Help! Need feedback on boy name...

[Dalilama]

Hi All--

Im 19 weeks pregnant and my husband and I decided that we would like to name our first child (boy) Skyler. I love the name, but I've had some negative feedback from some, particularly my very hispanic family who is reacting as if Im giving him a HORRIBLE name! My mother and brother have told me it sounds too "feminine" or its simply "stupid". I cant understand why, so Im putting this out there to see if maybe Im the crazy one...

What do you think of "Skyler" for a boy...??

[Melaine]

I think you should pick the name you want. That was one of our reasons for not sharing the names until the girls were born, we didn't really want feedback on the names! Before the baby is born, people seem to think the name is up for discussion, but once he is born they are less likely to give negative feedback.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think you should pick the name you want. That was one of our reasons for not sharing the names until the girls were born, we didn't really want feedback on the names! Before the baby is born, people seem to think the name is up for discussion, but once he is born they are less likely to give negative feedback.

:yeahthat: But, unfortunately the cat is out of the bag on this name. You have to decide now if you want to go with it anyway or take their opinions into consideration. FWIW, Skyler is very much a toss up name and it could go boy or girl nowadays. It's one of the many names that have been poached by girls. :)

Beth

[wellyes]

Say, cheerfully, 'you're going to regret calling the name stupid when you are holding Skylar!' and then change the subject.

I like the bane very much :)
I would not bring it up with them again.

[Green_Tea]

I agree with all the advice of all the PPs. Your families are being rude, and I would not be inclined to share any more naming info with them.

That said - my kids are 5, 7, and 8.5, and every Skylar in their elementary school (and there are several) is a girl. I tell you that only because you asked what we thought of it of a boy's name - I think you should name your baby whatever you want!

[karstmama]

how about if you went with the original spelling? schuyler seems less girl's name to me.

[Dalilama]

how about if you went with the original spelling? schuyler seems less girl's name to me.


Schuyler seems like it might be a little hard for others to pronouce correctly, especially when reading it...Im actually going with SKYLER, not Skylar, which seems to be the female spelling...

[TwinFoxes]

how about if you went with the original spelling? schuyler seems less girl's name to me.

Even the Schuylers I know are girls! But I agree with PPs, name the baby what you want. I don't think Skyler/Skylar/Schuyler is a bad boy's name at all, but it's definitely tipped over to "girl". But we girl mom steal all the good boy names! :)

[swissair81]

I'm not a fan, but that shouldn't stop you from naming that if you want it.
I also know what you mean about your family being very critical about your name choice. As someone who comes from a family with naming traditions, my family would be beyond shocked if one of my kids was given an English name.

[trcy]

I think you should pick the name you want. That was one of our reasons for not sharing the names until the girls were born, we didn't really want feedback on the names! Before the baby is born, people seem to think the name is up for discussion, but once he is born they are less likely to give negative feedback.:yeahthat: FWIW I knew a boy Skyler when I was younger. I like the name.

[karstmama]

well, go for it! he's your baby, and i like the name. tell people they can have another themselves if they want to name a baby.

[mctlaw]

how about if you went with the original spelling? schuyler seems less girl's name to me.


well, go for it! he's your baby, and i like the name. tell people they can have another themselves if they want to name a baby.

:yeahthat: to all of that!!

[BabyBearsMom]

I think that if you like the name, you should go for it. I frequently don't care for the names my family members select and I'm sure they don't care for the names we pick. My DH and I like very old fashioned, traditional style names (or as my SIL calls them "grandparent names") and my SIL likes to make up names that she thinks sound nice. To each his own!

[arivecchi]

I think it's a great name and I am of Hispanic descent too. I gave my kids decidedly non-Hispanic names! LOL!

I never shared our final options with family members because they were so annoying with their suggestions. Seriously, zip it. It's my kid. One time my DH shared a huge preliminary list of names with his mother and she would not shut up about it - giving her opinions about each name. UGH. I wanted to stuff a sock in her mouth. Seriously? Other than DH's name the names she chose for her kids were horrible.

Just go with what YOU and your DH love and tell everyone else you are making this decision YOUR own. No advice needed. Thank you very much. :)

[BayGirl2]

I think it is a cute name for a boy or a girl.

We didn't share either DC's naming options with anyone before they were named. Even for DD we had only one choice, it was 99% decided, but did not share it with anyone. When DH called people to announce the birth and name people sounded surprised at the name Kennedy. For the first day or two I was second guessing myself, but we stuck with it because its what we liked. DH said people were more surprised than disliking it. In the end, when they met her, they really didn't seem to care about the name, or were at least polite enough to keep quiet about it. My mom thought it was very uncommon, I showed her that it was #110 in 2010 (SS website) and she shut up about it.

