The Lush Mommy Blog

There’s nothing more personal than choosing a name for your child. The name may have historic or personal meaning to you and your family. So the pressure to pick the perfect name can be great. There’s also a lot of social pressure—Will your friends like the name? Will people know how to spell it? Will children make fun of him? All of these questions are part of the naming process. It’s the other part of the process that makes me crazy.

Have you picked a name yet? Have you thought about any names? These are the questions often asked by friends, family and even strangers. But when you answer the question the response is not always what you want or expect. People are brutally honest when it comes to the choice of your baby’s name. They’ll tell you if they don’t like the name and even tell you it reminds them of someone they hated in high school. Many people don’t even try to fake that they like it!

Before the birth of our first son we were thinking about a southern name that can also be used for a girl. One of our friends ripped into my husband about giving our son a girl’s name? His reasoning was actually hilarious. We all had a good laugh and promptly scratched the name off of our list. Good thing we didn’t choose the feminine name. I later discovered some research that shows boys who have girl-like names are more likely to commit crimes. That advice aside—I wish people would just zip it. If you’re not going to say something positive about the choice—DON’T ASK. But my advice to all pregnant moms—just don’t tell.