Baby Name Regret: More Than Half Of Parents Wish They'd Chosen A Different Name

While certain parents try to trademark their baby's name, other parents -- about 54% according to a new online survey -- regret their chosen moniker. Gurgle.com, a web community for first time parents based in the UK, surveyed over 1,000 moms and dads and found that the majority wished they had picked a different name.

About 26% said the name they selected became too popular and almost half of the parents surveyed (49%) felt that their child's name just doesn't fit his or her personality.

Another website, yourbabydomainname.com, a U.S. based site, conducted a very similar survey in October 2011, which resulted in a much lower number: only 8% of the parents they asked admitted to regret. They did however, have the same rationale. A large number felt the name they picked had become too common.

Why such a staggering difference in results? Are American parents that much more sure of themselves than their British counterparts? That seems unlikely. A more plausible explanation could have to do with neither survey studying a pure sample of new parents; both sites relied on voluntary participants.

Gurgle.com also explored the ins and outs of naming decisions. About a fifth of parents told the site their partner rejected a name they really wanted. Some of those vetoed names were Scheherazade, Esme, Gateley (after Stephen Gateley), Renesse, and Majalla -- a unique bunch, but not nearly as bizarre as these names that were outlawed.

Regretful or not, most parents lay in the naming bed they made, so to speak. But it's not unheard of to make a change. Pauline and Jeffrey Eadie in Cleveland switched their daughter's name from Emma to Caroline when she was a newborn. And a Connecticut family switched their daughter’s name from Sophie to Isadora when she was four. Their reason? There was an "overwhelming amount" of Sophies in her preschool class.

To avoid post-naming shoulda, woulda, couldas, founders of Nameberry.com Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz offer advice to rookie parents. One of the top seven mistakes parents make is caring about how "cool" the choice makes them look. Instead, they urge namers to focus on choosing a name that their child can happily live with forever.

Quick Poll

Do you still love your children’s names?

Yes, I love my names

No, if I could pick different ones, I would

Most of the time, but I have regrets every so often

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Comments

[Aria Clements]

02:07 AM on 06/12/2012

Kids get picked on for "creative" names and names with unusual spellings. Don't ask me how I personally know. My birth name was all "spechul," first and middle being common porn names, and last being uncommon spelling.

An ex's parents picked a first name that would look good on the cover of Forbes because how often have you seen Judge Fairy Blossom or Starshine the attorney? How often have you ever heard of a CEO named Audioscience? Fact is that a name names a first impression. If you had two resumes on your desk with equal credentials, and one was for Elizabeth Martin and the other for Rainbow Riverdance Martin, you're going to subconsciously form a more favorable opinion of the one with a more conforming name, even if it turns out that Elizabeth's middle name is Adolf Hitler. Rainbow Riverdance doesn't have that option of hiding her middle name because there is no part of that name reasonable to use.

Save your children the teasing. Don't make them stand out when kids make fun of names OFTEN. Avoid disadvantaging you children. Choose a normal name with a normal spelling for the first one, and then have fun with the middle name. Danger or Spiderman of Batgirl would be fun to claim as a middle name, but socially stifling as a first name, even if the other kids think it's cool. Kids can even be jealous of kids with cool first names or accuse them of lying and shun them.

[J R M]

03:23 PM on 02/27/2012

It doesn't pay to be too creative on names. We went traditional. No coolness, but no problems. My name is John. So is my father's name, and his father's name, and my grandfather on my mother's side had the Eastern European equivalent, Ivan. Guess what, my son is John too.

[acumenguy]

11:28 PM on 02/26/2012

Parents, please remember, it is the CHILD who will have to respond to any ridiculous name you give them because YOU think it's cute, unique, or represents some idea you have in YOUR head.
You can tell your children to "hold their head up high, or, if they tease you, their not REALLY your friends" all you want.
But, if you choose to name your kid cocconutmilkflavoredmenstrualcyclejuice .... because you own some kinda "veggans are superior to all others" store, they're going to get teased. And, they are going to hate you for it. Oh sure, It's fun to see the reactions of others while they are babies. But, what about when the step up to the batteers box. Or get credit for a play the participated in?
So, have some compassion. THEY are the one's who have to respond to this idiotic name you stuck them with.
Now, is that fair?
I'm a teacher. I really think some of my parents need to be slapped ..... HARD.

[kasieerlewine]

10:57 AM on 02/27/2012

While I agree with you, I really hope you don't teach spelling.

[peacelovefood]

11:08 PM on 02/26/2012

I say we should go with what a character on 30 Rock suggested, "In our family we have a tradition of letting the kids name themselves and my son spiderman turned out just fine"

[nikkitytom]

04:43 PM on 02/26/2012

It's really no biggie. Nicknames can make up for a whole host of naming disasters. I have used my nickname with a hyphenated last name for forty years .... My original name, "Nancy-Jane" made my teeth cringe even when I was a child. Such a prissy, old-fashioned name. As I became a radical feminist and began wandering around in pant suits and trying to look like George Sand, I jettisoned the name. "Nancy-Jane" was clearly an handicap.

