I love the name [name_f]Xanthe[/name_f] but our surname starts with L …any thoughts on the initials XL for a baby girl?:
I used to pay attention to initials, and I remember when I was a teen and my aunt had her three kids with the initials N.M.E. (enemy), P.E.E. and A.P.E. They’re all 15-20 years old now and apparently no one has given them problems with their initials… not even poor PEE. lol.
I think it would probably be quite easy for very skinny-built girl to brush off ‘‘XL’’ comments, but 1) it’s unfair to use speculations of your future daughter’s weight as a means of choosing a name 2) I think weight and body image are so integral to adolescent girl’s lives, I wouldn’t want to put her at risk of teasing which may occur regardless of her size - and something that I think is probably even more damaging when it comes to body-image and young girls, casual jokes about it by friends.
Usually I wouldn’t worry about bad initials, but since ‘fat’ is such a loaded insult in our culture, I certainly wouldn’t want my daughter to have that extra struggle, as tiny as it may seem.
I think you might be safe though. Yes the name starts with X, but it’s kinda pronounced with a Z/S sound, and the fact that the name actually starts with an X… it isn’t the first letter that comes to mind when you say the name out loud.
Hm, I guess saying it out loud as ‘excel’ is a positive point though.
I agree with both cj85 and oliviasarah, it might not be noticed at all, but may be used to tease about weight?
hmm…
XL aren’t the nicest initials, no, but I’ve never been one to be concerned about what initials spell (as long as it’s not F*** or another curse word). [name_m]How[/name_m] many people are going to think of that anyway? [name_m]Even[/name_m] if I know their first, possibly middle, and last names, I’d have to think twice about what someone’s initials were and if they spelled anything. Use [name_f]Xanthe[/name_f] if you love it.
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I highly doubt it’ll be used to tease about weight. [name_f]My[/name_f] younger sister’s initials are actually a disease, and no one has ever brought it up to her - and I don’t know of many people who take notice of initials anyways. I don’t think it would be unfair at all, and to say it is would is a bit of a stretch.
It’s one of these things that will either be the bane of your child’s life or will never get noticed at all. Unfortunately until your daughter is an actual person with those initials it’s impossible to tell which one it will be. Personally I’d err on the side of caution and try and find another name I liked with less problematic initials.
And how many kids know their middle names? The only people who’s middle names (and therefore full initials) I know are family, close friends and a handful of celebrities. Most people don’t introduce themselves by a full name. I don’t know the case with your cousins, but I bet they’ve never had any teasing because not a lot of people outside of your family knows their initals.
Now if you gave your kid the initals XL, would they be teased? Potentially. But they could always go unscathed. You can never really be sure what kids are going to be teased for. If they get teased at all.