I posted our potential baby name on BabyCenter-
Etta Rose or Etta Winifred, and this was the feedback from a user:
“Sorry cannot even vote. Etta I know has been used as a name, but it doesn’t sound like a name.”
“I think it does our girls a real, hard, disservice to name them a name that doesn’t fit an adult, professional, serious woman.
Gone are the days where being cute and decorative are assets in the workforce. Gone are the days when “don’t worry your pretty little face” is an acceptable thing to say to a woman. But they’re not enough gone for us to be able to stop fighting or to not arm our kids with whatever is needed for the fight, including names that present the face we need them to present.”
“ Winifred is a joke name in my family (like one you tell people you might name your baby to get them to stop asking). I find it wildly unattractive.”
Just wanted to get some feedback from Berries. Is Etta really that terrible? I personally don’t see it as unusably cutesy. It feels very similar to me as Emma, Ella, Ada ect. I also don’t see Winifred as a joke name. Both of these are honor names for us, and now I’m second guessing myself.
You aren’t naming her Sweet [name_f]Bunny[/name_f] Rabbit. [name_f]Etta[/name_f] is completely fine and absolutely fits on a little girl or an adult business woman.
Hilarious instead of fighting for a woman, by any name, to have an equal place in this world, they want to tear down an unborn woman and the one who is raising her.
Don’t listen to them. Some people are just trolls. [name_f]Etta[/name_f] [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] and [name_f]Etta[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] are beautiful, strong names.
What in the world these responses… I mean, truly! [name_f]Etta[/name_f] is such a tame, sweet, and fun name. A fresh and darling alternative to likes of [name_f]Eva[/name_f], [name_f]Emma[/name_f], and [name_f]Ella[/name_f].
And [name_f]Winifred[/name_f]! She’s divine! The epitome of vintage dusty charm to me—and so warm. She’s not a family name for me, but she feels like one. So familial and light.
The fact that these are honors names for you makes them ever more special. They’re excellent. Folks are often tenfold as bold on the internet as they are in person. In every day life, I think a little [name_f]Etta[/name_f] would be so often complimented on her name. [name_f]Etta[/name_f] and [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] are gorgeous, and the internet trolls over on BabyCenter seem to have had a field day with them for sport and harm. Untrue, all they’ve said. Your names for your girl are full of love and meaning—they shine.
I totally agree with you. Etta is sharp and feisty – far from cutesy, and very much in line with those other classic, perfectly professional names you listed. Winifred is a lovely traditional name and one that is actually poised on the brink of reentering the US Top 1000.
I dread to think what this person would make of my daughters’ names!
While asking for input is undoubtedly helpful as part of the naming process, I think there comes a point where you have to have confidence in your own style and instincts for your own family. And also to recognise that there is no name out there – yes, even Ella or Emma – that appeals to everyone.
Various naming sites/ forums have reputations for the type of feedback you’ll likely receive. Nameberry tends to lean on the side of optimistic and uplifting. I would assume based on what you posted BabyCenter trends to the opposite.
All that said I am genuinely floored at these responses. [name_f]Etta[/name_f], [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] , [name_f]Rose[/name_f] do NOT invoke any of those sentiments to me that you posted. [name_u]Truly[/name_u] you can tear every name apart if you wanted to… but I do doubt that these responses can be a genuine reflection of what they’d receive in real life. I’d take confidence in your combinations…. They’re good ones!
Tbh my experiences with babycenter forums have been that they are very harsh and critical of other moms or moms to be (not everyone and not that what they say is untrue or that the forum is not helpful but the overarching tone of the forum tends to be… harsh). It also tends to be more favorable to modern (dare I say trendy) style of names. So dont take what they said to heart.
[name_f]Etta[/name_f] [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] & [name_f]Etta[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] are beautiful names!
[name_f]Etta[/name_f] actually feels very solid to me, not overly sweet or slight. Its been used as a standalone name for years. And for me its strongly associated with [name_f]Etta[/name_f] [name_u]James[/name_u].
[name_f]Winifred[/name_f] is in no way a joke. It has tons of vintage/clunky charm. And lots of solid history.
I think [name_f]Etta[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_f]Etta[/name_f] [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] are beautiful names that sound great for a child or adult! You can’t go wrong!
That awful response from that awful troll is what’s wrong!
More importantly, congratulations on your pregnancy
etta, winifred, and rose are beautifully classic names. they each have places in literature and history, making them more than professional enough. not to mention that they are utterly gorgeous. i’m a daycare teacher and i know a little etta, a little rose ‘rosie’, and a winifred ‘winnie’, and they all proudly introduced me to themselves with their full names!!
whether you go with etta winifred or etta rose you are making a lovely choice. congratulations on your sweet little one!
