I’m 27 and my mom often says to me, “I should’ve names you…”. There are lots of should haves haha. I was her last child, my three older sisters were teenagers when she had me and everyone wanted a say. The only thing they could really all agree on was [name]Brittany[/name] [name]Noelle[/name] and so I am [name]Brittany[/name] [name]Noelle[/name]. I have always loved my middle name. As soon as I started school I hated being a [name]Brittany[/name]. There was always at least one other [name]Brittany[/name] in my class. I would always imagine myself with different names. [name]One[/name] of the names on my mom’s list was [name]Hannah[/name]. My 8th grade science teacher said I looked like a [name]Hannah[/name] and would often mistakenly call me [name]Hannah[/name]. I had a teacher with a strong accent who couldn’t pronounce my name at all and butchered it [name]EVERY[/name] SINGLE [name]DAY[/name]. “Brah tan uh?” His attempts were different each day and the boys in my class loved to make fun of me for it. This was about the time the movie Titanic came out and eventually I had a group of 13 and 14 year old boys calling me Brittanica and Britanic. I hated my name straight through high school and it wasn’t really until my early 20’s that I actually started to feel like my name is [name]Brittany[/name]. Like I am a [name]Brittany[/name]. In college I even had a teacher on the first day of class go, “[name]Brittany[/name]. But you’re not a [name]Brittany[/name], are you?” My mom literally just said to me the other day “I should have named you [name]Noelle[/name] [name]Victoria[/name]”. It’s a different name all the time. But I’m used to [name]Brittany[/name]. I accept it with honor because though I don’t necessarily “feel like a [name]Brittany[/name]” I’ve never been anything else, and it’s the name my family chose for me. That makes it an honor.
I say all this just to say…do what’s right for you. If you don’t feel like your daughter IS an [name]Adelaide[/name] then change it. I think [name]Olivia[/name] [name]Adelaide[/name] [name]Lauren[/name] is a great option. Having a name that doesn’t “feel like you” ins’t the end of the world. I can tell you that from experience. But if changing her name is the right thing for you and your family then it’s what you should do. Only you and your husband can know for sure.
I think its a beautiful name. I’m a little biased though, my DD is [name]Lauren[/name].
I agree with most of what has been said and perhaps one of the hardest things about picking names is that they can have so many meanings and memories attached to them, but over time the most significant meaning that will be associated with [name]Adelaide[/name] should be your beautiful daughter and the love and happiness she has brought to your family. I would vote to stick with it and ‘reclaim’ it.
If you feel that a new nickname could help I wouldn’t worry about formally introducing a new name or if it will still fit when she is older as I think often nns just evolve and different people will use different ones for the same person throughout their life eg my [name]Lauren[/name] is often called [name]Lolly[/name] by me & my DH, but my mother calls her Nonny (taken from [name]Lauren[/name]'s own attempt to pronounce [name]Lolly[/name]) she is also [name]Lolly[/name]-[name]Polly[/name], Poppet, Pippety-Poppet etc etc and I don’t think she will use these as an adult, but while she is still a toddler we enjoy using them and she knows they all mean her.
My suggestion for a new nn is [name]Allie[/name]/[name]Ally[/name]: taken from her first two initials A.L-ly? It also works as a contraction of [name]Adelaide[/name].
More nn ideas:
[name]Della[/name] (has middle ‘l’ and the ‘a’ end of [name]Olivia[/name])
[name]Ella[/name]
[name]Ada[/name] (as suggested)
[name]Laidy[/name]
[name]Adel[/name] (as suggested)
[name]Just[/name] wanted to say, you could still call her [name]Emma[/name]. In high school, I had a friend named [name]Emily[/name], but EVERYONE called her [name]Emma[/name] for short.
[name]Hi[/name] again! I was thinking today that I think my daughter’s name, [name]Emily[/name], is pretty on paper, but I don’t love the way it sounds coming out of my mouth. I kept saying it today and that’s what I noticed! I just don’t love saying it… [name]Do[/name] you feel that way about [name]Adelaide[/name]? I keep changing my mind about nicknames… [name]Emma[/name], [name]Emmy[/name], [name]Millie[/name], I don’t know! My husband thinks I am a nut! And my poor [name]Emily[/name], she doesnt deserve it!
Something to think about - if you were to change it to [name]Olivia[/name], how would you feel if there were, say, 3 other Olivias in her grade and she had to go by her last initial? Not saying it would necessarily happen, but it is a top 10 name, so there are lots of other Olivias out there, even if you haven’t yet met them.
This may or may not matter to you. [name]Just[/name] throwing it out there to consider. Best of luck.
[name]Hi[/name], I don’t have much time as my boys are about to wake up but I just wanted to say I had some issues over my twins names and posted here a couple of months ago. The support and advice I got really helped me to make a decision about changing their names (I decided not too). I don’t know if it will be of any help but here’s the link…
My boys were about 18 months I think when I posted.
I’m sorry this is rushed but I wanted to post as I know what you’re going through. Your baby is still young that I feel you could change her name but I wouldn’t wait much longer. Also it could be confusing for her brother so the quicker the better.
Regret is a tough thing to live with so if you are unable to find peace with her name I would seriously consider changing it to the one you love.
I love the name you chose and I think that if you find a new nn you will maybe enjoy it more and in a different way? It seems you like [name]Ada[/name] and [name]Adele[/name] so that is good! I would play around with nn. She is still so young that it doesnt matter if most people call her [name]Addy[/name]… she has a lot of years ahead and so you can always call her a new nickname!
