My entire family vetoed my name choice.

gingerygirl · June 2014

We picked the name Oliver if it's a boy. My entire family said to pick a new name. Their reason is because Oliver sounds too much like Ollie which is my niece's name. Ugh. I really like Oliver.

Roxycc55 · June 2014

That's ridiculous. Your child, not theirs. No veto power for them.

longcat07 · June 2014

and this is why my family will find out bean sprout's name when bean sprout already has it. i'm sorry your family are being such dicks about it.

Cbeanz · June 2014

Your niece is Ollie? That's cute - is it short for something else?

rainbows · June 2014

If you are close and spend a lot of time with your niece It probably will be confusing. My parents named me and my 2 sisters similar names, and it was a problem figuring out who's getting yelled at.

Cbeanz · June 2014

Love Oliver by the way, but would think Ollie might be a nn.

thumper7912 · June 2014

We told people the gender and not our names. Strictly because my dad told me one of the names I picked was a Russian hookers name. Awesome dad. No one got to hear names after that.

Mrs_Bennett · June 2014

Name your baby whatever you want to name him/her! They all got to name their own babies....

gingerygirl · June 2014

Cbeanz said:
Your niece is Ollie? That's cute - is it short for something else?

Not short for anything, just Ollie. Ollie Cornelia.

BookitBoo · June 2014

That sucks

I'd still name baby Oliver if that's what you and DH want to do.

Lanatir · June 2014

Erinmcallister13 said:

Your niece is Ollie? That's cute - is it short for something else?
Not short for anything, just Ollie. Ollie Cornelia.

That's a little odd. I'm sure it fits her, but I would have thought it was maybe a nn for like "Olivia" or "Olive." Idk. I'm a personal fan of like legal sounding names and then you can give a cute nn, but idk. Ollie is NMS.

Oliver is GREAT, though. I grew up with a brother Jonathan and a cousin Jonathan and we saw each other only like 3-4 times a year, but it was always "Jonathan last name" to clarify and it didn't bother anyone, so I'm in the camp of do whatever you want for naming your kid and everyone else can deal with it.

ETA-- I'm being scatterbrained sorry. Bear with me...

"Ollie" and "Oliver" don't bother me much and I think they'd be reasonably distinguishable. It's not like "Olive" and "Oliver." haha.

Stargirlb · June 2014

Never tell anyone until after you've already named the baby

Beauxbaton · June 2014

I say fuck it. If you like the name then name the baby that.

mommy5point0 · June 2014

1-You name that baby whatever you want.

2-This is exactly why we didn't share our name choice with anyone on his side, mainly because his dad is so needlessly and rudely opinionated. We were never asking for opinions or approval. It came out at my shower 2 weeks before her birth.

3-Going back to #1, fuck them.

4-No offense to who chose your niece's name but THEY should have been told to pick a new one.

motherboy · June 2014

SassyMommaC said:
Personally, I couldn't care less what anyone aside from DH and I think of our kids names. I don't even care if they're close. Our boy name is Charles, it's a family name on DH's side. We've even told his family that we've had the name chosen for 10 years, we won't change our minds about it, even if someone else chooses to use it. We got some slack for both DD's names, but we calmly told them all "If you don't like the name/spelling (no worries, they're both spelled properly)/popularity/etc, then you can kindly fuck off." Besides, my niece has a doozy of a middle name, so anything we choose now is fantastic, as long as it isn't like hers!

Charles is a great name! But I'm very biased.

LovelyLips · June 2014

This is why I'm telling no one what I'm calling my child. It's no ones business what DH and myself decide to call him/her. Once the name is picked they either like or lump it. They are less likely to comment on it once it's official.

I'm sorry that families can be like this. If you like a name then stick to it.

Bigboneded · June 2014

Yup. If you love Oliver, stick with it! Tell them to enunciate carefully, then both children will learn better speech patterns also :-)

luciddreamer106 · June 2014

That's ridiculous. It's your kid, name him/her whatever you want. I could see their point if you wanted to name him Christopher and your niece was the feminine version, but come on!

Maebb · June 2014

I guess this is a UO, but I don't like the name Oliver.

I agree with what others said that you can name your baby whatever you want. And if it's really going to hurt your feelings if people don't like (or "veto") your name choice, it's better to not tell them and not ask for their opinion.

Milagros315 · June 2014

Another vote for name your kid whatever you want.

