Okay so [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] has been our first choice For baby due in [name_u]December[/name_u] we are pretty decided on it. I’m American but live in the UK and my British husband hasn’t had any concern with the name but now I’m freaking out that British people will pronounce it Hor-thorn and people will joke it sounds like a sex worker.
I’ve only discussed the name choice with other Americans so I’m worried I need to poll Brits…
[name_m]Can[/name_m] anyone living in the UK tell me if this is a huge issue or talk me off this ledge of abandoning our favourite name after being so sure for so long!
I’m Australian so I say [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] fairly similarly to Brits. I don’t think it’s an issue at all. Yes, the first syllable of the name is the same as the word ‘whore’ but somehow it isn’t a glaringly obvious association. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you have a nickname you intend to use? For example, if you plan to sometimes call him Hawke (a nickname I’ve heard people use for Hawthorne) then that’s what people will use when they’re not using his full name. I don’t know, maybe i’m wrong, but I don’t think a little [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] would encounter any issues. It’s a lovely literary choice!
Okay that’s really helpful to hear. This is what my husband says. That it does sound that way but it doesn’t matter. We could use a nickname but we don’t with our first born and I don’t want to rely on a nickname because the first name is unusable.
Thanks so much for your thoughts on it. I’m genuinely in tears over abandoning this name but I really don’t want to give our son a name that’s just asking for teasing
I mean obviously wait to see what others say but I really, really don’t think [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] is a name that would trigger negative responses.
Any more opinions from different accents? I think I’m going to have to poll British people in my life but I really hate telling my baby name beforehand to many people
I say the first syllable the same way as the insult, but hawthorn is such a familiar word/plant here in the UK that I would honestly never make the connection. I don’t think this will be an issue at all. [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] is very handsome!
Okay this is really helpful. I guess I’m wondering how obvious it will be for a kid on the playground. I love it so much and our other names just don’t excite me as much… So I really want it to work. But I want it to be wearable in the UK
I’m British and say it hor-thorn as well but the insult isn’t used anymore imo, and [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] is so recognisable that I don’t make the connection at all. The spelling doesn’t link it to the insult either so it will most likely never come up. Go for it
i’m from the uk and agree with everyone else, upon hearing the name it wouldn’t be my first association i just think of the plant. i also know someone who’s last name is hawthorn and they don’t get any negative comments so i think you’ll be okay. if you love the name then go for it, it would be very refreshing to meet a hawthorne!
as @TDFM said, i do think having a nickname in mind might help you lose the association with the insult in your own mind so that you know it’s unlikely to be shortened to anything that sounds strange.
I’m British and agree with what everyone else has said. I do pronounce it “hor” but the insult would never have crossed my mind until pointed out, I just see it solely as a cool nature name. I obviously can’t say for certain, but I wouldn’t envisage it being an issue in the playground. I love the idea of Hawke as a nn.
I’m British and I do pronounce it with a hor- sound at the front but I feel like [name_m]Hawthorn[/name_m] is such a common plant that it’s not too big a deal. I’ve never really thought of it sounding like the insult before.
In my American accent Haw and Saw rhyme. But I suspect the issue is more that I pronounce Whore with a very strong ORE sound. So to me haw and whore are completely different and not even remotely close. I don’t think an American will even understand how it could possibly sound that way ilto British ears.
Oh dear… I think we would use either [name_m]Thor[/name_m] or [name_m]Thorn[/name_m] as the nickname. But I don’t want it to be a name that we have to use the nickname and hide behind it
Me again! [name_m]Just[/name_m] asked my OH what he thought of the name [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] and he said “oh it’s a plant isn’t it?” and didn’t see the connection with “Hor” until I pointed it out. As he said, it wouldn’t be a potential issue until high school, and even then it’s not a term used much in modern language here anymore. I’d be interested to see what some teens think of the name…
i’ve already commented but just to add in relation to this, i’m a teen in the uk and we definitely don’t use this as an insult very frequently, there are other synonyms that are usually thrown around instead to replace ‘whore’ :)) also as bad as this is, i think it would be even less of an issue for a boy in that the word ‘whore’ isn’t as associated with boys, perhaps if it were for a girl i’d have more reservations.
I am British and I say it as ’ Hor’ sound too. I didn’t see any kind of issue with this until actually when you mentioned it. And I don’t think it will necessarily be with adults, but kids inevitably shorten names on the playground and I am wondering if [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] would get Haw/Hor for short, which of course does sound like the word that you wish to avoid.
Whilst I agree the insult isn’t widely used, to be honest it would be enough to put me off. I mean if it’s shouted across a playground or in a park and their are girls present. I don’t know. [name_m]Just[/name_m] an honest opinion. Tricky one.
