Who Should Name Their Baby Mum or Dad?
Ask a Question
I was talking to my friend who's pregnant and I asked about names she said she's not sure yet her partner wanted one she didn't like so said no her opinion is that she's carrying the baby so she should pick the name I honestly think both should love the name I don't think it's right that only the mother gets the say what's your thoughts?
I agree with you. Neither parent should have the monopoly on which name to choose. They should both write a list of names they like, swap and see if any are same for both. If not tick or cross for ones they like and then choose.
PS If she gets her own way he's in for a life of henpecking lol
Lynibis that's true I mean if my kids dad has he way my kids would have been named after flowers lol don't know why but as soon as he found out we was having girls the names kept coming up I put my foot down but we did agree on the names or should I say I planted seeds lol to get my own way
Leannexxx "named after flowers" 
Still better than the name Elon Musk gave his kid.
Leannexxx Most have reasonable names, but these two... 
X Æ A-Xii Musk
Exa Dark Sideræl Musk
rockbridgebruins.org/economicdownturnavoided/elon-musk-kids-names.html
It's the father's child as much as it is the mother's, so both should decide on the name together. A name that both of them like.
RegularComper91 I agree with you if the father is not around or interested then it's different
I think they both should discuss the names they like through the pregnancy . Narrow lot down to girl and boy name then ( got 9 months )
Both parents should have a say in naming their child, it's part of becoming parents
My late nephew was telling me that his partner wanted the child to have her surname, he didn't want this so I suggested double barrelling it..
Now he's passed she has her own way as per...
janphoenix51 As an ex registrar we were told to ADVISE unmarried mothers to put the baby in her name. This was due to many parents splitting up and then mother and child have different surnames which makes it difficult for school, doctors etc as mothers mostly have custody. However if they later marry they can re-register the child in father's name.
But lots of wives don't take husband's name these days and many do use a double barrelled surname, often for the whole family.
PS Many parents don't realise they should re-register their child after marriage, though it isn't compulsory. You can tell a lot by looking at a birth certificate!
Leannexxx...Our almost 26 year old daughter had my surname for two weeks then her Da & I went down to Sheffield Town Hall & registered her in his name...
Lynibis ....My late Nephew's then partner ALWAYS got her own way her own family let her , she was a cow!
If the family only have girls they tend to keep their maiden name so it lives on.
One of the parents need to compromise if they can’t agree. Suggest they make lists and keep calling out their favourite names.
My ex didn't like any of my suggestions, some of his were just ok but not my first choice and he put his foot down calling 'it' (we didn't know sex for either of them) after family member. He went and registered the child while I was still in hospital (twice) both times a name he liked and their middle name was his fathers and mothers! He wonders why I left.
lilyflower oh hell no I wouldn't have that my children wasn't getting registered if I wasn't there
Leannexxx Unfortunately both were traumatic with extended hospital stays and one was 'out of area' so he did it 'to save me a job'. He was /is a man of 'my way or my way'. I must have been blind or stupid.
lilyflower no I don't think you was stupid you was in love that how people get one over on you
Leannexxx He was very good at manipulating people, still is as he brought kids round to his way of thinking. But hey-ho I've moved on, re-married and have a great life.
lilyflower hopefully at some point the kids will realise that's not the best way to be
lilyflower I wish someone had advised you that you can do a 'certificate of naming' within 6 weeks if you change your mind. You could have done it behind his back while 'popping to the shops'.
Lynibis I wish. The Registrar for the 1st was a friend of his and 2nd I wasn't mobile in six weeks. They seem happy with their names, I was more annoyed that he put his parents as a second name 'for family tradition'.
lilyflower but apparently sod your family tradition or desire? I meant 6 weeks after the initial registration, but you may have still been poorly then. However, a child's name can be changed at baptism also and if the vicar signs the 'certificate of name change after baptism' it can also be amended in register.
Lynibis He had them done within 5 days of birth and the Vicar wouldn't have played ball either (family friend). It's done, it's what it is and they've both shortened them anyway.
