Initials EW? Thoughts?

So after a long search I have come to the conclusion that if this baby is a boy, I would really want to use [name_u]Elias[/name_u] (a family name.)

The thing is that this would give the child the initials EW. Sure, there will be middle initials (we do two mns), but still: Is this too much and do I need to go back to the drawing board?

[name_m]How[/name_m] bad do you think is it to have the initials EW and do you think it’s a big deal, teasing potential, is it a dealbreaker?

My husband’s grandfather was made fun of because his initials were EWW. :confused:
Thank you for your input!

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Because of his middle names, his initials would not be EW. Any time, buying a home was endless initial signing, I have needed to use my initials it has been full initials (not just first name and surname initials). [name_m]Even[/name_m] so EW would not bother me.

Personally, I don’t think it’s a problem. As @lovemysweeties said, his mn will factor in so his full initials will be E_W. Really, it wouldn’t bother me, and most kids these days probably wouldn’t notice his initials.

These are actually my middle initials (I have two middle names)! It’s not a big deal and didn’t even really occur to anyone until college, when my friend thought it was funny to say “[name_f]Kristin[/name_f] EWWWW [name_m]Miller[/name_m]” (not my real name, but you get the idea). I think the risk of name teasing is way overblown and you shouldn’t worry about it.

Okay that makes me feel a bit better!

One time, our preschool teacher labeled my son’s rainboots w his initials - SW. Being a name nerd, I had only ever thought of his FULL initials incl. mns, so seeing “SW” surprised me…

Also, I remember my husband’s father talk about HIS father’s initials… “EW… And if that’s not bad enough, his middle initial was W, so there was just no way around EWW!”
He emphasized he was happy that his own initials spelled something positive (DEW.)

I wonder what he would think if his grandson has the (almost) same initials as great-grandpa.

I am technically an EW. I don’t consider it to be bad and I would say there are far worse things. Personally, no one has ever commented on or made fun of that eww factor except for once, and that was after I brought it up. So I do not think it is troublesome. I’ve learned to not mind the initials. Granted, yes the person themselves may not really be fond of initials but I think can indeed get by and move on in life with it. Of course a direct set of EWW could be more difficult to love; yet I still find it is a small issue in big sea. I also think you cannot predict whether the initials will actually be an issue or not, but I do think sharing initials with a great-grandparent could be special. (Besides, I know someone whose initials are literally S E X so EW is hardly concerning!) When it comes to these things the way I look at it is if you often teach your kid about why his name is special then that helps to deal and get past anything negative anyone might say. When I do find myself not liking my initials I’ve gotten over it by reminding myself there are loads of people out there with an E first name and W last name. Including [name_f]Emma[/name_f] [name_m]Watson[/name_m].
I think it’s do-able.

I was just about to write this! I’m a teacher and frequently only use a student’s first and last initial (unless a middle initial is needed due to multiples). I think that’s probably the only place I’ve ever seen a first and last initial used (without the middle)…but it may be a big deal to your child during his school years – at least for awhile. I would think that after awhile his friends would get tired of teasing him about it, but it will most likely come up at school. :-/ Sorry!

Not a big deal.

I think you are a perceptive mom for seeing and considering this.
I am sure the teachers here will agree - children can find amazing things to focus on, but EW is a small fry compared to some of the initials I know too. I think its fine - There must be hundreds of EWs. By just being aware of this yourself is a great sign it won’t be a problem.

Not a big deal! Honestly, I’ve been a name nerd for a long, long time and I just realized a good friend of mine has the initials EW. [name_m]Reading[/name_m] them in your post made me realize hey, I know an EW! The funny thing is, I’ve never even thought about them as the word “eww”. And honestly, I think the EW initials look very clean, not sure how else to describe them? My initials are LP and I dislike the way those letters look together. Weird, I know, just my honest opinion.

As previously mentioned, the initials would not be EW if your child uses their middles. (I’ve never used just my first and last initials.) So no biggie. And how often do people use initials anyway? Primarily for signing documents, in my experience.

[name_u]Story[/name_u] time: I’ve had a close friend since middle school (over a decade now) whose first/last initials are BS, BMS with the middle. I didn’t even notice, name nerd that I am, until well into high school, and when I did, I thought it was amusing and then promptly forgot again. I don’t think it’s something that will affect your child’s life.

Not a big deal at all. I never actually thought about whether my initials or anyone else’s spell anything until I saw initial threads on Nameberry. (Mine don’t.) And whatever they are, your child’s initials are totally irrelevant to whether he’ll grow up to be a nice, responsible, smart adult. EW initials didn’t affect [name_f]Emma[/name_f] [name_m]Watson[/name_m] or E.B. White ([name_m]Elwyn[/name_m] [name_m]Brooks[/name_m] White).

As an aside, I’ve seen first/last initials used more than first/middle/last? Not that using initials is that common at all as far as I’ve seen. Interesting to see that this hasn’t been other people’s experience.

I have client right now with the initials EW. We use his initials within a code on everything because of HIPPA. I’ve never thought of “ew,” I’ve always referred to him as “E.W.”

Thank you for all your comments! This really helps :slight_smile: