Baby Names

Hiya.

My husband and I are expecting our first baby in October and we have started trying to figure out names.  We don't know what we are having yet and so we are considering both boy and girl names.

We haven't ruled out the possibility of moving back to the States at some point and my concern is if we name the baby something that may be normal / not uncommon here, how will it be back in the States if we do move. 

Both my sister and I grew up with VERY unsual names.  I had the luck (??) of having my name be an actual word, so once people got over it being a name, they were ok with pronouncation and spelling.  My sister on the other hand was given a name that no one heard of.  All of her life she has had to deal with people not saying her name right and having to explain how to pronounce (and spell) it.  I remember having a teacher find out she was my sister and being shocked that she wasn't an exchange student.  (He'd not had her so only heard her name from other teachers.)

Both my (Welsh) husband and I like Welsh and Irish names.  We are leaning towards some that, while are names here, are very not American.  My husband is adament that if we choose a Welsh name it be spelled correctly (Rhys not Reece) and I agree with him.

So my question is, has anyone named their kids something 'normal' here, but then moved back to the States and had any trouble with people pronouncing / making fun of the names? Also, have you had any trouble with family members (my mother in particular) having alot of trouble pronouncing a name?

Oh, in case you are wondering the names we're leaning towards are Cefni for a boy and Angharad for a girl. 

Thanks!
Thanks for any input. 

As someone who grew up with an unusual name that people often mispronounce and don't know how to spell, while it was annoying at times, I am glad I have it. My name is spelt the same way as a name pronounced very differently. I still have people mispronounce it all the time-- and when I type it online, I always know people are reading it to themselves with the wrong pronounciation-- but it's me (in case you are wondering- my name is Helena (pronounced Ha-leen-ah)

Sorry I rambled--I personally think - yes if you move back to the states there might be some difficulties- but go with what you like.

I have given my son a popular-ish name (Noah) and thats fine and dandy, but I have called my new daughter Imogen Liora, her first name is very English (derived from a Shakespeare play) and her middle name is Hebrew (named after my Grandmother) Now, to everyone in America, family friends etc, they can't get over the fact that they have never heard the name Imogen before (they have heard of Imogene Coca, but its not pronounced the same) and to be quite honest, my parents and sister weren't thrilled and didn't like the name too much, but fast foward to Immi being here, the name doesn't really matter anymore, its just the baby that everyone loves! So I say choose the name you like...don't worry about what anyone else thinks!! If they can't pronounce it, they will find something else to call her!!!

While I have not had the pleasure of naming a child, my younger sister is going through this delimma now.  Like you, she is finding it difficult to strike a balance between names she may like and how it may affect the child later on. 

The thing is you will always here stories of people who had strange names and they loved it and strange names and they hated.  Or names that you thought were unusual, then becoming commonplace.  Or names you thought were commonplace are later unusual (for the record, I can't believe your family has never heard the name Imogen).

I think the best you can do is pick a name you like, consider the more obvious teases (nothing that rhymes with penis), and consider a nickname you can live with.

I think the best you can do is pick a name you like, consider the more obvious teases (nothing that rhymes with penis), and consider a nickname you can live with.

agreed!

We don't really plan on moving back to the USA any time in the next 10 or so years, but...

Our baby has an Irish name that's while not exactly common, is a name that people over here are familiar with (Finn).  Putting aside the fact that the name's recently been made known in the USA through the main character in Glee (:p), all my family were very puzzled, had never heard of it, and kept asking if we used it because it had 'meaning' or family connection.  Nope, we just liked the name!!  I think what everyone else said is true...just go with what you like and the kid will adapt to wherever you are.  I wouldn't worry too much!

Thanks.  That's really how I feel, but every time I mention a name to my sister she comes up with something, I think i just need to stop talking to her about it.

There's just this needling thought in my head, dear god what I am going to do to this kid!  I am all for odd or unusual names, but having grown up with only knowing a handful of people (when I was a kid there were only 2 I knew of and 1 was Australian and the other was a Sesame Street character, thank god I was older than her character!) I just think if we move back, is my daughter / son going to be in the same boat, and do I want to subject them to that? 

I'm probably thinking too much about this and if I keep up with this the poor kid will be named Baby Boy for the rest of his life...

