(no subject)
Aug. 16th, 2009 05:12 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
gregariouspeach.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
babynamesI get a lot of odd looks about my daughters name, Priya (Pree-yah; Sanskrit meaning 'Beloved').
This is for a variety of reasons but mostly because even though it's a very common Indian name, we're not Indian, we don't live in India and people presume we made it up. Though this bugs me a little especially when people make comments about "these new made up names" and I feel like smacking them in the face and telling them Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in the world.
So those of you here who are parents I am asking:
What is your child's name?
Why did you chose it?
What are people's reactions to it?
Would you change it?
. I've answered in the comments.
This is for a variety of reasons but mostly because even though it's a very common Indian name, we're not Indian, we don't live in India and people presume we made it up. Though this bugs me a little especially when people make comments about "these new made up names" and I feel like smacking them in the face and telling them Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in the world.
So those of you here who are parents I am asking:
What is your child's name?
Why did you chose it?
What are people's reactions to it?
Would you change it?
. I've answered in the comments.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 07:32 am (UTC)Why did you chose it? My husband and I wanted to chose a name based on meaning and our reaction to the way it sounded. We really wanted a name that meant "Love' or "Beloved" because this was our first baby and very much a product of love. After much searching we couldn't find any names we liked and my husband had even started suggesting we name her Love. One of our very close friends an Indian man finally got married to his fiance and brought her over from India. I cannot describe how beautiful this Indian woman was, just divine! She was so sweet and witty and we both fell in love with her instantly. Over the course of dinner I asked her what her name 'Priya' meant as I really like the way it sounded. I nearly fell off my chair when she said "Love; Beloved". We knew right away that would be our daughters name.
Grace was chosen as a balance to her fairly 'uncommon' first name. My husband was adament about it. Even though the name is annoyingly popular as a middle name I don't mind. One of my favourite songs is 'Grace' and this helped sway me to it.
What are people's reactions to it? We do have some negative responses to the name as I've said. People presuming we made it up, people pronouncing it "Prior", people saying "but you're not Indian?".
For the most part though we get a lot of good reactions such as "Priya, that's a beautiful name" and lots of "Priya? I know this Indian girl named Priya..."
Would you change it? Never
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 07:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 08:12 am (UTC)What is your child's name? Mila Isabel
Why did you chose it? When we found out it was a girl I had a ton of names and one of the names I brought up was Mila. I loved it and her father did too so that's when we decided that's what we'd be using. I also picked Isabel cause I love that name and always wanted to use it as a middle name. He agreed and liked it a lot too. I came up with almost all the girl names, basically. At first I wanted Natalia (which i still love, he didn't) or Chloe. So glad I didn't pick Chloe. I don't really even like the name anymore.
What are people's reactions to it? Almost everyone liked it. Maybe 2 or 3 people so far have said they don't care for it. I honestly don't care what anyone else has to say. A lot of people ask me were I got Mila from.
Would you change it? Nope. I love her name.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 08:35 am (UTC)Why did you chose it? My husband's father died shortly before we started dating. His father's name is Eliyahu. It took me a couple of months to get pregnant, nothing serious, but I was upset. I asked a Rabbi for a blessing and got pregnant that month. I wanted to add a name to Eliyahu, because the sound hadn't grown on me yet and because my FIL died sort of young so I wanted to change the name a bit. I looked up the Rabbi's first name (I only knew his last name) and it was Dovid which just sounded perfect to me.
What are people's reactions to it? In our Jewish community where both names are pretty popular (though the combination isn't as popular as other combinations) we get told it is a beautiful name or asked "what do you call him?" and I guess people are looking for the common nickname "Eli" pronounced "ellie" but we call him by his full name and some other people call him ED or EDS. One guy calls him Eli D. I like the nicknames given out of love, but not the generic Eli. It is too feminine sounding to me. The funny thing is little kids mostly say a baby version of his full name whereas adults want a nickname. Other kids just pick whichever name they are more familiar with and call him that. He'll answer to either name, but I think someone has to really engage him to get him to realize EDS is him.
