My man wants to give our son a character-inspired name – trolls say the ‘unfortunate first syllable’ will cause bullying
A WOMAN has revealed that her husband wants to give their son a unique name but her family think it’s a ‘terrible’ idea.
The woman confessed that she and her man have been thinking of name ideas for their future child and her partner is keen on a name inspired by a fictional character.
However, whilst she thinks it’s a ‘solid name’, not everyone is as keen.
Unsure on whether to choose a new moniker, the woman took to social media to share the name, leaving many open-mouthed.
Posting on Reddit, on the r/namenerds thread, the anonymous woman wrote under the username @sparkpaw and titled her post ‘Is Horatio really that bad?’
She then explained: “Hubby and I aren’t at having kids yet but we know we want them, and soon, so we’ve been thinking of name ideas.
“Hubby is super inspired by “Horatio Hornblower”, and I like unique names, so we thought that was a solid name for a boy.”
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester.
But the woman explained that the character-inspired name hasn’t gone down well with her loved ones, as she added: “However, all of our family has said it’s a terrible idea and that the kid would get bullied badly.”
As a result, she asked Reddit users for advice, as she simply concluded: “Thoughts?”
Reddit users flocked to the comments to share their thoughts on the unique name, with the overwhelming majority suggesting she choose something else.
Not only did many describe the name as “too out there”, but others agreed with her family that it could cause bullying.
REDDIT USERS REACT
One person said: “It’s a lot to live with. It isn’t something I would do just because it’s too out there.”
Another added: “It reminds me of Horchata. And a 70 year old man. It’s not timeless or classic. It’s kinda ugly sounding.”
The struggle of choosing a baby name
CHLOE Morgan, a Senior Writer at Fabulous, has revealed her dilemma on choosing a baby name...
At 35 weeks pregnant, by far the trickiest part of pregnancy for me in the past few months (minus the insomnia and countless night-time wee breaks!) has been trying to decide on a baby name.
The dilemmas are endless…
My partner and I went for a private scan to find out the gender as early as we could – partly due to the fact we thought it would make baby naming so much easier because we’d only have to come up with a list of names for one gender rather than two.
How wrong we were…
I was absolutely thrilled to be told I was expecting the baby girl I’d already dreamed of, but being one of the last of my friends to fall pregnant, I’ve had countless conversations over the years with excited pals discussing their top baby names…something which I wish I could go back in time and un-hear.
With each friend mentioning at least 10 possible monikers, I can’t help but feel like several are now a no-go even though I know it’s something that none of them would mind in the slightest – it’s a total me problem!
The debate comes up time and time again on social media forums – can you choose the same name that was a “potential” for a friend’s baby?
It’s a very divisive topic and opinions are always mixed…and I don’t want to be THAT person.
While some will argue there’s thousands of other names out there to choose from, others will say you need to choose YOUR favourite…after all, there’s no guarantee that person will even have another baby.
Then there’s also the issue of finding a name you adore…only to research it online and read one negative comment amongst hundreds of positives that you just can’t shake off.
I made that very mistake when I fell in love with a certain name (I won’t reveal it because I don’t want to ruin it for others!) …only to see someone point out that it constantly gets autocorrected on a phone to something rather rude instead.
So, back to the drawing board we went..
Just five weeks to go and it looks like our little one is going to be known as ‘baby gal’ for a little while longer!
A third commented: “It’s not a bad name as such, but the combination of it being very uncommon and an unfortunate first syllable could cause problems.”
Whilst someone else advised: “Don’t do this to your child.”
It’s kinda ugly sounding
Reddit user
At the same time, even a former teacher took to the comments to weigh in on the moniker.
The 46-year-old explained: “I would say… please think about making that the middle name…? At home, you can call your child however you’d like, but when the child goes to school, it might be best if a more common name is used.
“I’m an African American and have a very unique first name… I also have a more common, standard middle name. I’m glad that at birth I was given both. Most of the time now, I go by my nickname.
Are Unique Baby Names Worth The Hassle?
YOU may think having a unique name helps you to stand out, but is it all it's cracked up to be?
Fabulous’ Deputy Editor Josie Griffiths reveals the turmoil she faced with her own name while growing up.
When I was a child, all I wanted was one of those personalised keyrings with my name on it.
But no joy, the closest I could find was Rosie, Joseph (not great for a little girl) and Joanne.
Josie is short for Josephine, which is a French name, and I managed to reach my 20s without ever meeting anyone who shared it.
When I try to introduce myself to people, I get all sorts of random things – like Tracey and Stacey – which can be pretty annoying.
Although I have come into contact with a couple of Josies over the last year – there seems to be a few of us around my age – it’s still a much rarer name than most of my friends have.
On the whole I don’t mind it, at least it’s not rude or crazily spelt.
And it means I can get away with ‘doing a Cheryl’ and just referring to myself as Josie.
I’m getting married this year and some friends are shocked that I’m changing my surname, as it’s not seen as very cool or feminist to do so these days, but I explain to them that I’m not that attached to Griffiths as I’d always just say ‘hi it’s Josie’ when ringing a mate up.
I think it’s nice to be unique and I’ll definitely try and replicate this when naming my own kids.
It’s the rude names you’ve got to watch out for, so after nine years as a lifestyle journalist I’ll definitely be avoiding those.
“I think whether a child is bullied or not can depend on the school and the teachers… anyway, usually I think first grade is when the bullying starts, so just try to talk openly with your child around that age, that would be my advice…”
Thankful for the advice, the Reddit poster later wrote: “There’s a LOT of unique names these days – some completely wild ones, that it doesn’t feel off for me.
“But I want to consider what my kid might go through.
“We will continue to ponder – thank you!”