‘I hate my daughter’s name – I’ve already changed it once but I still regret it’

A dad has admitted he isn’t a fan of the name he and his wife chose for their 13-month-old daughter – even though he already went through the process of changing it

Picking out a baby name isn’t always easy, and it’s not unusual for parents to wait until after their child is born to give them a name – especially if they’re not sure what sort of moniker will suit their little one.

But one dad has admitted he isn’t a fan of the name he and his wife settled on for their baby girl, despite the name being the second one they’ve given to their daughter in the space of 13 months.

The dad explained he initially named his daughter Maeve, but six months after she was born, both he and his wife agreed they weren’t keen on the name, so they had it changed to Mavis.

And while he likes Mavis more than Maeve, he doesn’t love either of them and has confessed that he “regrets” not pushing for his favourite name – Olive.

In a post on Mumsnet, he said: “I have a 13-month-old daughter. When my wife was pregnant, I wanted to call her Olive after my Olive tree, but a couple of weeks before she was born, I thought Maeve was a nice name also.

“When she was born, I was torn between the 2 names, but the midwife put pressure on us to name the baby so we named her Maeve.

“Six months on, my wife and I didn’t like Maeve because it is one syllable so we changed her name to Mavis, with the middle name Olive. My wife loves the name Mavis.

“I like it more than Maeve, but it doesn’t really warm to me. I really regret not naming her Olive. I love Mavis, she is perfect, but I guess I’m worried she might not like her name one day too.

“This issue has me really stressed.”

Commenters on the post urged the dad not to “stress” about his baby name choice, as they told him that giving his daughter Olive as a middle name will allow her to choose which moniker she’s known by when she’s older.

Many also said that if Mavis’ mum likes the name she has now, then it’s probably a good idea to stick with it and hope that it grows on him as he uses it more regularly.

One person said: “I would not worry. Both are perfectly good names and your child can choose to go by any of their names or a nickname.”

While another added: “Chill out. Your wife carried your daughter for 9 months, gave birth and loves this name. Let her keep it. Relax. It’ll grow on you.”

And a third wrote: “They are all lovely. She can call herself Olive when she is older if she wants. Congrats on your baby.”

The dad later returned to the post to thank commenters for their supportive messages, and said he had been “struggling” with his feelings over his daughter’s name for some time, and was worried he’d end up regretting his choice for years to come.

He said: “I have been really struggling with this, it is a big decision [to choose] a name in my eyes. I like the name Mavis – I think it is cool and my wife wanted that, but I love Olive too. I just feel like I made a terrible mistake that I have to live with now.”

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