LORRAINE‘S TAKE:

We have all had remorse on some level during our lifetimes, including buyer's remorse when we purchased a house, a car, or furniture.  AND let's be honest, we have all had marriage remorse when we secretly want to trade in the husband for a different model or at least a Golden Retriever who would be less needy and only require one meal a day.

I still experience Food remorse when I order a salad and secretly covet a cheeseburger or a fruit cup when I openly crave an ice-cream sundae; but I had never heard of Baby Name Remorse.

Apparently 10% of parents experience this change of heart regarding their kiddos name and go the gamut of legally changing the moniker before the child is knee-high to a grasshopper.

The major reason given for this name switcheroo is that maybe Junior looks more like a Don than a John.  Anna looks more like an Amy and Zelda definitely presents like a Zoe.

I get it............I just never had this problem.  I suffered for months over the names I would give my children, studying every baby-name book ever published and putting first names with last to see how it would play.  Since I never knew the gender of my kiddos until the actual delivery, I was ready with the name and never wavered.........one female name, one male name.

I honestly picked the names out to please ME (and my husband), not the kiddos that would be stuck with them.  Parents don't have a crystal ball in order to determine that the name will fit the personality. I liked the name, they got the name. It was my take that they would just fit into the personality of the name......or just be themselves with their name.

Now, if one spends enough time pondering the name they are about to endow their children with they will steer clear of the possible legal swap.  If they get sloppy and bestow  their daughter with a name like  "Sandy Nipple" (I swear I had a teacher in junior high with this name) or their son with the likes of  "Jack Hoff"..........their remorse will land them in front of the courthouse with the "I CHANGED MY MIND" forms in hand.

Lorraine

MARY‘S DOUBLE TAKE:

Lorraine, your timing about the baby name remorse is eerie.  I just came across this note my son Nate wrote when he was 16.  The main point of his note was that he wanted to make it ILLEGAL FOR PARENTS TO NAME THEIR CHILDREN.

Here's his note in its entirety:

*"My first name is Nathan.  

I don't necessarily like this name. It's much too formal for me. I think the only name given to me that fits my personality is my nick name, "Nate". It's simple like me. That's why I like it. It also lets others know that I am not one to mess with.  

With a name like "Nate", people think that I must be a bad ass and I am. So it fits me perfectly.  

Although there is a deeper meaning behind my first and middle names, which both are Hebrew and mean "gift from God."

My mother says that when she became pregnant with me, she was nursing and using every kind of birth control possible at that time. Since I was conceived through all of that, my mother decided that I was a gift from God so she named me Nathan (I tend to agree with my mother on this one).

My name is not very memorable. It is pretty common and ordinary. That's why I have to work harder to get people to notice or remember me.

Sometimes I wish my name was Javier. You will never forget a person named Javier. It just stands out. A lot more than Nathan.

I think that they should make a law against naming your children. It's cruel. I think you should have the right to choose the word that will be used to address you for the rest of your life.

When I have kids, I'm not going to name them. They will be known as "boy" or "girl" until they chose a name that fits themselves. And if they later on decide that they don't like the name they gave themselves, then they can change it.  

Of course I don't know if that's such a good idea if it was my choice. My name would be "Javier Badass Namagachi" and I don't know if we want a bunch of Javier Badass Namagachi's running around".

*
So, Lorraine, this is my next prediction. The next thing we have to worry about with our Twixter kids is that they're going to sue us because they don't like their names. I can see it now: TWIXTER to self: "I'm outta money, don't want to work too hard. I know. Will sue parents for the horrible name they gave me that has basically ruined my life and is the reason I have no money. Will contact personal injury attorney right now".

Mary