Trumped only by ‘Boy or girl?’, ‘Which name have you gone for?’ is one of the first questions that we rush to ask new parents. But according to a new survey by parenting site Mumsnet, nearly one fifth of parents in the UK have serious reservations about the name they chose for their child.
The poll of more than 1,000 parents showed that 18 percent regretted the first or middle name that they’d given their child – although only 2 percent actually went on to change their child’s name.
But why are so many parents feeling so remorseful about their child’s name? Is it because they’ve chosen the sort of name that has to be patiently spelled out letter-by-letter to your wider social circle, condemning their baby to a lifetime of typos and mispronunciation? Or because they decided to take inspiration from Game Of Thrones, Harry Potter or the Kardashian family?
The main reason for so-called ‘namer’s remorse’ is actually none of the above. Instead, 25 percent of the parents surveyed felt that the name was too commonly used, with 11 percent believing it to be ‘not distinctive enough.’
One in five revealed that they had never liked the name, but had felt pressured into using it, while 11 percent said that the name caused difficulties with spelling or pronunciation. Just one percent blamed their regret on the fact that a celebrity had chosen it for their child.
Earlier this month, new figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed Amelia and Oliver to be the most popular baby names for girls and boys born in England and Wales – for the third year running.
Amelia, however, also appears on Mumsnet’s list of the most regretted names, along with Charlotte, Anne, Daniel, Jacob, James and Thomas.
‘Choosing your baby’s name is one of the first things new parents do, so in some ways, 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,’ Justine Roberts, founder of Mumsnet, told The Guardian.
‘The consolation is that most children grow into their names – and those who don’t can always fall back on middle names, nicknames or (in extremis) deed polls.’
Don’t forget to subscribe to Grazia before 9 September to make sure you receive your 250-page Big Fashion issue. Click here to find out more.
READ MORE: Are These Set To Be The Most Popular Baby Names Of 2016?
READ MORE: 22 Baby Names That Could Be 'Practically Extinct' In A Few Years