People outside of our community ask us to repeat the name or raise their eyebrows and one woman told me he'll have a hard time in school (except he'll go to religious school where chances are someone in his class will share at least one of the names). Often I just tell them his name is "Eli" as in Eli Manning. He doesn't answer to it though.
Would you change it? Never.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 08:51 am (UTC)Why did you chose it? Paul and I chose Asher because we loved how it sounded, the meaning behind it and the fact not 10 kids would have it in his prep class. He fell in love with it the minute I mentioned it out loud (thinking Paul would hate it).
Riley we chose because we liked how they flowed, I love the fact it's Irish (part of my heritage) and we were desperate for a middle name since I was in labour!
What are people's reactions to it? At first people were like 'Oh... that's nice...' and a few months in they admitted they weren't too sure about it at first, but love it now.
Would you change it? No, we both still love the name and I think it really suits Asher. I could never imagine him with any other name!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 10:03 am (UTC)Benjamin Nicholas
Why did you choose it?
Benjamin - we both liked it (sound, meaning, Ben reminds us of Obi Wan Kenobi :P) and even though it wasn't my #1 name, it felt right; Nicholas - DH's name
What are people's reactions to it?
They can't be bad because it's such a traditional name. The only comments I've ever gotten are "Oh, I love Benjamin!" or something along those lines.
Would you change it?
Never, we love it and it fits him perfectly.
Now when we have a daughter, we're going to name her Margaret. And I know not everyone loves Margaret, such as my mother. She thinks it sounds like an old lady's name. Too bad.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 10:31 am (UTC)She will be named Chloe LaRae
We chose Chloe because we liked it, we wanted a name that wasn't OMG popular (although since choosing the name I have seen it around a lot more!). Her middle name LaRae is a family name on my side. My aunt and my middle name is LaRae also. My grandmother made it up but I really like it.
People say 2 things. 1. OMG you should totally spell it KHLOE!!! (after the kardashian chick). I just tell them that we did not pick it to mimic her, and that we prefer the original greek spelling thanks. 2. CHLOE? thats an old fashioned name.... you should pick something more cre8tive!!!! once again.... no thanks.
I would say no on changing it. My husband had some other potentials as well that I liked just as much, however this baby's personality even in the womb fits for her and she just seems like a Chloe even in my belly.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 10:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 12:17 pm (UTC)Miles Ethan
Why did you chose it?
We went through the baby book and both immediately loved Miles. But then I looked up its popularity and saw it was cracking the top 200. We went back to the drawing board but nothing we could find resonated with us as much as Miles. Ethan was always going to be his middle name because that is my little brother's name and he is unable to have children.
What are people's reactions to it?
Everybody's reaction to it is favorable. It's a very innocuous name. Not too weird, not too popular, not too kr8tiv.
Would you change it?
I would not change it because it's suits him and I still haven't come across a boy's name I like as much as Miles.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 12:47 pm (UTC)What is your child's name? Bradley Patrick __________
Why did you chose it? Bradley is my mother's maiden name, and Patrick is my husband's name
What are people's reactions to it? Everyone says they like it (though should I believe them? hmmm...). Some elaborate to say it sounds strong, masculine, corporate/executive (??), etc.
Would you change it? Still could at this point obviously :) But no, I don't think we will. We like that it has family significance, that it's easy to spell and pronounce (my name isn't), and that it's not very popular so he isn't one of five with the same name in his class at school.
FWIW :)
Date: 2009-08-16 12:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 12:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 12:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 12:58 pm (UTC)My children's names are:
Patrick Levi
Kevin Earl
Lilah Grace
Laurel Zoye
Why did you chose it?
