Clifford... I dont think so honey.?

Question

hi everyone this is part two of my earlier question (help my husband wants clifford) and i thought i would expand a little. here is a little background... his father whos health isnt the greatest, name is clifford and because my husband is the only son he is insisting the the name has to be cliffford for his dads sake(my nephew has it as a mid name) his dad is a great man BUT I HATE THE NAME lots of people have suggested compromising including me but my husband wont have it the closest he has come is cliffton (not a favorite eather) i have explained to him the tease factor of clifford (the big red dog) and he insits that my name would get more teaseing then his would (dayan (pron Day-in ) and that its not the name that matters its the kid but i feel im being pressured into a name that i dont want but i dont know how to make him happy in the process any ideas or other possable names i like "new" names but not wierd or cartoon names if you know what i mean. btw last name is smalley

sorry people maybe i was a little confuseing My husband is insisting on the name although my FIL isnt helping much with the suggestions. my husband is also the one refuseing to make clifford the middle name because he thinks that he is insulting his father by putting his name second.

Answer 1

maybe you could talk with his dad about this maybe he coud talk to your husband about it.

Answer 2

Try this argument with him.. Doesn't your child deserve to have an identity of his own and not be a "mini me" of someone else. Every kid should have a name that is just for them. Having Clifford as a middle name is not insulting to the Father at all,
Many people in all different cultures do this to honor their parents. Give the kid his own first name , so you can live with hearing it 24/7 too. This is your son too, after-all, not just HIS!
I wanted to honor my Grandmother by using a form of her name. Her name is Cora, and I will name my first daughter Corinne because it is the french form of her name. The reason I am doing this is so I can honor her, as well as let the kid be an individual. My Grandma Loved that idea, and was so flattered that I am doing that for her.
I would think if your husband's dad gets insulted by being able to pass on his name as his grandson's middle name instead of a first name, he must be some kind of egocentric blowhard or something.
I don't know what his personality is, but most Grandparents would appreciate any form of recognition, and I bet he will too.
He will probably understand wanting your kid to have his own name and identity too.

Answer 3

You said that your nephew has the name as a middle name so its not like his name sake wouldn't live on. I have to agree with you I don't like Clifford either this is 2007 and I don't think a name like that sounds good. He would get teased alot, he needs to realize this is your child also. Like others have said make it a middle name or shorten it to Cliff, not a fav. of mine either but better than Clifford. I think you just need to sit down with him and a baby name book and start fresh. Give the baby his own name not someone elses let him have his own name and identity.
What is your husbands name or father in laws middle name they might work? Good luck!!

Answer 4

I like Clifford better than Dayan.

Why not just name him Cliff? Clive Owen is hot right now and Cliff and Clive are similar.

Cliffy is cute when little too. Give him a trendy middle name.

Clifford Dylan Smalley
Cliff Hayden Smalley

Or name him Clifford and call him Ford.

Good luck.

Dayan reminds me of Damon Wayans or Day-Care. Nah.

Answer 5

Clifford- from the clif ford. (meaning)
i
Its ok---its not ugly, but then again, its not really cute. One thing I like about Clifford is how it is so unique. You could also nickname him Cliff if you wanted to.

I searched Dayan, but it didnt come up in the baby names database. Its different, like Clifford is.

What if you picked new names that you both liked, (different from the ones you picked!) Maybe your husband will like a new name choice. Or, you could even have Clifford as the middle name. You could also have the same initials, or have your sons middle name, be his grandfathers middle name. Thats what my parents did with my little brother. My dad insisted on Robert, after his dad, but then they chose james, since its his middle name as well as my moms dad.

Hope i helped!

Answer 6

You could suggest that Clifford could be the middle name. If that doesn't work, you could always think about nicknames. Cliff, or anything that has to do with his apperance. Initials always make great nicknames. C.S. But, remember, it's not your father-in-law's decision, it is for you and your husband to decide. But, BTW, I like Clifford. I have a friend named Barbie, and she's not teased. If Clifford wasn't a cartoon, would you really hate it that much? Think about it.

Answer 7

Ok I have to agree Clifford has too much tease factor as in Clifford the Big Red Dog.....
You didn't mention a middle name for your son - how about Clifford Joshua or Clifford James... and call the child "CJ", or call your son by his middle name and use the excuse as to 'ease confusion between the to people'. My husband would not reccommend the latter suggestion because he goes by his middle name and it's kinda a pain, but it's also because he adds "y" (ie) to it (Scott --> Scotty) and it's not a common variation.

What about using your FIL's middle name as your child's first name?

Answer 8

How about Dayan Clifford that way you get both and DC is a cool way to abbreviate the name.
I'm Really not crazy about the name Clifford but it could be worse Albert comes to mind or Melvin eww eww eww!
or what is the gfathers middle name, is that maybe useable??
If all else fails maybe make sure you're the one who fills out the birth certificate!

Answer 9

My father's name is Clifford also and when I have a boy, Im going to name my kid Andrew Clifford because I love the name Andrew and I also love my father and want to include his name some how so I am using it as the middle name. My fiance doesn't mind at all.

Answer 10

You need to just tell your husband directly you don't want Clifford for a first name for your son, and while it's a good name for your father-in-law...you just don't care for it for your sons name. Since he doesn't like the name you picked out either...toss that one out and both of you sit down and write down names you both would like to name the baby, excluding Clifford and Dayan. There are many wonderful names out there and I'm sure you both can come to a conclusion.
The only other thing I would suggest is to go ahead and name the baby Clifford...but call him by his middle name...something you will pick out. :)

Answer 11

I too like Clifton the best.

Perhaps, you could get him to abreviate it to just Cliff. Also, remind him that Clifford is the big red dog. All kids watch those movies in school especially in kindergarten and first thru third grades. Imagine having the same name as the dog in the cartoon!! Talk about relentless teasing.