DH and i reverted to the French pronunciation, versus the hideous mangling English speakers try to force it into.

I think part of the issue with the naming  (my Dad is no longer around so I can't get the details...) is that there was a convention that the first born son of each generation, alternates between one of two names. Say George and Tassos. Anyways this man was married, his wife died, he remarried, so some sons were from the first wife some from the 2nd wife... anyways all I know from my Dad's stories, and personal experience is, don't mess with yiayia! If it is something she feels strongly about, if you cross her you will pay for it!
 

Imma

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #80 on: June 06, 2021, 03:47:23 PM »
Quote
There are probably people that can't spell John or Mary.

Sorry, did you mean people who can't spell Jon or Marie? ;)

Who could fuck up spelling Jahn or Meri?

Ian, Jan and Mhari   ;-)

I have actually met a person called Jhon. I'm in a non-English speaking country, but English names are very trendy. Jhon's parents probably did not speak a word of English.

I'm personally not a fan of English names, at least, not in a non-English speaking country. Some decades ago Jack was a popular name (pronounced similar to Jacques in French) then came John (pronounced a bit like the 'jon' part of Dijon like the mustard) all boys in my generation were called Kevin, Michael, Patrick and Wesley,  and these days the popular English names are Liam, James and Mason. All boys' names now I think of it. Of course, boys are cooler than girls. Girls need elegant long French names.

The birth of baby Sussex was announced a couple of hours ago and it's a girl called Lili, full name Lilibet Diana, little sister of Archie Harrison. So both of the kids have official names that are actually cutesy nicknames that end on an ie/y sound. Not a fan of either name, although Lilibet is worse than Archie. At least Archie is a name. Lilibet is apparantly the Queen's nickname, but I wouldn't want to be called Lilibet on my birth certificate and my gut feeling is the Queen is happy to be called Elizabeth on hers too! I guess odd nicknames is what the upper classes do but usually they don't put them in writing.

The alternative for Archie, Archibald, would maybe sound a bit odd and oldfashioned, but Elizabeth sounds classic and timeless to me.

GuitarStv

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #81 on: June 06, 2021, 03:53:11 PM »
Imma, I  know a Barbara who defends it.  No matter how casual the situation, she is Barbara, not Barb or Barbra.  Good for her. And Barb is a lot less juvenile than Barbie (OMG, can any of us imagine being Barbies? SHUDDER).

She lives the dream, Genevieve is a lovely name.  But I grew up in Quebec, and Genevieve and Danielle and Marie-Claire and Marianne all sound fine to me.


I like Genevieve too, but only if it's pronounced the French way.  Come to think of it, everything sounds better in French!

Noooo, no this is not true. Not all French is pretty.

Ah . . . I see someone has been to Quebec.

Metalcat

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #82 on: June 06, 2021, 04:12:51 PM »
Imma, I  know a Barbara who defends it.  No matter how casual the situation, she is Barbara, not Barb or Barbra.  Good for her. And Barb is a lot less juvenile than Barbie (OMG, can any of us imagine being Barbies? SHUDDER).

She lives the dream, Genevieve is a lovely name.  But I grew up in Quebec, and Genevieve and Danielle and Marie-Claire and Marianne all sound fine to me.


I like Genevieve too, but only if it's pronounced the French way.  Come to think of it, everything sounds better in French!

Noooo, no this is not true. Not all French is pretty.

Ah . . . I see someone has been to Quebec.

I grew up in Quebec, but there are also some accents in France that are not so lovely. There are some south of France accents that are haaaaarsh.

use2betrix

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #83 on: June 06, 2021, 06:49:15 PM »
My wife and I always agreed for years that If we had a daughter we’d name her Penelope, and would then likely go by Penny or Nellie.

Of course, when this was mentioned to her aunt a while back, she promptly named her dog that a few months later.

My wife is now 8 months pregnant with our first (a girl) so we had to find a good backup.

Aside from a handful of people, we haven’t revealed the gender or name and don’t plant to. I’d say that 95% of people all think it’s a boy. We tell them we have no idea.

Dave1442397

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #84 on: June 06, 2021, 06:57:35 PM »
My wife and I always agreed for years that If we had a daughter we’d name her Penelope, and would then likely go by Penny or Nellie.

Of course, when this was mentioned to her aunt a while back, she promptly named her dog that a few months later.