I'm fond of Irish names, floral names, and always want my children to feel connected to family. My boys are much older then my girls, or else they might have ended up with Irish names as well perhaps. But, when naming my boys it wasn't hard. Patrick was the first name that came to me and aftr changing my mind a million times, I ended up choosing it anyway when I saw him. He just looked like a Patrick, and Levi was my great grandfather's name. With Kevin, his father and debated a few names, came close to calling him Christian but he had a cousin born just months before named Christopher, so that was out... then finaly we agreed on Kevin, and Earl was my grandfathers name. Ten years later... yes ten years, we were tossing names about again. We agreed rather easily, The name we both liked the best was Lilah, and Grace was my grandmother's middle name, (her name was Bernice... uhh, no. Grace it is! lol.) It very much fits her. Then we had our surprize! We picked several names in varying combinations. Thought we had our minds set... then when I was in labor, realized that my s/o couldn't say Kaitlin with throwing a 'D' on the end! Vermonters! lol. I made up my mind then and there that if this one was a girl, it would be Laurel. He knew better then to argue with me. lol. Besides, he liked the name too. It wasn't until after she was born that we decided on her middle name. When I looked at her, the name Laurel Zoye just seemed to fit her, and Zoye was after another of my grandmothers.
What are people's reactions to it?
When the boys were little mostly people's first reactions are "Oh! What a beautiful baby!" Then they would ask the name. Since they are such common first names nobody bats and eye. And since they have family names for middle names, the family is familiar with them and just say, "That's nice!" With the girls it's pretty much the same first reaction. "Oh! What a pretty little girl!" Then when they ask the name, "Isn't that pretty!" Except for one woman, she thought we'd made up the name Lilah. She'd never heard of it before! Honestly? One of my Grandmothers best friends name was Lilah, and she'd be nearly a hundred if she were still alive! People! Anyway, when the grils are together, people comment on how well the names go together and how they look so much alike even though one is brunette and one is blonde. Well, they are sisters after all. lol.
Would you change it?
Never. My children were all named with careful consideration after they were born. They all fit their names quite well. They are all happy with their names. And really, that's what's most important to me.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 01:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 01:26 pm (UTC)Why did you chose it? I just fell in love with it. It was the name I kept going back to repeatedly when trying to find names for my son.
What are people's reactions to it? People love it. I get the general " is it after Bob Dylan?" which is a no. I like Bob Dylan to a degree but not enough to name my son after him. I also get the "OH how do you say that?" when they see the spelling. Apparently everyone spells it Dillon now?
Would you change it? Not even. It suits him and I love it.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 01:34 pm (UTC)Eleanor Violet
Why did you chose it?
OMG it took us foreverrrr to agree on a name. We have been discussing baby names since we first got together, 6 years ago. When I was pregnant we were watching The Simpson's and there was a backstory about the crazy cat lady and it turns out her name is Eleanor. When the name came on the screen my husband paused the TV and said "I like the name Eleanor." and I said "so do I". We were set on it for awhile and then I changed my mind because 1. Ella and Ellie are getting really popular as names and 2. when you keep saying a name to yourself constantly, it eventually loses all meaning.
However, after going through every other name under the sun and rejecting it we came back to Eleanor and now I can't imagine her being called anything else.
Violet was the name that we both liked when we first started dating and it sounds good with Eleanor.
What are people's reactions to it?
I've only had really positive reactions to it. If people don't like it they've kept it to themselves. A few people have told me "Oh that's my grandmother's name." which I like.
Would you change it?
nope
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 01:37 pm (UTC)My mom complains that people used to ask her if he was named after Dylan from 91210...yeah that show didn't start til he was 5
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 01:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 02:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 02:17 pm (UTC)Why did you chose it? Corbin came from a list of names that I liked, and my husband and I narrowed it down from that. What is most important for me in a name is that I don't associate the name with anyone else. I am also more fond of less common first names since our last name is common. We like Corbin because you don't hear it every day, but it's easy to pronounce and spell, and no so uncommon as to get many "huh?" looks from people when they hear the name. James is my husband's name and also a family name on my mom's side.
What are people's reactions to it? Almost everyone says they really like it, or love it! I actually haven't heard anything negative about it :)
Would you change it? Never. It fits him perfectly!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 02:44 pm (UTC)And I think that people are a lot less likely to say that they dislike a name when an actual human life, especially a child, is involved!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 02:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 03:02 pm (UTC)