Choosing the right name for your baby can feel impossible. What if they grow up to hate their name? What if kids come up with a rude nickname? What if five kids in their class share the same moniker? And that’s not even getting into family dynamics and naming traditions and everything else that could make it even more complicated. (It’s a wonder we can even pick a name at all!)
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Because it’s so hard, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some people end up changing their minds about their baby name — like Kylie Jenner, who originally named her son Wolf (then changed it to Aire ), and Amy Schumer, who accidentally gave her son Gene a middle name that sounded vaguely inappropriate before she changed it. It’s not just celebrities who go through this. A new study found that nearly 1 in 10 moms regret their baby name choice!
A BabyCenter survey of 478 moms found that approximately 9 percent experienced “name regret” over the moniker they gave their child. Take one mom, who chose “Cleo” with her husband. “Every time someone calls her by her name I can’t help but cringe,” she wrote. “I just want to cry because I don’t know what to do.”
Another mom picked MJ but then felt that it wasn’t right when her baby was born. “It just doesn’t fit him,” she wrote. Now she calls him Maverick Dean. “He is now 3 years old and we have yet to legally change it. But we have plans to.”
In the studies, 20 percent of moms say they prefer their child’s nickname over their legal name and 15 percent prefer their child’s middle name .
Others simply feel frustrated by other people ’s reactions to their names. (Can you relate? My grandfather purposely called my son Liam “Ian” because he liked the name better.) “I named my son Kyan (rhymes with Ryan), but every time I introduce him, most people say, ‘Like cayenne pepper?'”
Like shopper’s remorse, the name regret typically sets in pretty quickly after you fill out the birth certificate. According to the study, 15 percent experienced it within a month of welcoming their baby and 21 percent felt regret within the first year. The number dropped to 6 percent after their child’s first birthday. And sometimes, the regret fades with time. One mom revealed, “I have felt [name regret] for each of my three children, but eventually I [began to] feel like their name suits them, and I’m back to enjoying it.”
When I was pregnant, my OB-GYN recommended I “test” out my potential baby name by calling it out loud in a crowded playground and calling my baby that name to other people to see how it felt. This ended up making me feel more comfortable and secure in my choice before my little one made his appearance. (Stumped for ideas? You can also look at lists of the most popular baby names or seek out names that are more rare .)
Not to mention, many celebrities have good baby name ideas we can draw inspiration from, or we can tap into a TikTok trend . My brother has the middle name of “Troy” after the famous Dallas Cowboys player Troy Aikman, which he likes and it makes for a cool origin story.
If you do experience baby name regret, though, it’s nice to know that you are definitely not alone. Many moms go through this, adapting by giving their child a nickname, getting used to it, or legally changing their name. There’s no right or wrong answer — just follow whatever your heart feels is right. At the end of the day, a baby name is a big decision, but it’s also your decision , and you should pick whatever you are happy with the most.
Check out our baby names gallery for more naming inspiration.
From Ellara to Maebri, here’s a list of rare and unique girl names that were used only five times in 2023.
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