We’ve got baby Bears!
As Cheryl reveals it’s the name of her newborn son, the other mums who say ... by Jill Foster
ThEy waited five weeks to announce the name of their baby boy. But when Liam Payne and the former Cheryl Cole revealed his name was Bear, there was a mixed reaction.
‘Bear Payne sounds like the feeling you experience after stepping on Lego,’ commented one Twitter wag. ‘At least they didn’t name him Window,’ said another.
The couple have not revealed what prompted them to choose the unusual name. It may well be after adventurer Bear grylls — whose real name is Edward — who congratulated them. Liam responded saying: ‘hope he grows with an ounce of your courage!’
Cheryl and Liam are by no means the first celebrities to fall for the ursine name. Kate Winslet, Alicia Silverstone and Jamie Oliver have all got boys called Bear. And while it does not yet appear in the top 100 names of boys born in England and Wales, there seems to be a growing trend for babies to be officially registered as Bear. here, six mothers reveal why they’re proud to have a baby Bear . . .
IT’S LIKE MARMITE — YOU EITHER LOVE IT OR HATE IT
STACEY FLINN-SCHOLFIELD, 33, is an NHS administrator. She is married to paul, 36, who is in the armed Forces. they live with their five-year-old son Bear in darlington. Stacey says: BECAUSE Paul is in the Army, people think our son is named after Bear grylls, but that’s not the case. Paul was on tour in Afghanistan for most of my pregnancy and we sent each other lots of messages talking about names. his pet name for me has always been Stacey-Bear and he thought it would be great to call our son Bear, too.
I really wasn’t sure. I was worried people wouldn’t like it and there would be a backlash. So instead we looked at names that meant Bear such as Orson and Arthur.
We thought about having it as a middle name and chose the name Ethan Bear. But somehow it didn’t seem right. In the end, we decided to call him Bear without any middle name. I can’t imagine him as anything else now.
I thought my mum and dad would hate it, but they love it. I’ve no idea if friends say anything about it behind my back — it’s a Marmite kind of name; you either love or hate it. I’m forever correcting people when they think I’ve said Ben.
The only negative reactions have been from mothering groups on social media. People say: ‘Why are you calling your baby after an animal?’ and, ‘What’s that going to look like on his CV — it will go straight in the bin.’ When I first read those comments I had an anxiety attack and thought we’d made a huge mistake — I hadn’t thought about his job prospects.
Now I couldn’t care what people think and with Cheryl calling her baby Bear, I’m sure there will be hundreds more.
EVEN THE MIDWIFE SAID IT WAS ODD
Sophie Marwood, 24, is a freelance bookkeeper. She lives with partner ashley Cooke, 33, who runs his own business, in Malton, North Yorkshire, with daughter poppy, four, and son Bear, 14 months. Sophie says: My DAUGHTER was just 18 months when I found myself pregnant again. I did have a hunch it might be a boy. Even though I didn’t want to push our luck, I secretly longed for one. It was at 12 weeks into the pregnancy that we talked about names and it was Ashley who suggested Bear.
At first I thought he was joking. We did want an unusual name and while I wasn’t immediately keen, it grew on me. I eventually agreed as long as his second name was Charlie, after my late grandfather.
Family and friends pulled faces when we told them at 20 weeks what we would call our baby if he was a boy.
But they soon changed their minds after he was born. Everyone says he looks like a ‘Bear’.
Even the midwife who delivered him looked shocked when we told her what we were planning on calling him, saying: ‘That is the strangest name I’ve ever heard!’
Even so, we’ve been proved right: everyone at the nursery he attends tells me he absolutely suits his name. Life is easy with his clothes, too — they all have bears on them. People assume he’s an Edward, but I soon put them straight.
HIS HAIR MADE HIM LOOK LIKE A BEAR
FRANKIE Ballard, 24, is on maternity leave from her role as an account manager at a call centre. She lives with partner Jake Conroy, 27, a self-employed builder, in Southend-on-Sea with their three-week-old twins, son Bear and daughter Beaux. Frankie says: WHEN we found out I was carrying twins I was shocked and scared. It was at the 23- week scan we discovered we were expecting a boy and a girl. We talked about lots of names for both of them, but Bear, for a boy, was one we both immediately liked. If I’m honest, it was because it was such an uncommon first name.
