Thinking of changing baby's name

Need some help please Mummies.

My beautiful baby girl is named [name_f]Holly[/name_f]. We spent ages going through names in the pregnancy and couldn’t agree on any really! We both loved [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] ([name_u]Jessie[/name_u]), but sadly that is the name of my cousin who took her own life a few years ago, so it feels too close to home.

[name_f]Holly[/name_f] came to us after baby was born in hospital. We almost went for [name_f]Sienna[/name_f] (because I liked ‘sie-sie’ as a nn). Now i’m a bit unsure whether i’m liking [name_f]Holly[/name_f] as I really love nicknames, and have been struggling to find a natural one that works other than Hols, I was thinking Holzie, but struggling to think if it works…?!

If we did change her name, other contenders have been [name_f]Camilla[/name_f] ([name_f]Cammie[/name_f]) or [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f] ([name_f]Tabi[/name_f])… again, i’m not sure! I loved [name_f]Isabel[/name_f] ([name_u]Izzy[/name_u]) but my husband said no-no to that one.

We may just stick with [name_f]Holly[/name_f], but am feeling a bit confused in it all, so looking for some nice helpful kind advice :slight_smile:

I think [name_f]Holly[/name_f] is lovely. =] I also think Holls/Hols is a cute nickname. You could potentially use [name_f]LiLi[/name_f] since you liked [name_m]Sie[/name_m]-sie. Does she have a middle name you might be able to pull a nickname from?

Of the other names you listed, I adore [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f] nn [name_f]Tabby[/name_f]/[name_f]Tabi[/name_f]. It is one of the names at the top of the list for DH and I. You can also get [name_f]Beth[/name_f], [name_f]Tibby[/name_f], and Bitty out of [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f].

Sometimes, though, nicknames come about organically. She may end up with a nickname that has nothing to do with her actual name. My mom has called (and still calls me) [name_m]Munch[/name_m] (short for Munchkin) all my life. It clearly has no relation to [name_f]Chelsee[/name_f]. lol MY husband’s nicknames were Boney and [name_m]Romeo[/name_m], but his name is [name_m]Eric[/name_m]. My best friend’s name is [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] and her mom calls her Rie or Fi because her middle name is [name_f]Marie[/name_f] (Rie) and Fi comes from a funny misunderstanding surround Rie when she was little. So there are a lot of ways a nickname could come about. =] That being said, if you’re truly not in love with [name_f]Holly[/name_f], changing her name might be best. What does your husband think?

[name_f]Holly[/name_f] is a beautiful name! Hols works as a nickname, and is probably the most natural one. You could also go with something like [name_u]Lee[/name_u].

I think it’s important to note that name regret is a very real and very common thing. Naming a tiny human is a huge responsibility! There were a couple of weeks after my daughter was born where I was just like “wtf did I do?” Her name is [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u] which felt a little heavy for such a little girl, and Soy wasn’t my favorite nn. We ended up nicknaming her [name_f]Essie[/name_f] because her first and middle initials are S.E. but we also call her [name_m]Bean[/name_m]/Beanie/Beanie-o just as much as anything else. Sometimes nicknames just happen! Now I’m 100% back in love with [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u] because it’s her name. Once I really made that connection, all of my worries and regrets faded away.

That being said, if you both really don’t like [name_f]Holly[/name_f] then there’s nothing wrong with changing it. [name_m]Just[/name_m] make sure that whatever you change it to is something you’re both in love with this time. Of the names you mentioned, I think [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f] might work the best with allll of those potential nicknames.

I agree with previous posters that nicknames can come from other places. My mom called me lots of things that were not nicknames for [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]. I think [name_f]Holly[/name_f] is cute. Some nickname ideas that are a bit of a stretch are [name_f]Holiday[/name_f], [name_f]Liddie[/name_f], and [name_f]Hattie[/name_f]. If you don’t like [name_f]Holly[/name_f], though, [name_f]Camilla[/name_f] (I like [name_f]Millie[/name_f]) and [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f] are both nice too.