Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Opinions on Baby A's Name

Why do people feel compelled to give you their opinion on your choice of names for your children??? Did I do this to others before I had kids? God, I hope not.

Everyone from my family to the cashier at the supermarket has an opinion and they want to share it with me.
  • "That baby is going to have a nickname...did you think of that?"
  • "That is such a strange name. I would have named him...[insert their name choices]"
  • "Just so you know, I am not going to call him that..."
I try to be gracious and say something like, "Oh, well we really like the name." Sometimes that quiets the opinion-giving, and other times I have to break out my big guns and say, "Well, it seems that everyone wants to give their opinion on my child's name." That one stopped my father in his tracks. Score!

I hope that when people tell me their name choice(s) that I say only positive things in response. "Great name!" or "Oh, that is my favorite name."

Come on, people. Have some tact.

4 comments:

  1. Yes, I agree. Have some tact.

    This will probably be one of those posts that get me thinking so much that I'll come back and make 7 more comments!

    If the child is ALREADY named, don't dis the name. Seriously.

    I firmly believe that people who would complain to a parent about a child's name after the child has already been named has their own self-esteem issues. Cause the only possible ending is that it makes the parent feel like shit. And I believe the people who are complaining KNOW that it will and that is their goal (either consciously or unconsciously).

    Generally, if a name isn't my style, I don't say anything about the name. But, if I like a name, I make a point to say: "I really like his/her name, by the way!"

    We haven't gotten many bad comments about our kids' names, we've gotten a few like: "We really liked the name Emma but it is so popular, we could never use it. We want our children/child's name to be unique."

    Obviously, they've never met OUR Emma if they think a kid with a popular name can't be unique.

    She is definitely one in a million!

    I'll probably be back later too because this is an issue that really gets my goat.

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  2. I hear the same thing about Baby R and Baby D. "Those names are so common..." And we also get the comments about the nicknames.

    Eric and i have been pretty adamant about them not having nicknames - yet we totally realize that we will have no control over this as the boys grow up.

    Yet, my family especially LOVES to tell me that the boys will eventually have nicknames. They act like we never thought of this.

    Like I just randomly named my children and didn't think about how those names could be shortened.

    It makes me feel a little insulted; as if they question my intelligence.

    Turds.

    :)

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  3. I am all too familiar with this too. I get the "OH, that's unusual." But they say it with that tone in their voice and smirk on their face. People just don't think before they speak. And for the record...I LOVE baby A's name! ;p

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  4. Also, most names that people don't like are names kids can live with.

    I may not like a name but it isn't like I'm thinking: "Oh my God, that kid is going to have issues because of his name. He is going to get made fun of so much that he'll end up being a sociopath."

    For example, I don't really care for the name Brayden. I never have. It's just not my style but it's not a bad name. Brayden could still be a doctor, a teacher or an architect. The Brayden's of the world are going to grow up just fine, so it's pretty pointless (and mean) for me to tell someone who named their belvoed son, Brayden, that I don't like it or point out the negatives (it's popularity) of the name.

    Because it's all subjective and opinions. It doesn't really matter if your neighbor's sister likes your kids' names, what matters is that YOU like it.

    And, trust me, Emma was the #1 name for girls from 2000-2009, parents with kids with popular names are fully aware that they are very popular and don't need it pointed out to them constantly.

    "I know it's popular, thanks...you really think you are the genius who brought that to my attention??"

    Do you tell people that your kids' names are family names and the story behind them? Usually, if you say it's a family name and follow that by the significance of it to you, then they are put in their place.

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