We always announced how babies name after birth since our choices were very unique for our families.
When we told our first daughter’s name to people, they would say ‘’[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] is not a name’’ ‘‘It can’t be a name for a human’’ ‘‘It’s a flower name not a name for a child’’, etc. Let me tell you it didn’t phase us at all. We more than loved her name and we had a very strong meaning behind it- Before we were together we went to japan with our friends (we both secrectly had a thing for each other) and long story short, our first kiss was under a magnolia tree. It has always been so meaningful to us since then.
So I think before you shame a mother’s name choice, ask the meaning or just remember that there might be a special meaning behind it.
When we were expecting our first, we announced his name before his birth to our family and friends and regretted it. My [name_f]MIL[/name_f] was especially opinionated on it—she kept telling me how everyone was going to assume [name_m]Autry[/name_m] was a girl or call him [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] instead. When we found out we were pregnant again, we decided not to tell anyone the name until after she was born. People are less likely to name-shame once the baby is actually here. And now we get nothing but compliments on how unique and handsome our son’s name is.
So in my opinion, unless you have genuine concerns that the name will have a severe negative impact on the child (ie. [name_m]Lucifer[/name_m] or [name_m]Adolf[/name_m]) I would keep your opinions to yourself. No need to bring others down.
I do roll my eyes about some names, I will be totally honest about that. I’d never tell the parents that it was a crap name or I didn’t like it because honestly, why is my opinion so special that they need to hear it?! Weirdly though, [name_u]Tatum[/name_u] isn’t exactly an unknown name and it’s spelt as it’s pronounced. I’d probably just delete the comment and if they messaged me about it, I’d explain it’s a happy announcement not to be ruined by your ignorance…
Unfortunately everyone has an opinion these days and some offer an opinion unsolicited. With a baby name you can’t please everybody. It’s ultimately the parents choice and people should respect that. It’s very rude I find.
I’m not a supporter of the old adage “if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all” but I believe it does apply to names and other minor, personal choices.
If I encountered something extreme and strongly anti-social, like a name inspired by white supremacy or demeaning to the child (not just by my personal association but objectively), I suppose I would say something, but here’s to never coming across those situations.
In general, all names have a reason to be and, in my personal experience, name shaming usually has a class, race, age or gender origin to it, which is quite ugly and says more about the shamer than about the namer.
If the person had no relation to the parent then they really shouldn’t say anything negative. But I can see if you are the “going to be grandmother” then I do think you can suggest and bicker over names, but in the end it’s the parents choice and no one’s else. It’s terribly rude in my opinion to go insult new parents by questioning on their naming, if you want to suggest it’s unique or interesting, then I’m fine with that, but just don’t go upsetting people with names no matter how much you dislike it.
Also I have met a girl who was named [name_u]Tatum[/name_u] and she was very nice, no one questioned her name, I mean yeah it wasn’t exactly people’s “norm” but it still worked and fit her perfectly.
