Old people. Gosh.

jordanandkelly

So, my grandpa hasn't liked any of the names that my cousins have chosen for their children so far.  To be fair, most of my cousins have chosen names that weren't names in my grandpa's generation, such as "Colby" and "Brody".  He still makes fun of the kids' names, even though some of them are 3 or 4 years old.  

My husband and I just announced the name of our first baby, Amelia Pearl, and my grandpa keeps calling her "Matilda".  He seems to think that this is funny.  I honestly don't get the joke, but I get the feeling that he is trying to imply that he doesn't like "Amelia".  Maybe this name seems out-dated to him, so he is comparing it to Matilda?

Can anyone explain this "joke" to me?? 

sgroff26

Nope I can't explain it.  I can tell you that my DH says his grandpa was the same way.  He really hated all of his great grandchildren's names and he let their father know.  I guess for some reason our elders feel they can talk down on our choices. If you are close to him I would tell him it hurts your feelings.  If this isn't an option I would definitely just continue to correct him loudly in front of everyone or make fun of his name.  Give him a hard time back, maybe he'll appreciate it, cause it sounds like he's a jokester.

JacklovesSarah

You should call him by a different name in a joking manner, see how he takes it.

kacelle

I can't explain it, but Matilda Pearl is my top name for a girl.  

thefiftyone

Sounds like he either 

A) Heard wrong and is thinking she has a different name or

He's being a jerk

 

daisy662

I can't help you with the joke, but if it helps, my Grandfather always makes jokes that he find funny that are boarderline hurtful in a similar way to what you are describing. Maybe it's a generational thing. If it were my Grandfather, I would just start calling him by the wrong name. He would laugh and probably not do it anymore after that. Good luck!

And, for what it's worth, I think the name you chose is very nice. He is probably just trying to be funny.

Mama Kit Kat

I actually made my grandparents a book with the top 1000 baby names from the SSA site.  They were always saying "I've never heard that name before" and they were names like Mason or Carter.  I also printed the name lists by decade.  Just so they could have whats current at their fingertips.  lol. 

MississippiCatfish

I don't get it either, but it sounds like something my grandpa would have done so it made my day! Probably once the baby comes he'll quit it. Hope so!

Yellow415

Maybe its an age thing. My grandparents call a lot of their grandchildren Matilda. For example talking to "Gabrielle": "How was school, Matilda"? or Give this to Matilda (Alyssa) over there.

StrawberryAlarmClock

JacklovesSarah:

You should call him by a different name in a joking manner, see how he takes it.

This. That's a pretty obnoxious thing to do. What amazing, Earth-shattering names did he pick for his kids? I'm waiting to be swept away by his naming genius here!

zaramarie81

We have a couple outspoken elders in our family too. I hope he is just trying to be funny or something (and I agree with pp's... joke back with him, and see if he stops). If he's being mean... well, that stinks. (And making fun of the kids' names who are already 3-4 years old is pretty awful, I have to say).

 Amelia has a vintage feel to it, so I am surprised he is being difficult about that name. (Although sometimes we don't always like names from our own generation either... remember he helped name the next generation).