Announcing the Name. Did You?

Updated on July 20, 2011
A.G. asks from Houston, TX
27 answers

Did you ladies tell your friends and family the name you had picked out for your baby?Did you regret it?

My husband came up with a girl name for our baby (not sure what we are having yet) and i really like it. I was very excited about him snapping off a name that quick, and in my opinion that thoughtful, precious and so rare a name. I wanted to tell all my pals. Some people were downright harsh about it.

oh btw, the name is "Pearl"

but i think maybe it was a mistake to tell it to the people i knew.

What can I do next?

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So What Happened?

wow!, IM SURPRISED at all the people who kept it a secret.....and thanks to those who said they liked "pearl"....i figure by the time she is about 10 or less there will be barely anyone left named Pearl. The negativeity im getting is about the name being common for grandmas.....Oh well My oldests name is Gwen....and thats a very classic name also

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J.S.

answers from Albany on

We told everyone that his name was going to be Oliver. No one liked it at all at first...now everyone loves it since it is a rare name. I like the name Pearl, and i hope you guys stick with it. It is very precious and rare, and beautiful!! good luck!

5 moms found this helpful

T.N.

answers from Albany on

I think Pearl is a very beautiful name (Janis Joplin would be proud!).

Yes, once we decided we did tell what the names were. Felt like once the baby was born he/she already had an identity.

Congrats!

:)

3 moms found this helpful
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K.P.

answers from New York on

No! My aunt told me as soon as we found out we were pregnant not to tell anyone b/c someone will ruin the name for you! Once the kiddo is born, people fall in love with the child and therefore accept the name. If you tell them beforehand you are simply asking for opinions!

Case in point... my girlfriend named her first child Wilhelmina. Whoa. Really? But she's just so darn cute and we all call her Mina anyway! Baby number 2... Bronwyn.

2 moms found this helpful

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R.D.

answers from Richmond on

I didn't tell anyone until after birth (except my husband totally blew that out of the water this last time). I couldn't stand people rubbing and patting my belly saying 'OOOOOH, LITTLE ROOOOMAN, AWWW, ARE YOU KICKING ROMAN? ARE YOU SLEEPING?!'..... Ugh.

I love the name Pearl! Very classic :) Even if you fall in love with a name, you will probably change it a few times (or even come back to it), or change your mind when you see the baby ('She looks like a 'Kate' instead')

My parents never found out the sex of me when I was in utero. They joked all the time that no matter what, they were namingthe baby 'Klondike' after 'great uncle Klondike' (who doesn't exist, LOL!!) Someone made them a baby shirt that says 'call me Klondike'... Now, MY kids wear it :)

5 moms found this helpful

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

I did and my youngest (Keaton) got a lot of mixed reviews...too bad! My kid :). And of course everyone loves it now!

3 moms found this helpful

M.J.

answers from Dover on

People are always going to have their opinions, that's the great thing about all of us being different! If your friends were mean to you about it, well, stop for a second & take a look at the name & see if they have a point. If you still love, love, love it, then maybe that means you have mean friends...?

As for the other poster talking about people 'stealing names', that's just silly. If you want to have a totally original name for your baby (that most likely people won't understand or be able to pronounce or spell) then you're going to have to make a name up. Otherwise, there is bound to be more than one person with the same name. In my family we've got lots of Anne's, David's, and Barbara's as those are the family names. My son is named Michael Theodore after my father (Michael) and my husband's middle name (Theodore). My daughter is Hailey Ann, with only the middle name coming from my grandmother & still I spelled it differently.

3 moms found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

We'd narrowed it down to a few names but we really couldn't decide till we saw our son.
He just didn't look like some of the names we picked out!
The first the family knew what his official name turned out to be was when we sent out the birth announcements.

3 moms found this helpful

M.L.

answers from Houston on

Yes and I regretted it. Everyone is going to bug you about it, convince you it's awful, ask why you aren't using great grandmas name, or over flatter it so much and tell every single person you know, or just plain annoy you and talk to your belly using the baby's name...

and ps..... love Pearl. That was The Little Mermaid's name in the original Faerie Tale Theater!

3 moms found this helpful
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K.W.

answers from Youngstown on

We shared with our first and people made fun of us. My MIL was the worst, we picked Havilah for our daughter and she was merciless and downright rude about it. My DH had to tell her to stop. She now is okay with the name. We kept our second Silas, a secret and people loved his name when he was born. I am due in 3 weeks with #3 and no one knows our name choice for him and it is driving everyone crazy but in a fun way. I have never had so much fun.

I like Pearl. It is a great classy name.

2 moms found this helpful
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J.F.

answers from Bloomington on

It's up to you and your hubs. We worked hard to find names we liked and fit our criteria. Once we found a name we would tell people and "wear it" for awhile to see how we liked it.

One name we liked came out of an old nursery rhyme book. Elsie. I guess there was a Bordon's cow named Elsie. Glad we mentioned it to the other folks who associated it with a cow. We didn't, but would have regretted it.

I like the name Pearl, but you didn't ask. ;) And, that's the point. Best wishes!

2 moms found this helpful
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V.D.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Don't worry about what others say. It's your child. We told people what we were naming our daughter and I wish that we hadn't. It's better to wait till they are born and then announce the name. I like Pearl. It reminds me of couple other name I heard someone named their daughters. Opal and Afton . They are both older names, but names recycle and older names are coming back in style. You were excited don't regret telling people. Just don't listen to their advice. It's your baby.