The only way those comments are acceptable is if your daughter was to be named something like [name_f]Honey[/name_f] [name_f]Sugar[/name_f]. [name_f]Etta[/name_f] is a perfectly wonderful name, perfectly usable and wearable, and I assure you fits a grown woman just as much as a newborn. There have been Etta’s in my family, and never once have I thought it odd that they were named that. No odder than the perfectly normal names of [name_f]Emma[/name_f] and [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Tessa[/name_f]. And [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] is most definitely not a joke name? What even is a joke name?? These are some very clueless people who probably named their daughters Tiffannieey and [name_f]Blakelynn[/name_f] (no hate to those who like it!) and find any other names odd. [name_f]Etta[/name_f] and [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] and [name_f]Rose[/name_f] are freaking GORGEOUS!
I agree with previous posters; the responses are ridiculous! Honestly I like [name_f]Etta[/name_f] [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] and [name_f]Etta[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f], they both feel fresh and vintage, and will age well.
This reminds me of the time I did an “experiment” with mumset.com (I think that the name of it), and both of those sites don’t hold back on being harsh, neither does Reddit
Geez, people are terrible! [name_f]Etta[/name_f] is a perfectly lovely name, and definitely not one I would see as childish! It feels very classy to me, perfect for all ages and professions!
[name_f]My[/name_f] boyfriend things etta is and old lady name, I love etta I think it’s sweet and gentle like [name_f]Ella[/name_f]. Idk, you can’t please everyone and not everyone will have the same feelings about names, but there will always be people like me who love it, and if you love it then it’s what matters because a name should be special to you. I really don’t think that those baby centre people had to be so rude about it. It’s not like you’re thinking about something that’s ACTUALLY ridiculous
Honestly that response just confuses me, I don’t get why they would say that about [name_f]Etta[/name_f] of all names, like what? If anything it feels more like an older name to me. I could understand the sentiment if you were going to name her [name_f]Missy[/name_f] or [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] or something, but even so, they could definitely say it more gently. If they strongly disliked it, they should have just said that and not made it all about you.
I’ve noticed that it seems like larger sites tend to be more toxic in general, because they feel more impersonal and people assume they can get away with more.
？？？I am not from an [name_f]English[/name_f] speaking country, so I don’t know how these names are perceived there but for me they seem totally normal and classical names like, [name_f]Rose[/name_f] seems one of the most typical [name_f]English[/name_f] names that also sound timeless and elegant and somehow “Victorian, historical” like [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] or [name_f]Margaret[/name_f].
[name_f]Etta[/name_f] sounds like very international and classical, maybe started as a nickname but totally normal like [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Ada[/name_f] and [name_f]Ella[/name_f].
[name_f]Winifred[/name_f] sounds a classical [name_f]English[/name_f] name with a bit of more uncommon but still not weird like, [name_f]Imogen[/name_f], [name_f]Coraline[/name_f] or [name_f]Lydia[/name_f].
It is not like you named her “Malibu [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] Lolita” …
[name_f]Etta[/name_f] is definitely not to cutesy they are acting like your proposing the idea of naming her [name_f]Honey[/name_f] [name_f]Bunny[/name_f] not [name_f]Etta[/name_f]. Seriously [name_f]Etta[/name_f] is perfectly legitimate name fits in with the likes of [name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Hattie[/name_f] and [name_f]Annie[/name_f]. She’s very fashionable fitting in with that whole vintage name trend and feels very normal. I really like [name_f]Etta[/name_f] she’s sweet, upbeat and has this lovely jazz player vibe. You can picture [name_f]Etta[/name_f] in a popular jazz club playing the saxophone with a big Afro and brightly coloured jumpsuit. Also have we all forgotten about the absolutely fabulous [name_f]Etta[/name_f] James??! Seriously [name_f]Etta[/name_f] is fab please ignore this feedback the name is lovely.
[name_f]Winifred[/name_f] is a lovely name! She’s beautiful, elegant, strong, again fits in with vintage trend but feels more classically vintage. I know a little girl named M@bel [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] when the name was announced no one was like oh my goodness that’s awful they had positive responses. I really like [name_f]Winifred[/name_f]. Concerning [name_f]Rose[/name_f] well she’s absolutely beautiful but very standard middle name. I’m very surprised that this middle name would receive a bad reaction as every other little girl on the planet has [name_f]Rose[/name_f] as a middle name probably because she’s so gorgeous.
Gosh some people can be horrible. [name_f]Etta[/name_f] is such a lovely name!! I’d be so happy to meet a little [name_f]Etta[/name_f]. It’s definitely not too cutesy or informal, I think it’s very versitile. And [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] is definitely not a joke, It’s a strong, sunny name!
This is ridiculous. I find it helpful to go on Wikipedia to see what kinds of people share a name, just to help me imagine it on someone with all sorts of careers from stand up comedy to lawyers. And clearly her name didn’t hold this Etta back, who has a PhD in Chemistry: Etta C. Gravely - Wikipedia
Seriously, I work at a University and my colleagues’ names range from James and Mary to Precious and Nisha. Their names have not stopped them form having successful academic careers.
This is ridiculous. I find it helpful to go on Wikipedia to see what kinds of people share a name, just to help me imagine it on someone with all sorts of careers from stand up comedy to lawyers. And clearly her name didn’t hold this Etta back, who has a PhD in Chemistry: