I wondered if anyone here has ever changed your baby’s name. Did you regret changing it after it was done? Any tips on transitioning or telling family? [name]How[/name] was your decision received?
We have a 2 month old named [name]Lucia[/name] (loo-SEE-ah) [name]Sunshine[/name]. We originally planned to name her [name]Zora[/name] (a family name, and also a name with very special significance for us). [name]Zora[/name] felt like The Right Name. DH stayed on board with [name]Zora[/name], but in my third trimester I had second thoughts (for what, now, feel like insignificant reasons given how perfect [name]Zora[/name] felt–reasons like sibset cohesion, etc) and struggled to come up with something else. [name]Even[/name] in the hospital, I felt like [name]Zora[/name] was the right name for our baby but went ahead with our plan to name her [name]Lucia[/name].
So now we have a beautiful baby girl with a gorgeous name that I really love, but isn’t The Right Name. We’ve discussed changing it off and on since she was born, but this week decided to start calling her [name]Zora[/name] and see how it feels. If it sticks, we’re going to change it legally.
We would likely add [name]Zora[/name] to the front of her name, which is a heck of a lot of names, but [name]Lucia[/name] has been her name for two months and I feel sad to think of throwing it away entirely. Also, I want her to have the choice to use it when she gets older. So [name]Zora[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] Hyphenatedlastname or [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name] Hyphenatedlastname? Neither of which flows well, and I guess that’s where I am looking for opinions. Does one flow better than the other? Are there other options I’m not thinking of?
Thanks for sticking with me this long.
Sign me,
The Nameberrian Who Overthought Her Choice and Lived to Regret It.
Are you particularly attached to the middle name [name]Sunshine[/name]? I know I never really felt that connected to my middle name growing up. No one ever called me by it except for one aunt and I thought it was obnoxious. Perhaps you could call her [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] Hyphenatedlastname. Then her middle name would really have some significance instead of feeling like a long string of names. I think that she is so young at this point that changing her name would be okay and it wouldn’t take long for everyone to adjust. I wouldn’t worry too much about how your relatives will receive the news. They all had their opportunities to name their children… this is YOUR turn =)
I agree with you that your proposals are very long combinations. I love the name [name]Lucia[/name] though, and as you said, it has been her name for 2 months so it would be hard to eliminate it totally. Could you drop the [name]Sunshine[/name] so that her name reads [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] Hyphenatedlastname? I think that combination sounds lovely and is much more manageable than having two middle names. However, if [name]Sunshine[/name] is also an important component I like [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name] Hyphenatedlastname better than the other choice.
Another option would be to leave it legally as it is but to call her [name]Zora[/name]. However, this might cause more difficulties down the road than it is worth. (I’m thinking of any kind of role call in school or IDs etc…)
Oooooh BOY can I relate to you! [name]Long[/name] story short, I named my daughter [name]Amelia[/name] when I really wanted and loved the name [name]Violet[/name]. So, here I am struggling with the same issue, to change or not to change. My problem is the embarrassment and feeling selfish about it. Not to mention my father in law just told me he always hated his mother’s name which was [name]Violet[/name]! Great. But all the advice I’ve been given is go with your gut and that it’s my child to name so do what is right in your heart. I think you know the answer. Of course I’m one to talk!
Like the others who have posted I think you should drop the [name]Sunshine[/name] and name her [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name].
Another vote for dropping [name]Sunshine[/name] and just going with [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name]. I’m a fan of [name]Sunshine[/name] in the middle name spot but only when you have a more common first name to balance it out. Adding [name]Sunshine[/name] to the already unusual [name]Zora[/name], and as a second middle name, and it addition to a hyphenated last name, just seems like way too much name. Plus, since [name]Lucia[/name] means “light” anyway, you already get a sunny image from the name.
I think [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] is beautiful! [name]Even[/name] if you kept [name]Sunshine[/name] ([name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name]) I still think it sounds nice. I only got called by my first and middle name if I was in trouble so I feel like it’s not the end of the world if everything doesn’t flow just perfect. Good luck!
Another vote for dropping [name]Sunshine[/name] and making it [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] – an absolutely beautiful, perfect name.
And thanks so much for posting this. I am another over-thinker in danger of choosing a name for the wrong reasons, so this is very helpful as a cautionary tale. Good luck!
I hear ya! I was going to name my baby [name]Madeline[/name], but couldn’t agree with my husband on a pronunciation, and disliked its popularity in the US. We decided the sweet, simple, yet unique [name]Clio[/name] for our daughter. We’re now living in [name]Italy[/name] and there are these damn [name]Clio[/name] [name]Renault[/name] cars EVERYWHERE… I feel as though I named her Toyota! Ugh. We’re thinking of giving her an Italian name to use here, which would be essentially changing her name though!
As for you situation… I say, if she’s only 2 months old and you are certain that [name]Zora[/name] is right for her, change it. I would keep [name]Lucia[/name] and drop [name]Sunshine[/name]… Or keep it all! [name]Don[/name]'t worry what people say, after a few weeks they’ll be completely used to the new name. Let us know what you decide to do!
[name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name]. [name]Sunshine[/name] can be her nickname regardless, especially since [name]Lucia[/name] means “light”. Good luck!
[name]Hi[/name]!
Congratulations for your baby girl!
[name]Zora[/name] is a great name, a favourite of mine BTW. I think that [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name] sounds cute, but maybe without the [name]Sunshine[/name] part, it`ll flow better. [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] is definetly lovely. Is [name]Sunshine[/name] extremly necessary? I mean does it have some special conection to you?
[name]Zora[/name] is beautiful and since it’s so important to you I think you should definitely go ahead and change. I agree with pretty much everyone here [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] is gorgeous and unless [name]Sunshine[/name] is of particular significance I would get rid of it, especially with a hyphenated ln. [name]Lucia[/name] means ‘light’ anyway.
Here is yet another vote for [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name]. Very pretty! (I think including [name]Sunshine[/name] is just too much. It detracts character and charm from a name when too many names are strung together.)
I agree, I think you should use [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] and drop the [name]Sunshine[/name], especially since [name]Lucia[/name] means light, and like someone already said, you can nickname her [name]Sunshine[/name] if you want to. [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] is beautiful and flows so well but when you add [name]Sunshine[/name] to the mix it upsets the balance.
I love [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name]. I think it’s really beautiful. It’s so fun to say “[name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] [name]Sunshine[/name]”, like a song :). It’s not really that long, anyway. I guess it depends on how long the hyphenated last name is. But really, don’t worry about it causing problems. My son has two middle names, and granted he’s only 2, but we’ve never had problems with it. Most forms just ask for a middle initial anyway. And since the last name is hyphenated, it legally only counts as one name, correct? You could do the same with the middle name, make it [name]Lucia[/name]-[name]Sunshine[/name] legally (actually what I’ll probably do with future children, since the one and only issue we ever had was that his SS card came with just the first middle on it). I dunno, [name]Zora[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] is beautiful, but if I knew I was born with [name]Sunshine[/name] as my middle name, I would definitely be sad that I didn’t get to keep it. That’s just me.