Thanks.  That's really how I feel, but every time I mention a name to my sister she comes up with something, I think i just need to stop talking to her about it.

There's just this needling thought in my head, dear god what I am going to do to this kid!  I am all for odd or unusual names, but having grown up with only knowing a handful of people (when I was a kid there were only 2 I knew of and 1 was Australian and the other was a Sesame Street character, thank god I was older than her character!) I just think if we move back, is my daughter / son going to be in the same boat, and do I want to subject them to that? 

I'm probably thinking too much about this and if I keep up with this the poor kid will be named Baby Boy for the rest of his life...

I say don't stress out about it too much. While I don't have a weird name per say, it is very common in the Middle East and parts Eastern Europe, I can count on one hand how many people were able to see my name on a sheet of paper and pronounce it correctly. Once I was able to correct them, more than I could count said "oh, that's a pretty name!" Or something to that extent. I did decide at an early age to 'Americanize' my name by stretching my name out into three syllables vs two. Don't know how much that helped 

While there were a number of times I did get upset while growing up about why my parents didn't give me 'a normal name.' Mostly because a few of the kids were picking on me about the name; they didn't like the fact it wasn't normal  I did 'grow into' my name later in life. I enjoy that my name shows a part of my identity that is separate from my American identity, if that makes any sense.

Many people, like my GP here for example, saw my name on a form and asked if I were originally from that area in the world. So it's a nice conversation starter!

You could always give your children a different name but tweak the spelling a little bit

I wouldn't worry about it. I think the trend is the US is towards unique and uncommon names/spellings. So who knows, your child may have the most 'normal' name in their class!

We don't really plan on moving back to the USA any time in the next 10 or so years, but...

Our baby has an Irish name that's while not exactly common, is a name that people over here are familiar with (Finn).  Putting aside the fact that the name's recently been made known in the USA through the main character in Glee (:p), all my family were very puzzled, had never heard of it, and kept asking if we used it because it had 'meaning' or family connection.  Nope, we just liked the name!!  I think what everyone else said is true...just go with what you like and the kid will adapt to wherever you are.  I wouldn't worry too much!

My son was also born in the UK and is Finlay, nn Finn. It is, suddenly, popular in the US and I feel like since we moved back I here it all the time. It frustrates me And Finlay/Finley is now being used for girls. Grr. Saying that I am glad it is not more common though.

What is the Sesame Street name, to the OP? My dad and brother have the same name as a SS character and it is a family name and it drove my brother crazy growing up!

My cousin, whose father is Irish, was born in Dublin and named Cathal.  My Aunt & Uncle moved to Massachusetts when he was one and I know all through school he got tons of mispronunciations and even confusion as to his gender because no one had heard of the name.  Fast forward 14 years to the birth of his sister Sinead.  No one bats an eyelid at hers because Sinead O'Connor had been all over the charts.

Thanks.  That's really how I feel, but every time I mention a name to my sister she comes up with something, I think i just need to stop talking to her about it.

I kept the names secret for this very reason. Everyone has opinions on names and I didn't want to be swayed from my preferences because of someone else. I think if names are goingg to be an issue, best to keep them to yourselves until the registry is done and dusted.

Just wanted to say that I think the names you have chosen are lovely, Pengi. 

I wouldn't worry about it. They may get teased when they are young, if you move back to the states, but chances are they will be doubly cool in high school for having an unusual name. I always wanted to be one of those kids. 

When I first moved to the US, so many people I met thought my name, Abigail, was uncommon.  I was so surprised because it is such a common name for girls in my native country.  I got so many mispronunciations from teachers and school mates, anything from "abadel," "gabidel", even "Gabrielle".  Infact, I get Gabrielle so often that I answer to it, because I know the person is referring to me.  Fast forward 10 or so years, and now everyone has a niece, grand daughter, or friend's daughter named Abigail or Abby.  So pick a name that you love, and don't overthink what others will make of it.

someone told me  pick a  name that sounds good  both as a doctor  or an artist    and  try not to pick  a name that rhymes with  something  rude, vulgar, or  sexual.. (especially if it is  a girl)  .. I tried  to  find  a name that wouldn't have  a  silly nickname  but i know I can't help that if it happens. I only know what  I  can call  her..  Thr only issue I have  is that  I have  to tell people  which first letter  it is..becaus it has two choices..