Part of the reason people take so much care when naming their children is the hassle and turmoil of changing it later on.
This mum is currently reconsidering her choice now her child (called Jake) is four, with the young boy’s distress prompting her to weigh up her options.
On Mumsnet, the anonymous woman said: ‘My son hates his name. He says it’s boring and he has actually cried about it.
‘He was named for my cousin and has the same name as a close family member. He says he wants his name to be his own and not somebody else’s.’
Because of how much her child dislikes his name, the mum realised she also ‘really doesn’t like’ the moniker.
‘It isn’t anything awful, but it wasn’t my first choice,’ she admitted. ‘His dad picked it, and he’s no longer in our lives, so every time I say it I’m reminded of his dad.’
The mother claimed her son’s name held ‘bad connotations’ for her as a result, and although she’d tried to reassure him, she was questioning whether changing it would be a good idea.
Her post continued: ‘I haven’t told son my true feelings, I always assure him it’s HIS name and it’s lovely but it’s been over a year since he really started hating it and it hasn’t changed.
‘I thought it was a typical kid thing but it really distressed him.’
The boy wants to be referred to as Evan from now on, so the mum asked: ‘Shall I put it down as “known as Evan”‘ so that he is called that at school and then if he sticks by this when he gets older we can legally change his name? Or shall I keep encouraging him to be called by his real name?’
Some commenters agreed she should respect her son’s wishes and start calling him Evan, sharing stories of loved ones who changed their names young and were happy with their decision later in life.
Others suggested trying similar names to Jake (such as Jacob) to minimise the impact of the switch in case he changes his mind, while one man completely disagreed with any change, commenting: ‘What happens when he wants a new name again the next month? Stick to his real name.’
In truth, name regret is a common thing for parents, and Mumsnet threads regularly come up on the topic.
One mum said she ‘feels sorry for’ her children about their names because she and her partner ‘did not compromise well’ when choosing.
Another posted that she felt she’d ‘messed up’ her baby daughter’s name, asshortly after the birth she ‘was an emotional mess and under daily pressure’ to make a decision.
Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott also changed their second child’s name two months after he was born, and it’s likely more parents than would care to admit have doubts after signing the birth certificate.
Chartered clinical psychologist Dr Georgie Taylor previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘A survey by BabyCentre found that one in 11 parents regret their choice and, like Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott, a key reason cited is the baby “not suiting it”.
‘Through his work, psychologist Barry Schwartz indicated that too many choices – like the abundance of baby names on offer – makes decision-making harder and is associated with a tendency to be less satisfied with our actual decision.’
Top 100 most popular boy and girl names for 2023:
Other reasons behind this kind of regret include a name becoming popular, someone with the same name becoming famous, and friends choosing the same one for their baby.
And unusual or difficult to spell names come with their own set of drawbacks, as what may seem like a good idea at first could end up landing your little one with a lifetime of questions, punny nicknames, or issues when signing forms.
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Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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