Search icon

Baby names

07th Oct 2019

Mum ’embarrassed’ introducing newborn daughter to people due to her name

Keeley Ryan

“I’m suffering from baby name regret and I don’t know what to do.”

A mum has turned to the Internet for advice after admitting she is “embarrassed” introducing people to her newborn daughter – and it is all because of her name.

The woman explained that she and her husband had welcomed their second daughter in February this year. Just a few weeks later, she said they were “suffering from baby name regret.”

In her post on Mumsnet, she continued:

“Her name is Betty. I actually do like the name Betty but we rushed into naming her without thinking about it properly.

“I actually get quite embarrassed introducing her to people it’s that bad! I don’t call her Betty at all because I can’t stand to imagine having to call her that for the rest of my life!

“My [husband] said he wants to change her name and honestly so do I. He says she’s not too old and when she will get too old we won’t be able to change her name.”

Adding that their baby’s name “seems weird to me”, she explained that they already have a new moniker picked out: Iris.

The mum-of-two added:

“I think it’s a gorgeous name and much prefer it to Betty. We actually decided to call her Iris yesterday around the house to test it out and it suits her perfectly.

“I also like how it goes with our eldest’s name, Poppy. (isn’t Poppy and Iris so cute?)”

baby names

She asked the other users on the parenting forum whether it was OK to change their daughter’s name or if she should “learn to live with Betty”.

Many of the commenters sent the mum words of encouragement, with many telling her to make the switch before it was too late.

One person wrote:

“Of course you can change it and it’s so early on do not hesitate to do it.

“She doesn’t know her own name yet so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t! Iris is lovely.”

Someone else added:

“Change it. No point in sticking with a name you don’t like when she’s got no idea what her name is!”