My wife is now 8 months pregnant with our first (a girl) so we had to find a good backup.

Aside from a handful of people, we haven’t revealed the gender or name and don’t plant to. I’d say that 95% of people all think it’s a boy. We tell them we have no idea.

There's no way in hell I'd give up on a name because her aunt used it on a dog. Let her change the dog's name!

wageslave23

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #85 on: June 06, 2021, 09:18:19 PM »
My wife and I always agreed for years that If we had a daughter we’d name her Penelope, and would then likely go by Penny or Nellie.

Of course, when this was mentioned to her aunt a while back, she promptly named her dog that a few months later.

My wife is now 8 months pregnant with our first (a girl) so we had to find a good backup.

Aside from a handful of people, we haven’t revealed the gender or name and don’t plant to. I’d say that 95% of people all think it’s a boy. We tell them we have no idea.

There's no way in hell I'd give up on a name because her aunt used it on a dog. Let her change the dog's name!

The dog will be dead in 10-15 yrs. I'd go with the name you want.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #86 on: June 07, 2021, 02:02:07 AM »
Quote
A generation or two back in one branch of the family, ALL the males were given the same first name with unique middle names - which is what they were known by, of course.  There were like 7 of them!

The mind boggles! Didn't George Foreman call all his kids George Foreman? I just put it down as "American cultural thing" in my mind, like how Chinese first names and surnames are the other way around from ours. But doing it on purpose is still as weird to me as if an English person called themselves Dream Eleanor rather than Eleanor Dream. The only English people I've met who go by their middles names do so because they hate their first name for a Reason.

former player

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #87 on: June 07, 2021, 02:07:59 AM »
I think part of the issue with the naming  (my Dad is no longer around so I can't get the details...) is that there was a convention that the first born son of each generation, alternates between one of two names. Say George and Tassos. Anyways this man was married, his wife died, he remarried, so some sons were from the first wife some from the 2nd wife... anyways all I know from my Dad's stories, and personal experience is, don't mess with yiayia! If it is something she feels strongly about, if you cross her you will pay for it!
The alternating names thing is a very strong tradition in Greece.  I knew a chap called Nikos who was on the hook for calling his eldest son Socrates because of it.

The birth of baby Sussex was announced a couple of hours ago and it's a girl called Lili, full name Lilibet Diana, little sister of Archie Harrison. So both of the kids have official names that are actually cutesy nicknames that end on an ie/y sound. Not a fan of either name, although Lilibet is worse than Archie. At least Archie is a name. Lilibet is apparantly the Queen's nickname, but I wouldn't want to be called Lilibet on my birth certificate and my gut feeling is the Queen is happy to be called Elizabeth on hers too! I guess odd nicknames is what the upper classes do but usually they don't put them in writing.

The alternative for Archie, Archibald, would maybe sound a bit odd and oldfashioned, but Elizabeth sounds classic and timeless to me.

I utterly despise "Lilibet" on the birth certificate.  As though they hadn't done enough already to the poor Queen.

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #88 on: June 07, 2021, 06:50:35 AM »
I mostly agree with naming your child what you intend to call them, unless it's something silly or infantilizing.  I know a kid called Xander, and I see no reason not to put that on his birth certificate.  I also know a woman named Ellie (actually her full name, not shortened from Eleanor), and I wouldn't have done that but she seems fine with it.

I have a mid-length name that is traditionally shortened to a -y nickname, and I go by the full name only.  I've been correcting people since elementary school.  I actually had to get rather harsh with a coworker at my last job, he thought it was funny to keep using the nickname after I told him not to.

I also have a friend from school who went by Katie, but a few years ago transitioned to Kate.  She asked friends/family to call her the new name, not just used it for work and such.  It mostly took.

On the other side, I had an uncle who went by Johnny his whole life, never went back to John.

As to the original question, I wouldn't.  The alliteration plus end rhyme plus same # of syllables makes it a bit much.

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #89 on: June 07, 2021, 07:50:48 AM »
Quote
There are probably people that can't spell John or Mary.

Sorry, did you mean people who can't spell Jon or Marie? ;)

Who could fuck up spelling Jahn or Meri?

