[name]Hi[/name],
First time poster - I found this forum googling around about “baby name regret.” apparently, I am not alone.
My son’s name is not bad, it just doesn’t suit him, in my opinion. To make matters worse, I’m not crazy about his nickname, either (Sorry I don’t want to say what his name is, but it’s a Bible name, not uncommon or weird). When I was pregnant I made the mistake of sharing the name I am now wishing I had chosen, and my friend said she didn’t like it. I never should have told anyone. Had we just gone with it, she would have liked it fine, along with everyone else - it’s the “hypothetical” names that seem to get all the criticism, not the announcement when the baby comes.
So, my question is, has anyone heard of someone changing a boy’s name (as in doing it later, not when they are still a baby?) I do realize that people, especially family members, will think it’s crazy and might give me a hard time. If anyone has changed an older child’s name I would love to hear about your experience - and the experience of the child, of course. Thanks.
That’s a tough situation and yes, it seems like there’s a lot of name regret going around.
Personally, I think 3 is a little old for a name change since I assume your son knows his name, answers to his name, and would be a little confused if it was suddenly changed. I do think you could try some different nicknames and sort of ease into using them with him to see what feels right. Does the name have some other (even not so intuitive) options? [name]Do[/name] you like his middle name and could come up with some combo nickname or just segue-way slowly into calling him by his middle? Maybe a first and middle initial nickname? It’s tough to brainstorm nicknames without a name, but I understand privacy concerns. If you want to post it with some symbols so it’s un-searchable or private message it, would be happy to brainstorm a bit (as would others on here I’m sure)
Good luck!
I think at 3, he’s old enough to have an opinion on the matter. [name]How[/name] does he feel about his name. If he likes it and would be confused by the change, don’t mess with it. He might not want either name and decide he wants to be called Spiderman instead, but I think it would be worth asking him which he likes better.
Well, your son is three. He’s old enough to be used to his name and potentially confused by a change. It’s also old enough that he has a right to be consulted on such a big matter. His name is his identity, and to take that away from him because you like another name better seems kind of selfish. Ask your son what he wants.
I agree with the pp’s by this age your son knows his name and responds to his name and identifies himself by his name. And to change it might confuse him.
But I remember another post similar to this, and what the mother ended up doing was coming up with a nickname that she liked better and gradually transitioning to that name. You could also transition to calling him by his middle name as well if you preferred that to his given name. And I know you said you didn’t like the traditional nickname so maybe there’s a non-traditional nickname you could use, like Benjamin nn Jem or Christopher nn Kit. And nicknames don’t always have to be related to the given name, they could be related more to his personality (like Fox) , his appearance etc. (like calling him Frankie, because he looks like Frank Sinatra) Or you could go with a nickname like Ace that doesn’t have to be specifically tied to anything. You have endless possibilities when it comes to nicknames. I know some of the examples are a little crazy but you get the idea 
Whatever you decide, make sure that you’re not basing your decision on what others may or may not think of your action (and you by extension). If you’ve come to this forum looking for someone to say “Go for it!” then I can do that for you… Go for it!! I’m sure by now you’ve spend adequate time weighing up the pros and cons. The fact that you’re even considering a name change at three indicates 3 years of sizeable regret! If your family knew how much you’ve agonised over his name, i’m sure they’d be supportive of the change. At the end of the day, you have to be comfortable with his name and if saying it everyday reminds you of your name regret, then i think a few months of backlash is worthy the investment if you’ll gain some peace about it. Good luck bostonmom
I was doing some research and came across your post. I also have been thinking of changing my three year old sons name. I have never known anyone who did it. Did you follow through with it and what was your experience?