Has this board changed your opinion on a name?

af1274

I'm curious. Has being a part of this board made you feel differently about a name or names?

If so, what was the name, and did your opinion change for the better or worse? Why? 

And, are you grateful that you see that name differently now, or do you wish you'd never asked for an opinion/seen what people thought of it in another post?

Zimger

I haven't had my opinion about a name changed due to comments on this board but I have come up with alot of great names I hadn't thought of before! 

austenreader85

It's encouraged me to like names that I might have seen as "too old" before.  Ethel is my favorite guilty pleasure right now.  I've had traditional taste for years but I can appreciate more rare and less used names now.

Years ago we really liked Shenandoah for a girl.  It's the name of the area that we live in, the name is on everything from businesses, a regional valley, river, town, county etc.  We especially liked it while homesick in Alaska.  The legend behind the name statess that it was the name of a Native American and it means "daughter of the stars" which we thought was really neat too.  I was totally crushed and probably really defensive and angry, but the girls on here eventually made me see the light that it would be a difficult name.  In the end, we weren't totally in love with it because it did have a lot of short falls and there are so many great names otu there,  so it's been scrapped or at least pushed way lower on the list and as a middle name.

Also, seeing how many people validate points about juniors, seconds and thirds etc. made DH see that he did not have to name our first son after FIL just because DH is named after him and is a second, and always told to have a third.  If he didn't like the name, doesn't even really like his dad and we've experienced first hand all the legal complaints of sharing a name, then there was no reason to use it.

cindiesheart

austenreader85:

It's encouraged me to like names that I might have seen as "too old" before.  Ethel is my favorite guilty pleasure right now.  I've had traditional taste for years but I can appreciate more rare and less used names now.

Years ago we really liked Shenandoah for a girl.  It's the name of the area that we live in, the name is on everything from businesses, a regional valley, river, town, county etc.  We especially liked it while homesick in Alaska.  The legend behind the name statess that it was the name of a Native American and it means "daughter of the stars" which we thought was really neat too.  I was totally crushed and probably really defensive and angry, but the girls on here eventually made me see the light that it would be a difficult name.  In the end, we weren't totally in love with it because it did have a lot of short falls and there are so many great names otu there,  so it's been scrapped or at least pushed way lower on the list and as a middle name.

Also, seeing how many people validate points about juniors, seconds and thirds etc. made DH see that he did not have to name our first son after FIL just because DH is named after him and is a second, and always told to have a third.  If he didn't like the name, doesn't even really like his dad and we've experienced first hand all the legal complaints of sharing a name, then there was no reason to use it.

I can see how Shenandoah would be a hard name for a kid to spell by MY GOD what a gorgeous name! 

SpokenVows

It changed my mind a bit on the name Sasha. I always thought it to be a lot more feminine than masculine, but it's apparently more popular for a boy. I still love the name, but it did make me seek out alternatives and I found one (still variant of Alexandra) that DH and I love a lot more. It was a bit hard letting go of Sasha, but overall, I'm very happy I asked.

The board also made me realise how popular Annabelle, Isabelle, and Sophia are, so those are off the list. Though, not just due to popularity. we have a niece with the NN Ana and her MN is Belle. I had a cat named Isabelle. And then we found out DH's birthmother's name was Sophia and he decided he wouldn't want to use the name.

The board also helped me find a lot of names I would never have thought of. And helped me warm up to a few others. 

VTFutureMrs

It hasn't changed my opinion on a name, but it has made me dislike more names than I did before due to hearing it repeated so many times on this board. When I hear them so many times on the board, they just get tiring and then no longer look appealing. Particularly names like Claire, Amelia, Julia, Eleanor, Norah, Charlotte, etc.  

misscarter87

No it hasnt these are just opinions on here basically and the names you chose are for your kid so those ppl wont be raising them or having to use their names constantly like you will. So if you find a name you really love..i stay stick to it because its your kid &thats pretty darn special!!!:-)

MrsTBird

It hasn't turned my opinion on a name into a negative one, per se. There are a few exceptions and it's mostly due to the names' popularity. But there are a lot of names that I turned to like that I had never thought of before thanks to this board.

lily_721

It validated my dislike for ~aiden names

this decaf life

I just dealt with name overload & got flustered that I wasn't finding "the" name. After I stepped away from the BNB for a while I found the girl name I love but the board hasn't changed my naming style.

