has your child's name caused problems in their life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have friends who named their baby girl a name that is a top 10 baby name right now EXCEPT they switched one letter in the name to make it different and original. I don’t want to say what the name is in case they are on this forum. It is such a hideous name, it’s also an English adjective/comparative word, think like Softer or Louder.

When they first posted the birth announcement I thought they had a typo. The kid is still a baby so it’s tbd on future ramifications. But people are too focused on picking a name that is original, like who cares if you meet someone else in life with the same name?

This random -let me give you a crap ton of details without giving you details is a very stupid response. Just say - My friends did this and I have no idea whatsoever if the kid is impacted or not. Or better yet, dont comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A little bit. A name with an L for a kid with a speech problem and a more feminine name for a kid who prefers a less feminine name (and in fact has changed their name, not officially, but goes by a different name 100 percent of the time).

I don't think those issues were foreseeable, though. No regrets.

I think both of those are both fine, but will admit that we chose a name for our DD that has both feminine and more androgynous options for nicknames because we wanted a name that would suit whatever person they became. It was something we thought about because we both have short, androgynous names (like both of our names are fairly commonly used for both genders) and that impacted us growing up. I wouldn't see it caused problems, but for instance I always wished I'd had a more feminine name because I'm pretty feminine, and my DH always wished he'd had a more standard "boy" name. We're not screwed up by it, but it's a preference.

So when we named our DD, we made sure to choose a clearly feminine name, but picked one that has a common, more masculine, nickname in case she would feel more comfortable using that. And we like both versions of the name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Registrar here.

I do wonder about children given names containing “s h i t” for example, Ashita. There are several other names containing this letter combination.

Saw a girl’s name: Swastika. Indian surname.

There is a girl on that Indian matchmaking show named Shital and she talks about all the grief she got.

[Anonymous]

My husband really wanted to name our son Tucker. Anything that rhymes with "f**ker" was a no-go for me.

[Anonymous]

One of my kids has a name that can be pronounced two ways - like Naomi as Nay-omi or Ny- omi.

It currently bothers him because he doesn’t like to correct people but has a very clear preference for one of the pronunciations. He’s asked us to call him James instead. I hope he gets over it. I love his real name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids has a name that can be pronounced two ways - like Naomi as Nay-omi or Ny- omi.

It currently bothers him because he doesn’t like to correct people but has a very clear preference for one of the pronunciations. He’s asked us to call him James instead. I hope he gets over it. I love his real name.

I have a friend named Thea who has this issue (she pronounces it Thee-ah, but she gets Thay-ah and Tay-ah as well). I don't think it's hugely upsetting to her, but not ideal. She told me once that it's mainly only annoying when people try to argue with her about it, and explain that she's pronouncing her own name wrong. Which does sound annoying but also: who does that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers especially need to get it together when it comes to names. I teach high school, and recently wrote down a kids name in front of her - common enough name, unique spelling. Her face absolutely lit up "you spelled it right!! Teachers NEVER spell it right!" It's not that hard to learn a name and spell it correctly. I also always ask if I'm pronouncing it right, and write it down phonetically until I remember it correctly. Basic human respect.

Our kids attend a very diverse HS and each year, at graduation, I am awed by one teacher who flies, properly and respectfully through them. Turns out, when they come to pick up their grad ceremony tickets, he asks for it sloooowly, makes phonetic notes for himself, and even records the ones he struggles with if he's not already had them for the core subject he teaches. To see kids who've had their names butchered for years....have it spoken like it should be for their moment of glory is

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard to predict. My friend had a name similar to Monica Lewinsky and life was difficult for her for a few months in high school. But who saw that coming? It's a perfectly reasonable name.

Worked with a Scott Peterson. Of course he couldn't see that coming but how unfortunate. I've also worked with a Bruce Willis and a Steven Tyler

I grew up with a Matthew Perry.

[Anonymous]

DS's name is an animal. So far the worst that has happened is some minor confusion among certain younger kids in daycare/preschool.

He's in ES now and thinks his name rocks. It also suits him perfectly!

[Anonymous]

I have a very common name spelled slightly uniquely. It’s nothing but an annoyance. My kids have traditional but not super popular names with one established spelling.

[Anonymous]

MIL's name reminded me of luncheon meat. She wanted me to give it to my DD and I put my foot down. Even though nobody in her generation would probably make fun of her name, i wasn't too sure about the 21st century. We went with her very common middle name instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers especially need to get it together when it comes to names. I teach high school, and recently wrote down a kids name in front of her - common enough name, unique spelling. Her face absolutely lit up "you spelled it right!! Teachers NEVER spell it right!" It's not that hard to learn a name and spell it correctly. I also always ask if I'm pronouncing it right, and write it down phonetically until I remember it correctly. Basic human respect.

At my college graduation, they mispronounced my friend's very common Norwegian name, even though she'd included the phonetic spelling. It was almost as if they'd done it deliberately. Thank you for making the effort to get everyone's names right!

[Anonymous]

I legally changed my name in college and dropped my middle name. I never liked my first or middle name and they sounded awful together. I use a more updated version of my original name.

[Anonymous]

We named our daughter 'Marlo'. Overall, it suits her and is fine, but here are some "problems" we have encountered:

1. Spanish speakers who have not met her assume she is a boy because the name ends with 'o.'

2. There is a kid in her class named 'Marco' and it sometimes leads to misunderstandings.

3. Sometimes people call her "Margot."

4. Rhymes with 'Larlo'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MIL's name reminded me of luncheon meat. She wanted me to give it to my DD and I put my foot down. Even though nobody in her generation would probably make fun of her name, i wasn't too sure about the 21st century. We went with her very common middle name instead.

Pam?
Maloney?
Quiver First?