My nick-name is now an AKA on my passport ... the "Jane" was tossed years ago. And two added surnames by marriage have given me a great name which is a perfect by-line on my articles and any other public postings.

The child can easily tweak his name later if a poor choice was made. In the meantime there's an unlimited choice of nicknames. Choose one and use it!

[debnran]

04:06 PM on 02/26/2012

I had a friend whose daughter named his granddaughter Echo. What is the kid going to do when she gets to school and is teased by her classmates? Think about it, parents. You have 9 months to come up with a good name. Try out all sorts of permutations, and even ask kids what they think of names. Trust me, if there is a way it can be messed up, they will find it.

[debnran]

04:04 PM on 02/26/2012

I don't like unusual names for children. It might have worked out for Dweezle or Moon Unit Zappa, possibly for Chanda Lear, but I know a lot of kids who went through a lot named Michael Jackson, Stephen King, and Michael Jordan (all born AFTER their namesake became famous). Parents, when you name the kids, keep in mind the number of times they might be carded to prove that really is their names and not something to fool a teacher with. Also, if you belong to ethnic groups that traditionally name their children unique names, please remember that it also brands them with their ethnicity. If you really MUST give them an ethnic name, at least give them a non-ethnic name they can use for business. Future employers can't ask your race, or your religion, but what do you think of if a Mohammed applies? Can you even read the name L'Keis'ha and not think the child is Black, or Mei Ling and not think the child is Asian?

[MMStar]

02:37 PM on 03/06/2012

What's wrong with having an "ethnic" name? Are you seriously saying that a person needs to have a "non-ethnic" name for business? And yes, I've seen the whole Freakonomics thing about names, and to some degree, I buy it. But Lakeshia is a perfectly fine "ethnic" name, all creative apostrophe use aside. What's wrong with being named Mohammed? I have known plenty of successful Mohammeds. And there is no problem with being able to discern a person's ethnicity by their name. Why would there be?

[debnran]

03:50 PM on 02/26/2012

Western cultures go for the coolness of a name. They forget that in the past, people's names meant something other than just the moniker. When you choose your child's name, it sould be something meaningful. Also some cultures believe that the child should be named after the first year - it used to be because so many babies died in their first year, but I think that these days, that time can be used to think of a name that suits his or her personality.

[Stephanie Parfitt]

03:27 PM on 02/26/2012

I am pregnant with my daughter, and we decided to name her Elizabeth Lane, using Betty as her family name. Every time I turn aropund I get flack about calling her Betty, and I hear how they'll "just call her Elizabeth, instead". My own mother is the worst, she did the same thing with my son, Ryan Ace. She refuses to call him Ryan, and insists that I too call him Ace. It gets really frustrating, especially when his name fits him so well.

[Nancy Battani Martin]

03:07 PM on 02/26/2012

We had two different female & male names picked out for each of our kids before they were born and the day after they were born we took a good look at them and decided which name would fit them best. Our daughter would have been Erica since that was our first choice but she didnt "look" like an Erica so Jessica it was, and she really is a Jessie - bubbly, friendly, sweet & caring. Our son was going to be Kyle but again it just didnt seem to fit, so Jeffrey he is and he is a great Jeff - smart, funny, whitty, and a sports nut. Erica always brought visions of a dark haired snobby rich girl and Kyle would have been a skinny blonde haired cowpoke. My kids names fit them to a T even after 30 some years!!!

[tresbonbon]

03:06 PM on 02/26/2012

Maybe people should do like my son did when he got a puppy. He couldn't come up with a name and kept calling him The Dog. So, eventually that became his name and he remained as Dog the rest of his life. His wife now often calls their son The Kid but he does have a real name!

As opposed to a friend whose St.Bernard dog had a perfectly good name but eventually became known as Giddown.

To stay on topic, my kids are named Duane and Jeffrey (I wanted Jefferson Spencer after Roger Smith's character in 77 Sunset Strip but DH said no.) Perfect for them and I've never regretted picking either one.

[covyzoo]

03:01 PM on 02/26/2012

When we were expecting our daughter, my dear mother-in-law wanted one of the names to be one of her names. I loved my MIL and wanted to honor her but her names were Olive Viola. Neither one of those names were pleasant to me. I combined the two names for Olivia. That was thirty years ago before there were so many girls with that name. My daughter has always loved her name and so do we.

[jpfmtka]

02:55 PM on 02/26/2012

There is something to be said for traditional names. When an employer has 500 applicants for a single position, the resumes of Starlet, Cash, and Rowdy will probably be immediately dismissed. Likewise, any name with 25 letters that no one could possibly be expected to pronounce. (For the record, I know of real people with the three names identified).

[eeverettm]

02:54 PM on 02/26/2012

A girl in school is named Abcde. Who wants to name a kid that knowing she will be teased.

[Myriah007]

05:57 PM on 02/26/2012

How about Latrina by removing the e and adding an a to name a girl, or Latrel for a boy Latrine=a receptacle (as a pit in the earth) for use as a toilet.

[jpfmtka]

02:38 PM on 02/26/2012

As a bank manager back in the early 80's, I had an teller named Aqua Neta. Anyone remember the hairspray with a similar name? She was fired after a bank holdup in which her boyfriend was the perp.