Naming your kid: Is there anything more difficult?
Making a soufflé? Matching up socks after the laundry? Traveling to the moon? Nope, picking a name for your child is definitely the hardest.
You scour the internet for hours, you read al the baby books, you ask your family, your friends, your therapist, complete strangers on the street what to name your kid.
Then once you finally pick a name, you start thinking of all the reasons why you can’t name them that name. You know, you can’t name them Dylan because you know someone who knows someone who has a cousin named Dylan, and if you name them Dylan, you’ll only ever think of that Dylan and you don’t want to think of that Dylan when you look at your baby.
In short: Naming is HARD. And the unfortunate thing is, many parents actually regret the name they finally choose, after all that thinking. In fact, one recent survey of British moms by a group called Mumsnet found that one in five moms wish they named their baby something else.
Here are just some of the reasons they started to dislike the name:
- Too commonly used
- It “just doesn’t feel right”
- They never loved the name but felt pressure to use it
- They dislike the shortened version of the name
- There was a change in public perception of the name since their child was born
- A celebrity had used the same name
Of the mothers who say they regret their baby’s name, here’s how long it too them to realize they weren’t a fan:
- 12% always knew it was the wrong choice
- 3% knew from the moment the child was born
- 8% knew within a couple of days
- 32% knew within the first six weeks
- 23% began to regret their choice when their children first started nursery or school
“Choosing your baby’s name is one of the first things new parents do, so in some ways baby name regret is great practice for parenting,” says Justine Roberts, founder of Mumsnet. “You do a lot of hard work and research, try to please several people at once, and end up getting it wrong. The consolation is that most children grow into their names—and those who don’t can always fall back on middle names, nicknames or (in extremis) deed polls.”
These are the top names these moms regretted. Let us preface this list by saying there’s absolutely nothing wrong with these names! However, for the above mentioned reasons, these moms don’t recommend ’em. Here we go…
-
Charlotte
A little too common for some moms’ liking.
-
Amelia
Just wasn’t feeling this one once they were actually born.
-
Anne
Just kinda meh.
-
Daniel
There are 12 more Dans in Daniel’s class.
-
Jacob
Everyone calls him Jake and that’s not cool.
-
James
Never heard that one before. Not.
-
Thomas
They just didn’t look like a Thomas. Or a Tommy. Or even a Tom.
-
Ava
It just doesn’t suit her.
-
Elsa
Obviously Frozen ruined this one.
-
Declan
When your Declan hates the name Declan you start to hate the name Declan too.
-
Oliver
Too many famous Olivers in this world, dang it.
-
Atticus
The kid gets teased too much.
-
Isis
This was of course, before the terrorist group adopted the name.
What do you think of these names? Have you ever regretted a name you gave your child?
