Mum heartbroken as 13-year-old daughter begs to change her ‘old fashioned’ name

Settling on a name for your little one is tough.

But what happens if they end up hating it when they are older - or, in fact, want to change it? That's the dilemma one "heartbroken" mum has found herself faced with after her teenage daughter told her she wanted to change her name. The woman took to Mumsnet to explain that her 13-year-old said that she wanted to swap her “old-fashioned” name to something “more modern”. Her daughter - whose name is Rose - told her parents that she wants to be Ava or Evie, however she can't change her name herself until she is 16. The mum wrote:

"[Dear daughter] is 13. She had recently been saying she wants to change her first name as it is 'old fashioned' and says that with our surname it sounds like an old ladies name. "I’m heartbroken as it is a name we picked for her because we loved it. We can’t really shorten her name and we’ve never used the associated nickname. I just can’t my head around calling her something else. "Her name is Rose. She wants to be Ava or Evie. We don’t have any connections to those names so I think she’s just picked them because she likes them? She’s always hated being called Rosie or Ro. It’s always been Rose."

The situation has divided parents, with some people feeling the mum was right to stand her ground on the issue. One person commented:

“Of course it’s ‘about you’ when your child rejects the name you carefully chose for them. “I really do think it’s a typical teen rebellion. If she feels the same way at 16 she can change it officially but I bet she won’t.”

Another suggested:

“Rose is a gorgeous name. I’d follow the parenting path of smiling and nodding. Let her friends call her Evie if she wants.”

Others, however, felt that the mum should let her daughter swap her name. Someone commented:

"To be honest some of the really old fashioned names that are in vogue at the moment make me wince so I can see where she's coming from. "I can’t imagine going through life being called, for example, Winifred. If she’s dead-set on changing it I’d probably just go along with it. Maybe a new name that has the same initial as her current one."