Funnily enough, whilst writing this I came across a post today by yummymummyno1 ,who is asking if any of us blogging parents have ever regretted the names we have given our children, as a recent study has shown that apparently 1 in 5 of us do – which is a lot. I do believe that choosing the name for your child is a BIG deal and it is important to get it right, because that child has to live with your decision for the rest of their lives.
I did not know the sex of my baby until he was born. To start with my boyfriend and I each compiled a list of boys and girls names – I wrote down 10 of each and he only managed 2! It is strange because for years my chosen names were always going to be Scarlet (named after my all time favourite film heroine Scarlet O’Hara from GWTW) and Joshua for a boy (I loved that name from the first time I had heard of it which was when I watched the film Big ). However, in the end we decided upon Isobel and Jack – which were the only 2 names we were able to agree on, and we told people when asked if we had chosen names.
However, about 2 months before my due date we both started to doubt the name Jack – although we both loved the name and felt it was a strong name, it is just soooo popular and we did not want to end up in a situation where by the time our son went to school there would be a classroom full of Jacks!
So then we tried to find another one that we both liked – which was VERY hard as we both had different ideas on what a good boys name is! Logan was a contender until one night, whilst watching an American sitcom, a character came on called Burton, and although it took a few days for us both to come to the same realisation, we just really liked the name because it is so unusual and ,well, we both just loved it! Also, up until finding this name I had kind of been hoping that my unborn baby would be a girl – even though I kind of had a feeling it was a boy all along – but once the name Burton became a contender I sooo hoped it was a boy afterall, because I did not anyone else to use that name before we got the chance.
Here are a some facts about the name Burton:
1. The name is still used in America in fact Burt Reynolds and Burt Lancaster were both born Burton
2. It ranks 25,000 and something in the top boys names list (who could believe that so many names exist!)
3. In olde english Burton means fortified settlement
Therefore, without meaning to we chose a name which is unusual and yet it is not too modern (eg, named after a fruit!). In fact, it’s really an old fashioned name and yet it does not seem like it because it is so uncommon. I also doubt very much that Burton will attend school or college with any other name- alikes!
Jon and I do not regret our choice in the name Burton – we just love it so much and when we tell people his name they always comment on it. The only trouble with telling people his name, is that other people may like it and decide to use it to name their baby boys. Plus it puts pressure on us to make sure that the name we choose for our next child, will be as good and not one we regret!
So why did you choose the name/names you gave your child/children? Would love to hear your stories 🙂
If you would like to read more about my mummy mishaps please subscribe by email or via RSS feed 🙂
Thank you xx
Thank you xx
That is such a lovely name – I like how it has old roots yet sounds really new and unusual.
Great post and thanks so much for the link x
I think Burton is a fab name! I dont regret Oli’s name at all, I was slightly upset to see how common it was though – the next child will definitively have more of a unique name .
Emma I love the name Oli – it was on my original list! I assume his full name is Oliver? x