Parenting

Most Annoying Things Moms Do When Choosing a Baby Name

ParentingPublished Feb 25, 2015
By Judy Dutton
pregnant woman names

Choosing a baby name might be important to you (and for good reason), but let me let you in on a little secret: Not everyone shares your undying love for the name you picked, or how you spell it, or how you've chosen to present it to others. In fact, sometimes, hearing about your baby name or the rules you expect the rest of us to follow regarding it, is downright annoying. Here, 10 things that drive other moms the craziest.

Does #5 drive you crazy too?

For more baby name ideas, visit BabyNameWizard.

Image © Artiga Photo/CORBIS

1/13
Act like you "own" the name-placeholder
Act like you "own" the name
Haryadi CH/shutterstock

Act like you "own" the name

Sorry, but unless you filed for copyright, you can't "own" a name and anyone who wants to can use it. Even more annoying is when people call "dibs" on names who aren't even pregnant yet: "When I get married and have a child, I'm naming him or her Connor. Don't steal my name!" Um, you're not even pregnant yet. 

More From The Stir: Quiz: What's Your Celebrity Baby Name IQ?

2/13
Use an off-the-wall spelling-placeholder
Use an off-the-wall spelling
iStock.com

Use an off-the-wall spelling

We're talking about when parents take an otherwise normal name -- Jennifer, Jack -- and jazz it up with a bunch of y's, z's, and other zany letters. The result: Gennyfur, Zgadgck. Why? One, it still sounds the same, so it won't make any difference unless it's written. And even if it is written, it will be mispelled your child's entire life, and he will resent you for it.

3/13
Give siblings rhyming or theme names-placeholder
Give siblings rhyming or theme names
iStock.com

Give siblings rhyming or theme names

Got two kids named Petal and Blossom? Or three named Jerry, Terry and Sherry? If you're part of a traveling circus perhaps there's a point, but otherwise it sounds pretty ridiculous.

4/13
Freak out if people don't LOVE the name-placeholder
Freak out if people don't LOVE the name
iStock.com

Freak out if people don't LOVE the name

Not everyone has the same tastes as you, so don't get upset if people don't  gush "Oooooh, I love it!" Some people won't like it; so get used to it.

More from The Stir: Quiz: What's Your Perfect Baby Name?

5/13
Choose a name that's hard to pronounce-placeholder
Choose a name that's hard to pronounce
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Choose a name that's hard to pronounce

And then getting bent out of shape when people mispronounce it. Give them a break; they haven't been pondering this name for months like you.

6/13
Call the baby something totally different-placeholder
Call the baby something totally different
Ilja Generalov/shutterstock

Call the baby something totally different

"We're going to name our baby Sarah, but we're going to call her Coco." Um, why? What's the point of having a name you never use? Even worse is when parents expect everyone, including a child's teachers, to go along with it. If you don't like the name you picked, change it, or if it's not official yet, consider naming your baby the name you want to use. Simple.

7/13
Have a baby name reveal party-placeholder
Have a baby name reveal party
iStock.com

Have a baby name reveal party

Chances are you're familiar with gender reveal parties, and those can be exciting. But a name reveal party seems like an awful lot of fuss over a name. If you want to keep the name secret up until birth, we get that, but don't make a huge to-do over your name with a party devoted to its unveiling.

More from The Stir: Quiz: What's Your Perfect Baby Name?

8/13
Mesh two names-placeholder
Mesh two names
Jason Patrick Ross/shutterstock

Mesh two names

Like: Darilyn or Dandrew or Fredward ... what the heck?

9/13
Choose a cutsie name-placeholder
Choose a cutsie name
iStock.com

Choose a cutsie name

Sure, a baby named "Teddy" or "Bunny" is cute. An adult with those names will never be taken seriously. It's fine to give babies a cute nickname, but make sure their name can be grown into -- Ted for Teddy, or Annabel for Bunny, for instance.

10/13
Go on and on (and on and on and on) about your baby's name-placeholder
Go on and on (and on and on and on) about your baby's name
iStock.com

Go on and on (and on and on and on) about your baby's name

Or constantly mulling over the various options. Save this for your husband, since he's the only one who'll truly care. Your friends would love to talk about something else for a while.

More from The Stir: 19 Surprising Scientific Facts About Naming Babies

11/13
Pick a Stripper Name-placeholder
Pick a Stripper Name
iStock.com/kirstypargeter

Pick a Stripper Name

Think about where you want your daughter to work in the future. If it includes the name "pussycat," then she's all set.

More From The Stir: 10 Important Things to Consider When Choosing Your Baby's Name

12/13
Insist kids don't make fun of other kids' names anymore-placeholder
Insist kids don't make fun of other kids' names anymore
iStock.com/CraigRJD

Insist kids don't make fun of other kids' names anymore

No one wants to think about their sweet little baby being bullied. Unfortunately, kids are cruel ... even kids today. And when someone tries to gently tell you that pairing "Ida" with the last name "Mann" isn't the best idea, well, maybe you should get your head out of your you-know-what and think of your sweetie on the playground in seven years.

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Choose a trendy name ... and then complain about it-placeholder
Choose a trendy name ... and then complain about it
iStock.com/ JodiJacobson

Choose a trendy name ... and then complain about it

Baby names are a lot like cars. When you pick one, suddenly it seems like EVERYONE has it. But here's the thing: just like cars, you can do your research before you make the choice. Sites like Baby Name Wizard actually track the popularity of a name. So if you don't want to have one of the 17 Jacobs in playgroup, it's on you to do the research ... not the rest of us!

More From The Stir: 10 Important Things to Consider When Choosing Your Baby's Name

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