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It seems any word can become a name, which is absolutely fine. Some parents looking for a unique baby name often find a word or object they like and choose it for their upcoming baby.
But what do you do if your partner is considering a more unusual name and you just don’t agree?
According to Nameberry, there are many ‘object’ names that have gained in popularity, many of which are short, simple and often used in futuristic novels. Examples such as Jett, Axis, Quarry and Patch have all started to appear as names given to human babies, as have Pixel, Zinc, Mirage and Ridge. However, is there a point when a word or object is not suitable for a baby name?
One parent found himself in this situation when he and his wife were expecting their second child. He got to name their son, so his wife is choosing the name for their soon-to-be-born daughter. However her choice is more unusual and the husband is not happy.
The father named their son Calvin Heath, and his wife was happy with this choice. “Our agreement was that I got to name the first baby, and she got to name the second baby,” he posted on Reddit. “She didn’t have any strong opinions or preferences with regards to naming our son so I went with what I thought was a strong, somewhat unique name but that could just as easily suit a musician as a lawyer or doctor.”
However now they’re expecting baby number two, his wife wants to go a different direction. “My wife told me she wants to name our daughter Ever Winter Rain where Ever is the first name and Winter Rain is the middle name,” he wrote. “I don’t think this is a good name and that it isn’t fair to our daughter because Ever is a word and I don’t think it passes the supreme court justice test – it doesn’t sound professional, it’s confusing because it’s a word and I don’t think it would suit her into adulthood.”
The husband tried to find middle ground by suggesting Winter be the first name followed by something more common like Emma, but his wife refused. “Our agreement was that she got to pick the name,” he says.
The post attracted thousands of comments, many of which acknowledged the fact that the husband made an arrangement and shouldn’t back out if it doesn’t suit. However most readers also agree that the name is a tricky one. “I’m not sure the agreement matters in this case, this name has a pretty good chance at affecting the child (kids can be mean),” commented one reader. “I think that’s more important than upholding an agreement that was made between the parents in the past.”
“Normally I’d say that they made an agreement and he needs to stick to it, but… it kind of sounds like a bad goth band name or something?” said another.
Other readers felt that the husband should stick to the plan, and quite a few liked the name Ever. “I actually weirdly enough have two friends named Ever – one from law school and one I’ve known since preschool and I don’t recall either of them having any issues,” one viewer said. “Maybe with the winter rain part (though I don’t see that as bad – one of them is my nickname though so I’m a bit biased) but Ever always seemed like a nice name to me.”
“I actually dont hate the name Ever,” commented another reader. “The full name of Ever Winter Rain…. Thats awful. But Ever on its own really isnt an awful name.”
In hindsight, the couple should have maybe set some boundaries with their arrangement, perhaps agreeing that they both had to ultimately sign off on a name. But still, as with any name, even a word or object, a baby will always grow into it and make it their own. The couple’s daughter might just rock the name Ever, and be thankful that she has a unique name that stands out from a crowd. And if she doesn’t, well, she can always go with her second name instead.
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