Ian, Jan and Mhari   ;-)
Not only the spelling. As a non-native English speaking person, I can't quite hear the difference between John and Jon (short for Jonathan) and I remember being quite nervous for a business meeting with Joan. (I actually practiced the pronunciation ahead of that meeting). You can imagine that I truly appreciate business that have the convention of firstname.lastname for their email addresses.


Metalcat

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #90 on: June 07, 2021, 08:03:10 AM »
Quote
There are probably people that can't spell John or Mary.

Sorry, did you mean people who can't spell Jon or Marie? ;)

Who could fuck up spelling Jahn or Meri?

Ian, Jan and Mhari   ;-)
Not only the spelling. As a non-native English speaking person, I can't quite hear the difference between John and Jon (short for Jonathan) and I remember being quite nervous for a business meeting with Joan. (I actually practiced the pronunciation ahead of that meeting). You can imagine that I truly appreciate business that have the convention of firstname.lastname for their email addresses.

There is no difference between John and Jon. That's the joke we're all making.

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #91 on: June 07, 2021, 10:23:16 AM »
Lol, I wasn't given a middle name at birth, so I use my maiden name as my middle name.

That's actually really common amongst the older generation where I live.  There was a pretty small pool of last names and lots of first names were traditional/biblical, so the only way to differentiate people with the same first and last names was by their middle name, which was their mother's maiden name.  Makes it damn near impossible to find someone using a phone book!

Speaking of Greek names, does anyone remember the line in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where the main character introduces her extended family as "my cousins, Nick, Nick and Nick?"  So true.

Morning Glory

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #92 on: June 07, 2021, 12:06:12 PM »
Quote
There are probably people that can't spell John or Mary.

Sorry, did you mean people who can't spell Jon or Marie? ;)

Who could fuck up spelling Jahn or Meri?

Ian, Jan and Mhari   ;-)
Not only the spelling. As a non-native English speaking person, I can't quite hear the difference between John and Jon (short for Jonathan) and I remember being quite nervous for a business meeting with Joan. (I actually practiced the pronunciation ahead of that meeting). You can imagine that I truly appreciate business that have the convention of firstname.lastname for their email addresses.

My grandma was a Joan who pronounced it the regular way. I have met a couple of them since who prefer it to be pronounced like Jo-Ann.

My name usually has the emphasis on the first syllable but I went to college with someone who had the same name with same spelling but insisted the emphasis be on the second syllable. It made it easier to tell us apart anyway.

simonsez

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #93 on: June 07, 2021, 12:47:21 PM »
My wife and I always agreed for years that If we had a daughter we’d name her Penelope, and would then likely go by Penny or Nellie.

Of course, when this was mentioned to her aunt a while back, she promptly named her dog that a few months later.

My wife is now 8 months pregnant with our first (a girl) so we had to find a good backup.

Aside from a handful of people, we haven’t revealed the gender or name and don’t plant to. I’d say that 95% of people all think it’s a boy. We tell them we have no idea.

There's no way in hell I'd give up on a name because her aunt used it on a dog. Let her change the dog's name!

The dog will be dead in 10-15 yrs. I'd go with the name you want.
+1

Part of me (majority of me?) would become stubborn and keep the name I had originally even if it was just one of several on a list.  People can be weird, who knows if the aunt truly loved the name and wanted to use it personally on a pet that might not interact with others that much (and will have a much shorter lifespan) and had no ill will toward y'all (or didn't even think it would register as an issue with you).  Even if she "stole" the name to be mean, you had the name first and I personally appreciate it when humans make it so obvious when they show disregard.  Saves a lot of time and energy! 

If you still love it, you still love it.  If you don't, you don't.  And the name in question is not a new one.  It's been around for thousands of years so it's not like people would assume your child is named after a dog.

Re: Evelyn - good friend just gave birth to an Evelyn Grace a week ago.  I like it!

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #94 on: June 07, 2021, 02:13:29 PM »
Speaking of Archie and Lilibet - I have a real problem with people calling their kids by a nickname rather than the actual name.  It's cute when they're little but what about when they grow up?    I used to work with a guy called Steve.  Just Steve - not Stephen or Steven.  And I know children whose names are Davy (not David) and Evie (not Eve or Eva).  It was cute when they were little bit they're growing up now...

I really hate both Archie and Lilibet for the same reason.  What is wrong with Lily anyway?  I think that's a beautiful name and beautiful flower so why didn't they just call her that?  Or Lilian if they wanted something longer?  And Archie is just ugly - I immediately think of Archie Bunker or the Archie comics.  And Archibald is pretty awful too but at least it's an actual name.

