I'm just wondering, does anyone have any really bad impressions or connotations associated with this name? (Aside from ones based on specific Hazel's you've known)
I ask because this is our first choice right now, and my mother HATES it. I mean, if she just kind of didn't like it, I wouldn't think twice about it. After all, she's my kid!
But her strong reaction makes me wonder if there's something off putting I'm not realizing about this name. My mom apparently remembers a TV show about a witch named Hazel, lol.
I see now why some choose not to share name ideas with family!
I really like the name! It is faurly quickly rising in popularity, but I think for good reason. The only things I can think of would be witch hazel and hazy? Neither of which I think are bad enough to second guess the name.
Not a bad association, but a lot of people will think it came from The Fault in Our Stars. I like it enough to put that aside. Definitely think about popularity though if you intend to use Grace as the middle name as there are many little girls named Hazel Grace running around due to the book.
Names come in and out of popularity partly because of generational sentiment. You're not seeing a lot of Jennifers and Brittanys being born now because to us, those who grew up with those names, they sound very common. So reach back to the names of our parents' generation: The Karens and Susans. Those sound stuffy and plain to us because those are our parents. Again, go back a generation to our grandparent's time: the Joans, Sandras, and Phyllis'. We're getting closer but these just sound antiquated to our ears. How 'bout stepping back again?
And there it is, the sweet spot of names. Hazel, Norma, Lucille. They sound nice and we rarely have a negative connection to them because they were common in a generation of folks we were never very familiar with. With your mother's reaction, consider that it comes from her grandparents' generation. So it may seem like a dusty old name you pulled off the shelf to her.
FWIW, I like Hazel though it has become a bit of an "it" name in recent years so it could be timestamped to the times, if that matters at all to you. (It doesn't to me.)
Hazel is on our short list also- I think it's pretty and classic without sounding elderly. No negative associations to me, though there is witch hazel astringent.
I don't know of a TV witch named Hazel, but there is a skin cleanser called witch hazel.
But, FWIW, I think it is a lovely name.
Married 10/4/2014 (10-4, good buddy!) Baby Boy #1 born 1/9/17 Baby Boy #2 EDD 11/4/18
"It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." -Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird
I have a Hazel. For what it's worth, my mother also hated it. So much so that she asked me if we had a baby name book to look up names. She also suggested we go with Hailey instead.
Now that she is 3.5 years old. It just fits her. I honestly can't imagine her being anything else. It's also not popular here, like at all, so yes- there are strong reactions to it, but I couldn't care less.
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I don't know about a witch show, but there was a show about a maid named Hazel so I think of that as well as a rabbit from Watership Down. I don't see the appeal of the name unless you are naming a rabbit.
It was going to be our girl name because it's a family name on DH's side. My grandmother and mother hate it. Grandma said, "They'll call her Hazel Nut!" We had a boy, but if we have a girl we may use it. My entire side of the family loathes it. Oh well.
@thegdpaterfamilias My mom was telling me exactly what you said. All of the 1910 names making a comeback like Cora, Evelyn, Hazel. Our parents think "that's an old lady name" because it was their grandmother's name. But for most of us 20-40, we never got to know those relatives with those names so they don't remind us of "old" people.
NMS. I don't like color names, location names, gemstone names or nature names. It has become very popular. I think the Z in it makes it trendy. I think you can do better!
I think it's very cute. This is why we kept DD's name a secret until her birth. No one else's opinion mattered to us, and I certainly didn't want a family member or friend to talk me out of a name I loved and they didn't. It worked well for us I personally could never use Hazel...it's our cats name!
Re: Hazel
My furchildren, Dorothy and Johnny
And there it is, the sweet spot of names. Hazel, Norma, Lucille. They sound nice and we rarely have a negative connection to them because they were common in a generation of folks we were never very familiar with. With your mother's reaction, consider that it comes from her grandparents' generation. So it may seem like a dusty old name you pulled off the shelf to her.
FWIW, I like Hazel though it has become a bit of an "it" name in recent years so it could be timestamped to the times, if that matters at all to you. (It doesn't to me.)
But, FWIW, I think it is a lovely name.
Baby Boy #1 born 1/9/17
Baby Boy #2 EDD 11/4/18
Now that she is 3.5 years old. It just fits her. I honestly can't imagine her being anything else. It's also not popular here, like at all, so yes- there are strong reactions to it, but I couldn't care less.
To me is is a harsh name and nothing appealing about it.
Greta
Harper
Eliza
Cora
Lucy
Wren
I personally could never use Hazel...it's our cats name!