Bear and his sister Beaux were born prematurely at 32 weeks and six days by Caesarean section. They spent their first two weeks in the special care baby unit. When I first saw Bear and got to hold him, I instantly knew we’d chosen the right name. he was covered in downy hair and had a grumpy little face and a wrinkly forehead. his name fits him like a glove.
Neither of the twins have middle names. Jake and I feel that because their first names are so unusual, they don’t need another one.
WE PICKED THE NAME YEARS AGO
REBECCA MIMMS, 33 is pub and hotel manager. She is married to Giles, 44, a restaurant manager, and they live with their 12-week-old son Bear in Billericay, essex. rebecca says: GILES and I are both from families who have always preferred very traditional Christian names. giles rather likes his, whereas I’m not keen on mine at all. That’s why we
decided three years in advance what we were going to call our first child. I was determined to give them a first name with a contemporary twist.
Of course, we were influenced by Bear Grylls. Even so, we wanted to keep our first-born child’s sex a secret until I gave birth. So we opted for Bear for a boy and Tiger for a girl.
I’d even checked that neither were in the top-hundred lists of popular names. We were determined our baby’s name would be a strong one — and unique.
When I told my mum, she loved it. Nonetheless, some of her friends have been a bit sniffy, declaring it awful and warning her: ‘Wait until he’s older.’
We have thought about that, though, and his second name is the very traditional Christian. So if he really hates Bear, he has that to fall back on.
The naysayers in our social circle also worry he’ll be bullied, but my husband and I would never let that happen. My maiden name was Sexty. Growing up with such an unusual and comical surname has given me a thick skin and it’s one I’ll pass on to Bear.
I FEAR THERE’LL BE LOTS OF BEARS NOW
Beth Margetson, 24, is a nail technician, and lives with partner Mark Mitchell, 28, a bar manager in northumberland. their son Bear is 18 months old. Beth says: I HAVE absolutely no idea where I got the name Bear from. I’d liked it long before Bear Grylls was on Tv. Even as a young child I used to say to my Mum: ‘When I have a baby, I’ll call it Bear.’
So when I got pregnant and we knew we were having a boy, I knew what I’d like to call him.
Mark took some convincing. he said it was too unusual but after a while, he came around. I didn’t tell anyone else what we were planning to call him, though, because you always get people saying they hate a name. The reactions we get are very different. Some love it and some really dislike it — and they’re not afraid to tell us. But we also get lovely comments, too, people say it’s a soft, gentle name.
Bear’s grandparents all like his name. My dad said he didn’t expect anything different from us as we’re always a little unconventional.
My boy suits his name perfectly. he loves the outdoors and exploring yet he has a soft, gentle side. he’s like a cuddly bear.
When I hear of celebrities naming their child Bear, I don’t mind too much. It’s not as if they’ve copied me. But I do worry now Cheryl has named her little boy Bear there will be thousands of copycats.
I think a boy grows into a name and this will make him headstrong yet kind and caring.
PEOPLE THINK HE’S CALLED ‘BEN’
Chanel hill, 33, is an administrator for a healthcare company. she is married to Joe, 37, a bus driver, and they live in south london with their sons oliver, six, and eightmonth-old Bear. Chanel says: WHEN Cheryl named her baby Bear, I woke up that morning to 17 text messages from friends saying: ‘You got there first!’
When I was pregnant, we didn’t find out the sex of the baby and I was convinced I was having a girl because I’d been so unwell.
Girl babies are said to release more hormones that make you unwell, so we had a list of girls names ready.
When he came out and they said: ‘It’s a boy!’, Joe and I looked at each other and had no names!
My dad suggested arthur as it was his dad’s name, but we looked at the baby and he didn’t seem like an arthur. My husband really likes Bear Grylls and suggested Bear, but I thought it sounded too unusual and we discounted it.
The baby was without a name for four days and it was only when my dad said he wouldn’t leave for his holiday the next day until we had named the baby that we decided to plump for Bear.
It was only later when we were looking up Bear Grylls on the internet that we realised it’s not his real name — he’s Edward — but by then we’d registered it!
We also didn’t realise until this week that arthur means Bear — so my dad will be thrilled.
We’ve had a lot of positive reactions. Quite a lot of people mishear it and think he’s called Ben. Even the lady who registered it looked at us twice when we mentioned it. additional reporting by samantha Brick.