We always discussed together regarding naming our children, I wanted to name our last girl Margaret lol she wasn't having any of it, it was a joke but I kept it up until she was born
martinlufc5637 ...We went to the pub near my Mum's on my birthday in May & during a discussion on baby names decided what to call our daughter, I wanted Regan & my partner wanted Caitlin, we gave her the first name Caitlin & middle name Regan, I wanted it the other way but my partner won me over in the end!!
We wanted an Irish name to reflect our heritage & decided on Irish first & middle names ..
Daughter was due 7th September 1998 & she arrived today 16th September weighing 5lb 1oz at 4.13am!
martinlufc5637 Names often come full circle, a bit like fashion. I know people with a little girl called Martha. Fred, Frank, Oscar, Edward and Hazel when I was younger were older people's names it was unusual to hear a younger person called those names. But they are all fairly popular for little ones now. Well often it is Freddie instead of Frederick but still Fred etc. I'd imagine there will be some more Margarets/Maggies soon, if not already.
DeBunny ...Personally I don't like to hear some of the really old fashioned names, in our family we have a 3.5 year old great nephew Freddie on my partner 's side & on my side we have great nephews Edward. 3.5 & Oscar 5..Edward is named after a his great grandfather on on other side of our family but is known to everyone as Teddy..
I can't imagine calling a baby Edna, Ida or Alfred or even Colin but they are probably named in honour of family members past & present!
DeBunny yeah I agree, so many older people when I was a kid were called Albert or Arthur ,you don't hear that name much today
janphoenix51 we went with an Irish name for our youngest girl Sophie, should have called her Karen always complaining, never happy lol
Has to be a joint decision I would have thought. We found it easy for a girls name - but agreed on Zak for a boy pretty quickly.
We'd love to adopt as there are plenty of children that don't have the stable homes they need or deserve, so we won't get to select a name. Although we did have a name chosen for a boy when we considered having children of our own, we couldn't agree on a female name though.
We did download an app which was quite good, you can add the surname, add which gender or select 'surprise' option and you could even add names, there were also similar names like Amelia & Emilia with different spellings so swiped right if you liked it and swiped left if you didn't. You can link it to your partner's account and you both swipe, then you can 'view list' and the list will say which ones you both liked. It was called Babyname and looked like an egg with a yellow background. I'd recommend this for any parents to be if you want a bit of fun or you are struggling to find those you both like.
I also think about the initials, what you shorten it too, what nicknames they could get. But whatever you decide, choose what you both like and can live with. I don't think many people like their own name so don't be offended if your child says they hate their name, think most of us go through that 
If you are both bringing up the child as a family, of course you should both have a say. If people have left their pregnant partner and doesn't want anything to do with the child, then of course the remaining parent have the right to name the child, if the father doesn't want to be in the life. Of course some mother's walk away too, but they can't exactly walk away during the 9 months and are often there for the birth!
My opinion is you made the baby together you should pick a name together. With my children we both had names that we liked but in the end agreed on names we both liked so everyone was happy.
Both should have a say. We came up with names and agreed on ones we liked. Though the mother is the one doing the hard work
It is definitely a shared discussion. Unfortunately each parent usually has a favourite name so you have to compromise. Our children have three names which meant we could each have a favourite name after the first name.
I think that both parents need to agree on a name. When we were discussing names before we found out we were having a boy there was loafs we disagreed on. We found it easy to pick a boys name as we followed the family tradition but found it so hard to agree on a girls name. It is their child so both should have a say.
Our friends daughter married & moved to Wakefield, she has two small boys named Axle & Atlas!!
janphoenix51 Spelled Axle or Axel? If it's the former that's a bit unusual and doesn't sound like the name itself.
Then again, England spells center as centre (no one says cen-tray).
It should be both as took both to conceive. I would be more worried about future choices or opinions based on her approach to this one.
Join for free to get genuine deals, money saving advice and help from our friendly community
Chief Bargain Hunter