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #95 on: June 07, 2021, 02:21:34 PM »
Speaking of Archie and Lilibet - I have a real problem with people calling their kids by a nickname rather than the actual name.  It's cute when they're little but what about when they grow up?    I used to work with a guy called Steve.  Just Steve - not Stephen or Steven.  And I know children whose names are Davy (not David) and Evie (not Eve or Eva).  It was cute when they were little bit they're growing up now...

I really hate both Archie and Lilibet for the same reason.  What is wrong with Lily anyway?  I think that's a beautiful name and beautiful flower so why didn't they just call her that?  Or Lilian if they wanted something longer?  And Archie is just ugly - I immediately think of Archie Bunker or the Archie comics.  And Archibald is pretty awful too but at least it's an actual name.

This was a thing in our parents' generation too. I've met several 60 year olds called Ricky or Bobby or Dick, on their birth certificates. It just makes me think that the parents didn't have very high expectations for them.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #96 on: June 07, 2021, 02:40:38 PM »
I really hate both Archie and Lilibet for the same reason. What is wrong with Lily anyway?  I think that's a beautiful name and beautiful flower so why didn't they just call her that?  Or Lilian if they wanted something longer?  And Archie is just ugly - I immediately think of Archie Bunker or the Archie comics.  And Archibald is pretty awful too but at least it's an actual name.

Lilibet is actually a nickname for Elizabeth in this case. It's what the Queen was called as a child. So the long version would have been Elizabeth, not Lily.

Hula Hoop

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #97 on: June 07, 2021, 02:47:01 PM »
I really hate both Archie and Lilibet for the same reason. What is wrong with Lily anyway?  I think that's a beautiful name and beautiful flower so why didn't they just call her that?  Or Lilian if they wanted something longer?  And Archie is just ugly - I immediately think of Archie Bunker or the Archie comics.  And Archibald is pretty awful too but at least it's an actual name.

Lilibet is actually a nickname for Elizabeth in this case. It's what the Queen was called as a child. So the long version would have been Elizabeth, not Lily.

I realize that but I guess since they said that they were going to just call her Lili as a nickname, why not just go the whole hog and call her Lily on her birth certificate if they like the name?  But Elizabeth with a nickname would have been good too.

I don't know why this nickname as birth certificate name thing bothers me so much. 

Hula Hoop

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #98 on: June 07, 2021, 02:49:53 PM »
Speaking of Archie and Lilibet - I have a real problem with people calling their kids by a nickname rather than the actual name.  It's cute when they're little but what about when they grow up?    I used to work with a guy called Steve.  Just Steve - not Stephen or Steven.  And I know children whose names are Davy (not David) and Evie (not Eve or Eva).  It was cute when they were little bit they're growing up now...

I really hate both Archie and Lilibet for the same reason.  What is wrong with Lily anyway?  I think that's a beautiful name and beautiful flower so why didn't they just call her that?  Or Lilian if they wanted something longer?  And Archie is just ugly - I immediately think of Archie Bunker or the Archie comics.  And Archibald is pretty awful too but at least it's an actual name.

This was a thing in our parents' generation too. I've met several 60 year olds called Ricky or Bobby or Dick, on their birth certificates. It just makes me think that the parents didn't have very high expectations for them.

Yeah I guess that's what gets under my skin about the nickname thing.  If your actual name is Ricky or Bobby you have a difficult hill to climb if you want to be a judge or something.  Obviously, not insurmountable but it just puts up another obstacle for the poor kid if s/he is ambitious.

BlueHouse

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Re: Baby name
« Reply #99 on: June 07, 2021, 02:56:59 PM »
Why can't you talk to people about baby names in real life?

I can't speak for the OP, but DD told me that it is horrible talking to people about baby names, they get so many suggestions and everyone thinks the baby should use theirs.  And feelings get hurt.

I think DD and SiL are 90% sure about the coming baby's name, but it isn't official until it is on her birth certificate.  And she will be another shortened-name-ie.

yep.  I had a work friend who wouldn't tell anyone the sex or name of their expected baby until she was born and they sent out announcements.  She named her Meghan which is a lovely name, but if she had told me before hand, I'm sure I would have offered some stupid names because everyone has an opinion.