Can you make yourself like a name you hate?

[name]One[/name] of my very best friends had her baby a couple of days ago. She’s just announced the name… and I /hate/ it. (I don’t want to post it here, because it’s a little on the unusual side and I think I might be recognisable enough as it is if she reads Nameberry!) It’s a diminutive of a very classic name that feels like a porn star name to me… and is also the name of a popular variety of wine where I live, so everyone I’ve said the name to has said “what, as in the wine?” She didn’t run the name by anyone first as she wanted it to be a surprise.

So anyway, I really want to make myself like the name because, yknow, she’s one of my best friends and it’s her first baby and I am probably going to see this baby all the time, especially since my own is of course very close in age, but I just. hate. it.

Has anyone here successfully convinced themselves to like a name? I figure a bunch of such name nerds as we have here are bound to have hated some of their friends/family’s choices, so any tricks?

You’ll love the child, and the name becomes a part of her and you will associate the name with the baby and then you’ll like it.

I know that seems like it would happen, but tbh… one of my sisters has also picked names for her kids that I dislike, and even though I love my niece and nephew to bits, I still grump a little bit every time I think about their names. And my dislike of this name is much stronger, so I guess I’m just hoping for some kind of mental magic pill lol. Probably doesn’t exist, but I thought I’d ask!

Exactly what @ottilie said.

My friend named her child a name which I didn’t like either at first. I’ll be honest, when she first told me, I thought it was awful and I didn’t know how a child was going to wear it. But then she was born and she wears the name so well that I love the name now, because I think of her.

I don’t think you can make yourself like it, but that once you love the child you won’t think about the name much. FWIW, I disliked my husband’s name immensely when we met. It’s totally an old man name. Now when I hear it, I think about HIM rather than his name, so my distaste has waned.

You could always think of a cute nickname just for you to use if you hate saying it that much.

I don’t like the names my siblings chose for their kids and that hasn’t changed regardless of my feelings for them. I also have a few close friends who chose names I don’t like and I still don’t like them. When I used to work with children I had lots of kids who I thought were sweethearts yet their names were awful. I just deal with it…and I’m thankful everyday for nicknames!

not always. My sister picked a horrible ‘youneekly’ spelled name which I still dont like. I love my niece though so it doesnt matter. Would have been better if she wasn’t called [name]Mikki[/name] as my daughter is called [name]Miki[/name].

I’ve found I’ve been able to like names I hated. My SO’s middle name is [name]Phillip[/name] and I used to hate it. But after saying it so much, I’ve come to love it :slight_smile:

I agree - hate the name, love the person. I’m the same as a pp about my husband’s name; it’s reeeeeally popular for our generation, and I knew a bunch of boys/guys named it growing up and absolutely hated all of them so had a mental picture of what everyone with that name was like. Now I basically don’t think about it anymore :slight_smile:

I like this puzzle of trying to figure out that name you’re talking about, though…

Most of my current names are names that I didn’t like at first. But there’s some names that I will question until the end of time, and certain little things that I will simply NEVER like, but be able to tolerate.

It’s just a name. Maybe figure out a nickname you could use, run it by your friend to see if it’s okay, and use it. If she’d prefer you call her child by their given name, it’ll grow on you at least a little.

Yep, I am constantly changing my mind about how I feel about names. Usually it’s a gradual process, but I find that meeting someone with the name really makes a difference… even with my own name.

I have a friend who has the same name as me (my legal name) and I grew up HATING my name. I met him when I was 23, and all of a sudden, I saw my legal name in a new light. I really don’t hate it anymore. I still feel disconnected, but I certainly am nowhere near hating it. I just don’t like it on myself, but I love it in him.
And yes, I’m a girl, lol. My legal name is traditionally feminine, but my friend is Icelandic and it’s a guy name there (with a minor spelling change that makes the last letter in to a double letter, so it’s the same thing… I actually like his version more, haha)

I don’t think you can make yourself like a name but I suppose names can grow on you.

My cousin recently had a baby and named him [name]Casey[/name]…this is not my style at all!

My nephew and my niece both have names that I’m kind of iffy about, but I’ve grown to like (if not love) my nephew’s. I don’t see my niece as much, but I’m sure that if I spend more time with her the same will happen.
But…hah. I’m not going to promise that you’ll grow to like the name, but you’ll probably be okay with it at some point.