December 2015 Moms
Paperfinch
member
Reactions to the Baby Name?
Paperfinch
member
After going through lists of names with my husband, and having a hard time finding one that "clicked" with both of us, we finally decided on an uncommon gender-neutral name, Zephyr Wren. Since a lot of our family is fairly conservative with names, I had hoped to keep it a secret until our little one was born. When we announced the gender last week, of course, his family asked if we'd picked any names. My husband couldn't contain his excitement and announced it to his whole family. The next day, my MIL blurted, "Well, aren't you concerned about her being teased? I can see kids calling her "Zephyr, Zephyr, what a heifer" or something. You should just call her by her middle name, instead."
I simply responded by saying that kids will find any number of things to tease another kid about, that is often completely out of anyone's control. The best thing we can do as parents is try to raise them to be self-confident, since bullies tend to avoid the confident ones.
Then I told her we may consider re-naming her Bob. Or Voltore. Or Trombone. {snicker}
At the end of the day, my husband and I are the ones who will have to call her name all the time. It better be one we like. Why name a kid some common, homogeneous name out of fear of what "might" be?
Re: Reactions to the Baby Name?
Names can be such a taboo conversation. Your family will come around. Congrats on your baby girl.
And I love what you said about raising your child to be self-confident, you're going to make a great momma
Oh thats good.
It's definitely different, but not too out there different. If you and your husband like it, go for it. Just be prepared for more reactions like your MIL's if you plan on telling more people.
This time around it's "those are different names" and my mom genuinely promising everyone they grow on you. She's particularly picky on names so it's a big deal that she loves them. It helps with her we have reasons though (and middle name for girl partly honors her). People put up less argument if there's a story, even if it's just that you liked the meaning. The first name we picked for a girl has a very strong meaning and we liked that. Hubby and I have also both gone through having the common names and it's important for us to choose uncommon ones.
@momotheflyinglemur my dad decided for himself this baby is a girl and named her Sarah (not even something we'd consider) even after being told our name choices and liking them. Someone will always do what they want regardless of your wishes.
Zephyr is also the code name for an old soviet spy. And the name of a water company (Zephyr Hills.) Wren's not bad but reminds me of L'Wren Scott who just died last year from suicide by hanging...
But since you don't care about what others think about your names, why make a post on it?
And... At the end of the day, your daughter is going to be the one saddled with the name that you & your husband are so set upon. It's not as if it will just be the two of you calling her by her name. Think to the future. Not only school but when she gets married and has to put that on her resume & wedding invitations.
She may love her name... But isn't it worth considering the feedback? If it were a family name or one which was extremely sentimental to you for one reason or another then I would be much more agreeable to not considering alternatives.
Baby Girl 12.9.15
MC 4.7.14 @ 21 W - Turners Syndrome
Edited typos
However keep in mind NO ONE else's opinions matter but yours BEcause it's your baby
But to address the rest of your assertion... Personally, if I were in a position to be looking at resumes and considering whether or not to offer that applicant a position, I certainly would consider their name; Depending upon both the position and the type of business we may be dealing with. For example, when I was 21 years old, I was managing 53 employees… At the time, these employees came from all corners of the world. They were a plethora of different races/ethnicities/religions and were both male and female. I would have hired a transgendered person had one applied and passed all background checks. I was not discriminating in anyway. The type of business that I was running allowed me that option. It was the type of business where a name did not matter. However, if I were in an authoritative role and needed to make a decision whether or not to hire somebody for a position that requires a great deal of phone communication (just as an example,) I would certainly be looking at peoples' names and I would be fully within my rights to consider that without breaking the law in anyway so long as the name has no cultural or other meaning. It is not discriminatory. One is allowed to consider all non-discriminatory factors whilst making a decision whether or not to offer a position to an applicant. I would certainly review not only the resume, but I would likely scrutinize their grammar and verbiage. I may have extensive phone communications with applicants prior to meeting with them. The last thing that one might want would be to pick up the phone and call a Senator's office with the name of somebody who has recently killed themselves in an extraordinarily public manner or somebody who is related to a criminal element. I guarantee you that doing such would be extraordinarily detrimental to a business. Name associations absolutely can matter. You are correct that it is not always an issue… Would I personally hire an applicant despite their name if I felt that they were exceedingly qualified to execute their position? Yes. But I would also deny somebody that was on the cusp a position if I felt that it would be a liability. To reiterate, doing such is not discriminatory so long as one is not discounting an applicant's name due to their cultural or ethnic heritage, sex, gender, race, body size, sexual preference, et al.
All of this being said, I have no problem with unique names nor do I have a problem with common names. The OP made a post about her name choice and I am not about to apologize for giving my opinion. That is what this board is all about. We are allowed to disagree politely.
That being said, I wish you a good night and a very nice second half of your week. I am certainly glad to see that you are still around here and hope that you have had an improvement in your home life and situation overall. If I am not incorrect, your post entitled "so confused," indicated that you were in a very troubled place and I am very glad to see that you have decided to go forth with your pregnancy instead of terminating.
Ohhhhh @stephydan again.
1. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are your friend.
2. @BostonBaby1 for president!
3. Celeb babies don't work in corporate America.
4. Please be kind to your child or he/she will resent you forever.
Baby Girl 12.9.15
MC 4.7.14 @ 21 W - Turners Syndrome
@BostonBaby1, are you a bit curious now about whether or not you have a jail doppelganger with your name?
Eta: you know they have super valid and constructive points when their post gets removed (HEAVILY coated in sarcasm).
So much for QFP'ng. :-w
* It should be noted, I am absolutely do not share my name with any convicted criminal.
And, I absolutely love the way that your sarcasm font comes across on my phone! It's hot pink and sassy and I love it!
Zephyr however, does have a criminal element connected to it. Zephyr was the code name for the Soviet spy Mikhail Mukasei who was a pre and Cold War era super agent for Russia. If the OP is a Russian nationalist then the name makes perfect sense. Personally I would choose Mikhail myself it that were the case, but to each their own. Similar to how I would not name a child Zigzag (as in the famous double Agent Zigzag aka Eddie Chapman,) but I would consider Edward.
But hey, Bob Marley named his son Ziggy so I guess there is a celebrity for every name.