Candyshel13

Not really. Definitely introduced me to more names that I love. 

The names that this board rave about are not popular in my area. I know very few if any kids with "old" names. I know ALOT more Addie's than Charlotte's, Isla's, and Margaret's combined. 

kwinkle1980

VTFutureMrs:

It hasn't changed my opinion on a name, but it has made me dislike more names than I did before due to hearing it repeated so many times on this board. When I hear them so many times on the board, they just get tiring and then no longer look appealing. Particularly names like Claire, Amelia, Julia, Eleanor, Norah, Charlotte, etc.  

This. I feel like there is a click poll every day about choosing between Jack Henry and Jack Michael (or similar). I don't even open them anymore. I just look at the funny ones.  

ricecakes1216

Like PP have said, it really hasn't changed my opinions on names but has just solidified my feeling towards names. It has also opened my eyes to names that I never really considered. 

jessalared

I'm set on my girl name at least so I won't post it because I'm not changing it anyway! My boy name I may need help with so when we find out what were having I'll get people's opinions. If I'm decided I feel no need to possibly have it ripped to shreds lol

bumpuser5823822

Yes, kind of. I love the name Cohen (DH hates it so it doesn't matter) but I learned on here that it has a special meaning to the Jewish religion I guess and that people found it disrespectful to name your children that. I however live and grew up in an area with very, very few Jewish people. I had not a clue. I still love the name but it definetly makes me double take. But in the end DH doesn't like it so it doesn't matter anyways.

skio

Nope. 

TheBub

It didn't change my opinion, but it has made me feel very defensive.  DS is named Owen.  He is almost four years old.  According to this board, it is soooooo over used, but I only know of one other Owen, he is six.  I have seen maybe 10-15 or so on the boards.  I do a little mental justification every time someone says it is sooooo popular. Whether or not there are 1000 other Owens in our area that are just babies, I feel like I was definitely ahead of the trend!

StefandTodd

I asked about my son's name on this board about a year ago, and got pretty much 30/30/30 love/hate/indifference.  It helped me pick the name for sure.  I didn't want a name everyone loved AT ALL.

I never would've known that Emerson was a boy's name if not for the board.

I used to love the name Dillon for a girl...this board has changed my thoughts on boy's names on girls a lot. 

tortuga47

No, it hasn't made me change the names I like. Like many others, it's made me aware of popular name choices that I would like to stay away from and has introduced me to some names I wouldn't have thought of initially. At times I do a mental eye roll when people get too high and mighty about their opinions (especially when the names are solid names spelled correctly, just because they don't like it) but I guess that is what this board is. People's opinions.

queenbone

This board introduced me to the name Nevaeh, hahaha! I'd never heard of it before coming here 2 yrs ago, and I actually only met my first one last month.

Initially, the board made me feel more confident in the name DH and I had picked for DS2, and helped me work through finalizing the MN choice.

The board has also reminded me of other underused saints names that I've added to my list because I have seen others using them as MNs (Ambrose, Ignatius.)

Basically, the board helps me feel less like a weirdo.

victoria+james

It hasn't made we feel differently about my names. I look to this board as more of what the general public will think. Bottom line its still up to me and DH, I just want to prepare myself for the judgment of others.

I've also seen a bunch of new names I haven't thought of. None that beat my names yet, but its nice to know I haven't seen every option out there!

elizb137

Hmm...I don't know if it's made me change my opinion on a name (still dislike the much overused names) but it's def  given me lots of new ideas and shown me some meanings behind certain names that I didn't know.

swimiz500

Zimger:

I haven't had my opinion about a name changed due to comments on this board but I have come up with alot of great names I hadn't thought of before! 

Yep I agree with this!