Baby name mistakes

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BABY NAMES 2022
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Choosing a name for your baby is a big decision. Here, BabyCentre parents relate how they struggled with compromises and coped with choosing confusing, unusual, and sometimes embarrassing names.

Do people get confused about your baby's name?

"I picked a very unusual name and was initially shocked by people's reactions. Even strangers felt they had the right to comment negatively on it. In the early days, when I was hormonal, I did have regrets, but now I'm back in love with his name. I would love to tell you what it is, but I want it to remain unusual!"
Sacha

"We called our baby Emilia, but it was really my husband's choice as I'd chosen our son's name. I don't love it because there are so many Emilias, Emilys, Amelias and Amelies, and they all get confused!"
Suzanna

"I have to repeat myself about five times when people ask what my son's name is. They think I've said Paul or Joel, but never his real name, Cole! But once they get it right I get nice comments, because it's unusual."
Hayley

"We had such a stress finding a name. In the end we went with Serafina, and chose to call her Effie for short. That was fine, until a month later we realised that the reason Effie sounded so right is our eldest is called Rafi for short! So we have Effie and Rafi. Both lovely names, but it genuinely took us that long to realise how similar they sound. Talk about baby brain!"
Kat

Did you have to compromise over your baby's name?

"We called our baby Amara, which means 'blessing', but I never liked the name. Her dad picked it because he loved it. I wish we'd called her Amelia because I'm more of a traditional person. I prefer nice, 'solid' names, where there's no room for mispronunciation or teasing."
Jasmine

"I love my daughter's name, and I can't imagine any other name for her. But since the birth I have started to wish she had my partner's surname instead of mine."
Stacey

"I loved Noah's name from the start of my pregnancy, but my partner was worried that his name would get confused with the word 'no'! We compromised by calling him Alfie, as it was the only name that we both liked. The next day my partner came to the hospital. He said as I had gone through so much to get our baby here, I could name him whatever I wanted. Hence, Noah is here!"
Nadia

"I went with my husband's choice. Following his family's tradition, he named our first son after his dad, Kamal. I never liked it as I'm worried children will call my son camel in school. The name Ayaan would have been perfect for him as we had difficulty conceiving, and it means 'gift from god'."
Solveiga

Did nicknames and namesakes spoil the name for you?

"I don't regret my baby's name at all, as I called her after my late mother. However, if my mother had still been alive, I would have called my baby something completely different."
Paula

"I hate my baby's name, and I regret choosing it every day. I wish I'd called him Arthur or Isaac. Actually, I wish I'd called him anything other than Lewis. I hate names that can be shortened, and Lewis's name gets shortened to Loo, which is just awful. He was named in a hurry, at just three days old, because of family pressure."
Sam

"Sometimes, things are out of your control. The day after we named our baby, David Cameron gave his baby the same name. My partner and I had so many annoying comments, even though we got in there first. But now the shock has passed we are very happy with Florence Isla."
Jo

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Lucy Toseland-Bolton
LucyBC (Lucy Toseland-Bolton) is BabyCentre's staff writer, editor and mum of a boy and girl. She shares her honest accounts of life with two children.

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