I have three sets of cousins with the same first name (I have over 30 first cousins). We see each other almost weekly, even now that most of us our adults. It has never been an issue for anyone.

LadyXaverian · June 2014

No one gets any veto power over a name except for you and your SO. Tell them to shove it.

I LOVE Oliver.

Samiantha101 · June 2014

Eh, I personally wouldn't name my child a name that's similar to a close family member, but it's really your choice.

rodiesmum · June 2014

Why would you allow them to dictate you?

[Deleted User] · June 2014

The user and all related content has been deleted.

MichaelSC28 · June 2014

So if you choose Oliver they won't accept the baby...they won't use his name...I am a lil confused. If you want Oliver than by gods! use it. I have very similar girl names in my family and we don't seem to have issues with deciphering...

I am not standing behind folding on this one!

nah82 · June 2014

Samiantha101 said:

Eh, I personally wouldn't name my child a name that's similar to a close family member, but it's really your choice.

My dad's name is Brian and my husband's name is Ryan. When my mom is talking to dad my husband thinks she's talking to him and vise versa. Personally, I probably wouldn't consider a name so similar. But also, I keep names we are considering under wraps until the baby is born. It saves you from other people's opinions and gives you room to change your mind if you end up not loving that name you had picked out at 12 weeks by week 40.

gingerygirl · June 2014

Honestly, I didn't even think about the similarity of the names until my dad brought it up. We were just spouting off names to each other and found that we both love Oliver.

Pips09 · June 2014

Who told them they get a say? The only people with votes (and veto power) are you and your H. Tell them too bad, it's your kid to name, not theirs.

This is also why we didn't tell anyone the name we chose until after the baby was born. We didn't want anyone's opinion.

motherboy · June 2014

Meh that would be way too close for me. The husband name scenario is apples to oranges because you can't control what his parents named him. In this case you would he knowingly naming your kid a very similar name. Tons of good names out there and plenty of time to keep looking.

YaMrWhite · June 2014

Too bad your family doesn't have the power to veto YOUR baby's name.

jennkg3 · June 2014

I think Ollie and Oliver are too close for me. However, we learned fast not to tell people names. Everyone has an opinion and only 2 matter.

misslizzy82 · June 2014

Name your baby what you want. My sister is naming my nephew Arken... I don't like it, but she didn't ask me so I never told her.

Your baby, your name.

danakatiepfoltzer · June 2014

Roxycc55 said:

That's ridiculous. Your child, not theirs. No veto power for them.

This.

nolansmom08 · June 2014

That is why I also will not tell anyone my name choices. I don't really care if anyone else likes it or not, and I know they won't say anything to me after it's official! Sorry they made a stink. I'd keep it anyway if that's what you want.

literarymuse · June 2014

If our baby is a boy, then we're totally going to run into grief with DH's brother and his wife. They named their son Liam James. Before they even got married, DH and I had picked James Alexander as the name for our first son. Buuuuut I don't really care. They like starting pointless drama all the time anyway, so it won't be anything new.

jonesparty7 · June 2014

I completely adore the name Oliver

It does not mattter what anyone else thinks. We arent' sharing names with family/friends until after baby comes.

nmrd · June 2014

I can see the arguments on both sides, but I would probably steer clear of the name just because it is so similar. I agree that your family doesn't have veto power but I would have a hard time naming my child something if I knew it was going to upset people so much. If their reasons were totally unreasonable I'd probably be less inclined to worry about them being upset, but there is some merit to their argument I think. I guess it just depends how important the name is to you versus the bad feelings it is going to cause.

12chachacha · June 2014

No one has the power to veto your name but you... even still though, given the names are so similar I think I would just pick something else. Pick a new name and don't tell it to anyone.

Sunflower9939 · June 2014

I hate when people think their opinion on your child's name matters. You name your kids, I name mine. No one asked for your opinion.

ShuShubee · June 2014

I'm sorry your family is being difficult. This is why no one will know our name(s) until the baby is here and it is official. People are more likely to keep their mouth shut once they can't influence the decision.

I personally think Oliver is cute. It is your and your SO's decision, not your family's.

pook411 · June 2014

We when told our DS name we just said his name is Chase this way no one would give an option because we said that it was his name. I find that when you are saying that we are thinking of .... For a name people tend to tell you their option. It is your child name it as you choose

Want a personalized experience?

My entire family vetoed my name choice.

Re: My entire family vetoed my name choice.

Choose Another Board

Search Boards