Baby names we regret choosing
FEW decisions are given as much thought as which name to give a baby.
But many parents later regret attempts to make their offspring more unique than any other little Tom, Dick or Harry.
Almost one in five would pick a different name for their child if given the chance again, a survey revealed yesterday.
Some regret their choice within days of the birth, although only one in 50 of those having second thoughts actually change the name, the poll by Mumsnet found.
Around 18 per cent feel they picked the wrong name, one in four changed their minds about the name after discovering others had chosen it, too, and one in ten worry that it is misspelled or badly pronounced.
In the survey, compiled from contributions by 1,362 website readers, one mother said she regretted naming her daughter Elsa after the Disney film Frozen, featuring Queen Elsa, became a worldwide hit.
Another said her girl’s name, Isis – named after the Egyptian goddess of health, marriage and wisdom, ‘was taken by a terrorist group soon after she was born’.
A third parent told Mumsnet: ‘My child hates his name, and makes me feel bad for choosing it.’ Justine Roberts, of Mumsnet, said: ‘Baby name regret is great practice for parenting – you do a lot of hard work and research, try to please several people at once, and end up getting it wrong.
‘The consolation is that most children grow into their names – and those who don’t can always fall back on middle names, nicknames or, at the extreme, deed polls.’
Stars who have chosen unusual names for their children include Jamie Oliver, who named his new son River Rocket this month, while Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin called their two children Moses and Apple.
Guitarist Frank Zappa named two of his children Moon Unit and Dweezil, and David Bowie called his son Zowie – now better known as the film director Duncan Jones.
This year, users of the social media website Reddit shared the worst baby names from 2016, including Mhavryck, Ehann, Nevaeh – which is Heaven backwards, and Colon.