Really its no one else's choice but yours. Do what you think is right for your child and you can't go wrong.

[veronica]

Reminds me of our friends, who shared the name Lola before their daughter was born, only to be told by the grandparents that she would grow up to be a pole dancer.

they still went for it. go for the name you choose-don't let others choose for you.

[Clarity]

I do know one Schulyer who is a boy but every other Skyler/ar that we know is a girl. That said, one of my old friends has a brother named "Shannon" so name choices are very subjective. I would probably not pick Skyler for a boy, but you probably wouldn't like my choice either. As long as you and your dh agree on a choice, nothing else matters.

[Snow mom]

I agree with others that the traditional spelling seems to be sticking with boys and the others are trending toward girl. That being said different cultures consider names more masculine or feminine and I don't think there is anything wrong with naming a boy a traditional boy name, even if those damn girl moms are using it ;) Use the name if you love it. If you change your mind I'd recommend keeping the change to yourself. You've now seen how your family will react if told before birth. Once they are holding the baby hopefully they won't have anything to say other than what a beautiful, lovely baby you have.

[hellokitty]

I'm sorry your family is giving you a hard time. My mom and mil were both really opinionated and bossy about baby names, so I just clammed up and refused to allow them to give me any input. I think the name Skyler is cute, BUT all the Skyler's I know are girls. That shouldn't deter you from using the name if you like it, but be aware that ppl may often think your son is a daughter. I have several friends with boys name, "Riley" and all of them are extremely aggravated that the name has now turned into a girl name. If ppl see the name on paper or hear it w/o laying eyes on the child, they automatically assume that Riley is a girl. So, just some food for thought. My best advice would be just not to talk about baby names at ALL with family, since they will loudly voice their opinion and probably hurt and annoy you. It drove my mil and my mom nuts that I refused to tell them my baby names before the birth, but they were so obnoxious about their opinions ("don't name him Michael," "make sure it's not a weird name," "make sure it's a name I can pronounce," etc.), that I knew right away it would be opening a can of worms to let them stick their noses where it didn't belong. Pick a name, keep it secret btwn you and your SO and when the baby is born, announce the name. By then, it will be in bad taste for anyone to criticize it (although, some families, like mine still don't care, I got a lot of flack for DS2's name, even though it is not a weird name, my family is ignorant).

[hoodlims]

I knew a boy in elementary school named Skyler, and he had beautiful sky blue eyes. The name fit him. However, lately, it does seem like more girls are named Skylar/Skyler than boys. That being said, my first association is still a boy's name, because of that kid.

[ast96]

My first kiss was a Skyler -- a tan, hot country boy! I love it!

[mikala]

Here's an objective answer to your question--

http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=skyler&ms=false&exact=false

The name is used for both males and females with a majority female.

[karstmama]

i went to school with an ashley and loved him from not-so-afar for years...sigh. aaaanyway, the point is it's a fine name whether mainly for girls or not. the name will be *his* and he'll mold it to himself.

[AnnieW625]

I like the name. It's a gender neutral name in my area. The one Skyler we know is a girl spells her name with an e and not an a though. She goes by Sky for short most of the time though.


Reminds me of our friends, who shared the name Lola before their daughter was born, only to be told by the grandparents that she would grow up to be a pole dancer.

they still went for it. go for the name you choose-don't let others choose for you.

Reminds me of one of the few times we shared potential names for DD1 with family and we mentioned the name Jenna to one of DH's cousins (she is our age) and she said like the porn star. It was one of our top names for both girls but in the end ended up changing something else because neither girl looked like a Jenna.

[Edensmum]

This is why we don't share the name ahead of time. Tell them when it's a done deal and not up for discussion. Only real jerks then give a negative opinion.

[shawnandangel]

I think this is just like Ashley or Shannon. Both can be male names but have been "stolen" as female names.

I know 2 male Shannon's, and they are both great guys!

[Simon]

We don't share names before the birth either. I'm sorry you're getting so much negativity.

Honestly, I think first of a girl when I hear Skyler.

I recognize it can be used for both and I actually don't object to using Ashley, Shannon, Kelley for boys, but I've never met a boy named Skyler (though clearly some PP have).

[sntm]

It's not my style of name, but I support anyone who stops the usurping of boy names for girls :)

[smilequeen]

It's not my style of name, but I support anyone who stops the usurping of boy names for girls :)

I agree with all of that, except that I don't think I could be the one using a name that had been taken over by the girls for my boy.