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Baby Names
LMS05
member
Vent: My mother.....
LMS05
member
in Baby Names
We decided on Henry Jacob and told her. She threw a fit! She said it was the worst name I could have chosen. All the other names she didn't like that I liked (Todd, Caleb, Calvin, Isaiah) are so much better. She told me that he will be made fun of and will come home crying. She told me that she will tell him that she tried to convince me to change his name. I would be shocked if we didn't have a redhead. We have a lot in our family- DH, FIL, Aunts, Uncles, Grandpa, my mom. My mom said that since she is a redhead, she knows what it's like to be made fun of. He will already have one strike against him and giving him a "nerdy" name will give him two strikes. My dad agrees with her! I told DH all this and he thinks they are crazy. I'm really second guessing this. Is my mom right? Should I give him a more popular name??
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Re: Vent: My mother.....
Ignore her. She'll get over it once he's here and she falls in love with him.
I think she's a little out of touch, thinking that Henry is a nerdy name. It's in vogue now. He will not be made fun of for his name.
She's a preschool teacher and has never had a Henry in her class. Therefore, it's uncommon and strange. These are her words.?
Out of curiosity, what names does she like?
Tyler, Nicholas, Justin and Michael. That's it. Michael is my brother so I'm not even considering that. Dh and I really love Nicholas, but I feel like it's really common. ?
I'm sorry to tell you your mom is crazy - first that she thinks he will be made fun of for his name, secondly that she thinks it is such an "odd" name, and thirdly that she would think of saying things like that to you after you told her it was the name you have chosen.
Honestly I think you should completly ignore her - say "this is the name we like and that is that", but if you choose to engage show her the social security lists and how Henry is steadily gaining popularityagain across the country (too much, in my opinion). Tell her that in Boston and New York it is now VERY common. Remind her of all the famous Henrys there have been in the world - Thoreau, Henry Ford, Hank (Henry) Aaron ...it is a strong CLASSIC name.
If your mother had said that Henry wasn't her style that would be one thing, but I doubt he will be made fun of for it. I can't think of any unflattering nicknames for Henry and its not like it is an off the wall name. There have been kings, authors, presidents, and inventors all named Henry and I have never heard any of them made fun of.
I think that maybe your mom is being a overly critical. This is your child and you and your DH should get to name it what makes you happy. Your mom has already had her kids and she got her chance to name them.
I think it is a beautiful name! (I also always had crushes on redheaded boys in school so no guarentee that he will get made fun of for that either.)
Well I'm married to one so I would LOVE to have a little redheaded son
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I would be SURE to use it now, if I were you.
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Even though I dislike Henry (and I have a wonderful 5 yr old nephew named Henry) I think you mom is going overboard. I'm sorry she didn't have a filter and just blurted out all her thoughts. Either people like Henry or hate it, just like most names! Henry is becoming more and more common again, it will grow on her. Your child will not suffer with the name Henry!
Ignore her. She should not have offered her opinion, anyway. When someone tells a name they've chosen, there is nothing more rude than offering a negative opinion.
By the way, Henry is becoming a very popular name. I know several kids named Henry, and it is one of the fastest growing names right now. It will be a top 20 name in the next couple of years.
She's just outdated and has her own outdated associations with names.
The only reason I could ever imagine anyone having such a harsh reaction to a name is if it were spelled horrifically (I don't mean just an uncommon spelling... I mean something utterly ridiculous) or if it resembled any type of inappropriate word (Anyone recall the episode of Seinfeld where Jerry can only remember that a woman's name rhymes with something in the female anatomy?! lol). Even then, I still have trouble justifying such a strong reaction...
I'm a parent-pleaser, too, but at some point, you have to stick to your guns. You and your DH agree, and that's what matters the most.
Also, my brother and I are both redheads. My mom says that strangers used to come up to her and to us all the time when we were little to ooh-and-aah over our hair. Sure, I got the occassional "carrot top" in elementary school, but come high school, I got voted best hair
I think it's rather melodramatic to say that Henry is going to get teased for being a redheaded nerd.
You are?! I love it! I'm excited for the possibility of having redheaded children. I think they are so adorable! My grandma had three redheaded kids and she told me the same thing about the oohing-and-aahing over their hair. Melodramatic is my mother's middle name. She has always been this way. She is my best friend so I feel really strange naming my child a name that she despises. ?
Ditto. He is so cute!
LMS, I forgot to tell you - One of my good friends is due in June, and Henry is their top name choice. They've only received positive feedback, even from the people who said it's not their "style." FWIW, he'll go by Hank.
Oh cool! I don't mind if people call him Hank. I'll still call him Henry, just like my MIL calls my husband Phillip and no one calls him Phillip.?
Oh, I like that! That's very nice.?
Well, if she has never had a Henry in her class, she wont have to remember a particularly draining child every time she utters her grandson's name.
There are definitely a few names that I will not be choosing for my children?I say them frequently enough at school everyday.
I think Henry is an adorable name.
ALL names go in cycles.
My grandmother's name was Ella. No one was being named Ella for decades - it was an old person's name. Now, it is wildly popular. Ditto for Violet, Charlotte....
Henry is another example of a name that is coming back.
40 years from now I'll bet you Jennifer will seem fresh and new for babies once all those Jennifers born in the 70s are little old ladies.
I think Henry Jacob is a great name. It is classic and works well for a child but also works well for an adult.
LMS, your mother is completely wrong. And possibly in need of some kind of pharmaceutical, or at least a stiff drink.
Your names are perfectly fine. Henry is a very nice name with a lot of very widely accepted nicknames if you or he wants to mix it up. And I'd hardly think Prince Henry is a nerd.
Henry is a regal, dignified name, a name of kings and captains of industry. It's a name everyone can recognize and no one will mispronounce.
And in a complete I-told-you-so moment that would be physically painful for me to restrain, this is exactly what I was talking about last night. It's entirely possible to criticize a name choice you don't like without making someone feel bad about picking it. Your mother was utterly out of line, and should she someday tell your child that she tried to talk you out of his name, I'd have no problem telling her she was making a choice between seeing her grandson in pictures or in person.
We originally had that on our name list too (Henry Thomas) and my parents hated it too. We eventually chose a different name (on our own) and after we did, they said they were relieved because they couldn't see having a grandson named Henry. I was hurt because if we would have stuck with it, they would have always hated our son's name! Why do families think they get a say in what you name your babies? They got to name theirs. I want to name mine!
I love it. I say use it unless YOU change your mind. Don't let anyone else change it for you.
I agree with everyone else, i think your mom totally over stepped her grounds on this one. Its one thing to have an opinion but she took it to a whole new extreme.
I think Henry is a great name and will suit any child, even one with red hair! Stick to your choice and you'll be glad you did. This is why DH and I have decided to keep our name choices to ourselves. Everyone always seems to have an opinion