Am I the only one? (m)

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Am I the only one? (m)
4
Thu, 11-18-2004 - 3:32pm

People are always posting about how their mother, MIL, sister, friends, etc hate the name that the poster has chosen. A common response is, "Don't worry. Name the baby what you want to name him/her. Once your mother, MIL, etc, sees the baby s/he will grow to love the name."

Well . . . When I was pg with my middle child my BIL (DH's brother) suggested that I name her "Silvia." That's a name that I've always hated. No good reason for the strong feeling, but I've just always hated it. I told BIL that I hated it and would think of another name. Of course, you guessed it, a year later BIL and his wife had a baby and named her Silvia.

I've known my niece Silvia for 6 years now. She's adorable, smart and wonderful. I love her to bits - but I still hate her name. Am I the only one that hates the name of someone that you love? Please tell me that I'm not so I'll stop feeling so horrible everytime I read a reply post like the one in the first paragraph.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-17-2003
Thu, 11-18-2004 - 4:07pm
I have the same problem, but on the opposite end. I just had a beautiful baby girl four month's ago and we named her Ava Katherine. My mother HATES the name. Thankfully, my DH and I choose not to divulge any names prior to giving birth or I would have had to listen to her for months before hand. There are names of family member's that I don't particularly like, but it wasn't my choice. As my mother can attest, there are probably other people that don't like my daughter's name and I really don't care. I think the most you can expect is to just get used to the name. If you really don't like it, I highly doubt that in time you will come to love it. The end result is that you can't please everyone.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-11-2004
Thu, 11-18-2004 - 4:10pm

You have nothing to feel horrible about. You can't help how you feel. The bottom line is you cannot please everyone with a name. There will ALWAYS be someone out there that does not like the name. That you will not be able to avoid. Personally, I never tell anyone the name we choose until the baby is born. I like it to be a surprise. I have also read many names on this board that I love and some people hate and vice versa. It is just a matter of opinion. I don't really know anyone whose child's name I hate. My niece's name is Taylor. I really don't like the name, but I don't hate it. I just prefer more feminine names and Taylor to me is not very feminine. Plus, it reminds me of someone who alters clothes! LOL! However, it always makes it near the top in popularity so I suppose there are many people who do like it.

Chosing a name for your child is hard enough. If you had to get the approval of everyone you knew before you made your final decision to see if they all liked it, that would just be so frustrating! KWIM?

Avatar for midwestmom2000
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 11-18-2004 - 5:35pm

I don't believe people will 'grow to love the name', but I do believe they'll adjust to the name and won't go around saying they 'hate it'. Once the name has been given, you don't normally see it criticized like you would when the name is a possibility.

There are several names in my family that I don't really care for, but I would never mention it. I'm sure you don't tell your neice or her parents that you dislike her name. But, when the name was mentioned before a baby was given it, you felt free to express your true feelings.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Thu, 11-18-2004 - 7:36pm

Oh yes, there are many names in our family I can't stand! My DH's cousins have all chosen very trendy names for their kids - Kennedi, Austin, Taylor, etc...which is not our style at all. I still get annoyed spelling Kennedi that way!

On the other hand, NO ONE in our family like my son Zion's name. We went for it anyway, and now we get many compliments for it. It seems most people are over their dislike of it. The bottom line is that we love it, and I'm sure Kennedi's mom loves hers, and...oh well!

Carrie