Soooo…I broke my cardinal rule by telling my boss our short list when she asked me the baby’s name today. We actually decided upon [name]Sterling[/name], but I added the runner-up for a bit of secrecy and told her our ‘short list’, which includes [name]Atticus[/name]. She said to me: ‘really? [name]Do[/name] you not like this baby?! What kind of nickname can you give [name]Sterling[/name]? Stir??? And [name]Atticus[/name]?! [name]Atty[/name]?!’ She couldn’t believe those were our names!
I know she sounds terrible, but I actually like her very much. (Plus she never had children, so she is a bit oblivious).
But now I am a wee bit rattled. Perhaps I am asking the wrong group of people - but do you like [name]Sterling[/name]? Our last name is one syllable and we really don’t want a name that can be shorted to one syllable as well. Too abrupt. And in my heart, I’d love something that is Scottish, as I lost my Mum a few years ago and she was born in [name]Scotland[/name] and made sure we scattered her ashes in [name]Scotland[/name]!
[name]Just[/name] by way of FYI…my other favourite names were [name]Amadeus[/name], [name]Griffin[/name] and [name]Gideon[/name], but DH vetoed them. We like [name]Augustus[/name] but not more than [name]Sterling[/name]. We like Maximum and therefore [name]Max[/name] but not with our short last name. And I love [name]Angus[/name] but a friend used it. And a few years ago, we would have used [name]Finnigan[/name] or Phineaus if our DD was a boy. But she wasn’t and I have met so many of them since…
If you and your husband both love the name [name]Sterling[/name], stick with your guns. It’s always disappointing and disconcerting when someone doesn’t like the name you’ve taken the time and energy to choose and both love.
Realistically, not everyone is going to like every name (just look at the differing opinions on Nameberry!), so your boss’ reaction might be one you or your future son may face again. The best thing to do is come up with a response to this like, “Well, we know it’s a bit unusual to some people, but we really love the way it sounds with our last name and think it will age well and be a really great name for a classy man!”
I really love the name [name]Sterling[/name] for a boy a lot!
If you and your husband love the name please stick to it. Chances are that there are people in the world that won’t love your name choice, but just remember that this is your child and not anyone elses’.
Stick with what you love. I like the name [name]Sterling[/name]. It does make me think of the town in [name]Colorado[/name]. Thats probably cause I’m from [name]Colorado[/name] though You will never please everyone. And not every name needs a nn. I actually [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Atticus[/name] as well, I think they would go great together as brothers. What about [name]Callum[/name]? Thats always been my favorite Scottish name. You could also give him a Scottish mn or a mn that honors your mom.
So [name]Sterling[/name] isn’t really my style, but I really love that it honours your mum. That makes me like it a lot. Sometimes people just don’t realise how much of yourself is put into a name (I have no children but am devastated when people bash my favourite names!). I think people who don’t have children and/or aren’t name nerds are oblivious to the fact that it’s actually an insult to you when they name bash.
I’ll wager that, like me, if she knew that [name]Sterling[/name] meant so much to you she would’ve been a lot more supportive or at least bitten her tongue!
Go with [name]Sterling[/name]. I feel like you’ll regret it if you don’t.
Pick what you love! You will never find a name that pleases everyone. When you pick a name that is a bit more uncommon, you are going to have reactions on both end of the spectrum…people are going to be ‘wowed’ and enthusiastically love it, but then you are also going to have people that don’t care for it. But I think that is the fun of having a somewhat unique name I’d rather have those reactions than a bunch of neutral reactions or boring reactions (I never want people to think to themselves “eh, just another ______”)
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Sterling[/name], and it is one of my top names if I ever have a boy.
As lots of pp’s have said, you’re not going to find a name that everyone likes, and while you may respect and like your boss for a lot of reasons, this isn’t an area where you have to go with what she says.
Thank you everyone…I really needed to hear from you all. Funnily enough we are watching ‘The Aristocats’ right now with our daughter and I noticed in the opening credits that Rocquefort (the mouse) is voiced by someone named [name]Sterling[/name]. It looked really good up on the big screen!!!
But is it just me or are boys names harder to choose than girls names? I feel like they are two very different thought processes and different emotions too. My daughter’s name was chosen with such ease, happiness and confidence. This time around…not so much!!!
There are far fewer boys’ names than girls’ names, for one thing : D!
Also, it’s just the way things go in society generally that it’s more acceptable for girls’ names to ring boyish than for boys’ to ring girlish. So that takes more out of the running.
And then there’s the issue of diversity being acceptable or not – just think about Awards [name]Night[/name] fashion – men wear tuxes, women wear dresses. [name]How[/name] similar are the tuxes? [name]How[/name] similar are the dresses? : D.
You will never please everyone. And not every name needs a nn. I actually [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Atticus[/name] as well, I think they would go great together as brothers. What about [name]Callum[/name]? Thats always been my favorite Scottish name. You could also give him a Scottish mn or a mn that honors your mom.
I’d rather have those reactions than a bunch of neutral reactions or boring reactions (I never want people to think to themselves “eh, just another ______”)