2 moms found this helpful

C.S.

answers from Kansas City on

We did tell and every time and people always had to put in their two cents. Think of something sarcastic to say in reply. I suggest telling the nay sayers that you've JUST changed your mind and are instead going to name the baby after them. If they actually believe that then tell them you changed your mind again and won't be naming the baby after them because their name sounds too <whatever they said about your baby's name>.
Another thing you could try with people like that is replying "I guess you would know" in a really sweet tone. It works with pretty much anything someone says. I started doing that to someone and she hated it and finally got the hint and kept her comments to herself. (It wasn't just about names, she had something nosy to say about almost everything.)

2 moms found this helpful
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H.P.

answers from Houston on

We didn't share the name because we did not want anyone to weigh in on it. The name was significant to us, and we wanted to roll it arouind for a bit and get used to it. We also wanted to see our baby first, before etching it in stone. It's a shame that people feel a need to criticize what does not concern them. Tell them to go to hell.

We didn't tell anybody until after he came home. They still wonder wth, but then they get it. So what if they don't?

2 moms found this helpful

S.H.

answers from Spokane on

I love Pearl ~ very sweet!!

We told everyone we knew when we decided on our oldest son's name (which we had picked out before we were even pregnant!) :) With our second son we didn't decide on his name until we held him in our arms (we debated on 2 names and needed to see him first to see which "fit") and told people the 2 we had picked and got all sorts of opinions! We took them with a grain of salt and went with what we wanted. We did have a few people tell us they didn't like the name Ryder, which is what we chose for our youngest. Now those people tell us that the name fits him perfectly. Go figure.
Since we couldn't commit to a name until Ryder was born our oldest son called him "Lizard" and wanted us to name him that! :) To this day it's his nick-name.

2 moms found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Dallas on

We kept the name a surprise. I wasn't so much worried about people bashing the name, we just wanted part of the pregnancy to ourselves. We told the sex of both of our children. As far as preparation and gifts, it only made sense to us. But the name was ours. We loved introducing our children and having some sort of surprise on their birth days. It was fun to have part of the pregnancy all to ourselves.

2 moms found this helpful
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P.M.

answers from Portland on

I never told anyone but closest family/confidants what my baby girl's name would be, although I knew it from the moment I conceived. It's too easy for people to share all their own associations, good or bad, with a name while it's still only hypothetical. Those same people would NEVER insult a name that's already attached to a living child.

2 moms found this helpful

C.T.

answers from Santa Fe on

I love it - Pearl is a great name. There are not many Pearls anymore bc it is an older name and older names often come back. It's very sweet. I am a very firm believer in not telling other people about your name choice bc there is always someone who has something negative to say. My mom hated our son's name (and told me so) but after we had him and she got to know him she told me she now loves his name and thinks it fits him perfectly. Pearl is beautiful.

2 moms found this helpful

C.F.

answers from Boston on

OMG I LOVE Pearl !!!!

We told everyone ! lol but its the typical all American boy name : Michael LOL
so no one said a word
SCREW what everyone else thinks.

2 moms found this helpful
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L.K.

answers from Wausau on

Pearl is a nice name!

If I ever get pregnant again, I don't think I'm going to share the name. Too many people say negative things.......but after the baby is born & named, they tend to keep their opinions to themselves. :)

2 moms found this helpful
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D.K.

answers from Pittsburgh on

We announced the name this way. 'Mom, we had the baby this morning. His name is (name here)'. We actually didn't completely settle on the name until the social security card lady came in at the hospital the next day and asked us. Before he was born we referred to him as Boutros Boutros which drove our parents a little nuts.

2 moms found this helpful

V.E.

answers from Denver on

I love the name Pearl! I think it is timeless and so feminine. When I was pregnant with my son, if he would have been a girl his middle name would have been Pearl.

We told everyone our daughters name. Her name is also older and very feminine, Cecelia. I always get compliments on how its refreshing that my daughter has a unique name, but it is not oddball. I say use it!

Congratulations on your daughter!

1 mom found this helpful
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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.W.

answers from Washington DC on

I kept mine between us. We went in with 2 names. We had a clear favorite and it seemed to fit her. So that was it.
I didn't anyone to copy my name, or hear any comments on it. Also it was something special and private between us,

1 mom found this helpful

E.S.

answers from Dayton on

Love Pearl!!! Beautiful!

W/ our first (we knew she was a girl) we told people what we were considering. Similarly to K.E.'s DD's name, it is a very old name, rare to be heard in the states and there are always questions and the need to repeat it a few times.
Anyhow, so many bad reactions...It set me up for at times wondering if I really saddled DD w/ a dud.

W/ our 2nd (a boy) we told no one. Well...only a few people.

Out of the 2 experiences if we ever have it to do over again we will not be sharing the name until the end. ;)

Once they see your precious Pearl they won't (hopefully) be rude enough to say anything stupid.

Congrats!

1 mom found this helpful

A.W.

answers from Kalamazoo on

We didn't say anything while we were deciding on a name. We didn't want anyone else's input. However, once we had a name picked out for sure, then we would share it. This was usually just a month before they were born.

1 mom found this helpful

B.K.

answers from San Francisco on

Yes and I don't regret saying. We are having a girl in October and going to name her Sola. All family/friend know.
Pearl is a beautiful name.
Best of luck
B. k

1 mom found this helpful
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J.L.

answers from Chicago on

It's your choice. I kept ours under wraps until our babies were born. The parents and my sisters knew but that was it. I don't care what people thought but I didn't want to have watch their reactions or see an eye roll. Besides now a days we find out the baby's gender I shared that. IT's nice to have some surprise leading up to the birth. I say keep it as a surprise :)

1 mom found this helpful
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