Speaking of baby names...
would you name your child a name you liked even if the rest of your family did not?
In recent weeks, although our boy's name has remained the same, I have become very fond of the name Evelyn for a little girl. (To the point that I walk around repeating "Abigail and Evelyn" over and over.) My dh does not like it. My mom does not like it and had a few choice things to say about it, most of which annoyed me greatly and so I will not go into details. My sister is not fond of ot either.
The rest of the men in my family have stayed out of it.
Of course, I still have months to go and may change my mind a million times, but still, what would you do? Go ahead with your favorite name, ignoring the peanut gallery, or pick a new one?
I know my dh should have some input but I really like Evelyn!
RE: Speaking of baby names...
We did. When I was pg with #2, we decided if we had a ds, he would be Andrew James (two family names). My family strongly objected, because they did not like the way "Abby and Andy" sounded together. To quote my Dad, "It sounds like a variety show." Sigh...We went with the name anyway, and started calling him AJ, which suits him perfectly.
When I was pg with #3, we kept mum about our name choices! You need to pick a name that you love and tell your family to zip it!
FWIW, I think Abigail and Evelyn sound great together.
RE: Speaking of baby names...
I would name my dc a name my family didn't like, but not one my dh didn't like. My dh and I have a REALLY hard time deciding on names, which is why our present top boy name is the name that we had decided on for Anna 3 years ago. There are SO few names we agree on!
That being said I have had names that I love that my dh has hated, and vice versa. If my dh were to force one of those names on me, I would be really upset. BUT, you still have quite some time to change his mind!! :)
RE: Speaking of baby names...
I would definitely go with a name that other family members did not like. But DH and I both have veto powers on names. There are a lot of names I really, really like, that DH refuses to even consider. And there are a few he likes that I have vetoed. (I don't consider the veto final until the kid is actually named though--continued attempts to persuade each other are allowed :-) )
RE: Speaking of baby names...
You could use Evelyn whether it's a girl or a boy--it's originally a male name, pronounced Eve-a-linn, like the author Evelyn Waugh. ;)
Sheila
ETA: I love the name, and I wouldn't care what other people thought. Nobody in my family was very excited that my sister named her son Arthur, but we all got used to it, and now, of course, we think it suits him. Eventually, everyone will think whatever name you picked fits the baby.
RE: Speaking of baby names...
I agree that I wouldn't care so much if my family didn't care for it (speaking from experience--Sawyer, not a huge hit!). But if my DH didn't like it, that's another story. My DH said he was never going to come around to my favorite boys names and I said I would never come around to his, so we reached a compromise and picked a name that was in the middle of both of our lists.
FWIW--my grandmother is Evelyn and so personally I associate the name with her, but heck, no one over 50 who was Jewish liked our name (we had it narrowed down to Zacharay, Joshua, and Sawyer). My family is all over 50 and Jewish! DH's was not. We had a huge split on either loving or hating the name. But once the baby has the name, it's theirs and people forget...
Debbie
My mom thought we were joking when we said we were naming #3 Zeke (m)
She said, "Oh, I just know you're going to call me from the hospital and say, 'ha ha, the joke's on you....his name is Thomas Andrew'" Well, guess what? We weren't joking.
We love our Zeke, and I think my mom would even say that it fits him.
RE: Speaking of baby names...
I agree with everyone else. I wouldn't go with a name that my DH didn't like but I could give two hoots about what anyone else in the family thought. I think the single best piece of parenting advice I have is don't tell family or close friends what your child's name will be before he or she is born. Wait until they are holding the new baby in their arms. You could name that baby Armageddon and they will tell you that it's the best name they have every heard and they've always loved the nickname Army.
For what it's worth, I think Evelyn is a beautiful name. It has a soft spot in my heart because DH's fabulously hip, funny and kind Aunt is named Evelyn. Even the nicknames Ev and Evie I think are so pretty. And Abigail and Evelyn sound sweet together!
Paula
Mom to Roley Julia, January '02
RE: Speaking of baby names...
Well, DH not liking it would be a problem. I mean, think of a name you dislike and how you would feel if he insisted on it knowing you hated it.
As far as your mother - don't even consider her opinion :-). I made a rule that we don't tell anyone names until after the baby is born. Everyone feels free to comment before, but once the baby is born very few will tell you they hate the name.
I would put it on the back burner - keep it on the list, but encourage DH to come up with other ones. If he hears it enough over the next few months, then it may grow on him. I will say, that with both of ours, the names we chose were not even on the list until 3-4 weeks before they were born. We had some we loved at 6 months that just didn't seem to fit as we got closer to the end.
RE: Speaking of baby names...
Yes, DH and I would choose a name the rest of the family may not like. We kept our short list(s) of names secret until the very end so nobody knew even those names until after DD was born. Of course, we didn't have a short list until the day before, as we thought I still had three weeks to go. :-) When my Mom asked what the other names were, I could hear her nose wrinkle on the phone. She didn't like any of them. Ironically, DH suggested DD's name without knowing that it is a family name on my Mom's side (her cousin is Moira), and Mom had suggested it also. Next time around we will do the same thing, suggestions taken but nothing definite until after the baby's birth.
Evelyn is a beautiful name, though I do think you and your DH need to be in agreement.