What do you think?

Question

Not trying to offend anyone here but does anyone else find it weird that so many people want suggestions about baby names... to me, a name is such a personal thing and I just can't imagine when my child asks "why did you choose my name... who was a named after?" answring with.... "oh, just a bunch of strangers on an internet forum.
Like I said, not wanting to offend anyone. I can sorta understand people putting the name they want to go with just to see what people think but coming straight out with ... "help, I need a name for my baby.. what should I call him?" is just a bit wierd to me.
Anyone else feel the same or am I totally alone on this one?

Answer 1

I tend to agree with you.

I can see getting other opinions on how some names go together but I don't get the "give me some name ideas" posts. Nor the "pick out of this list of seven hundred and six names". I don't respond to either of those.

Answer 2

I agree and disagree with you on this. Choosing a name is personal, so get a bunch of strangers to name my baby is not what i would do. But like a few others said, getting Ideas is a great idea. When i had both my boys I asked different people what they thought of the names I'd chosen and the combinations. Sometimes people come up with things you never thought of, such as cruel nicknames, different spellings. I think this is just a sounding board for Ideas.
The one thing I cant get over is how many people answer the one question all with their own ideas. Some people have over 50 different answers, that is way too much. And sometimes they don't even answer the question, it's just like Well i like this name who cares what you wrote. I think that these must be the most answered questions on all of yahoo. LOL
I must admit thought I do love reading all the weird and wonderful names that people come up with.

Answer 3

I have to agree that the completely vague "any suggestions for cute names?" sort of questions are far too random to even attempt to answer. LOL

But I think it's perfectly acceptable to want some honest reactions to the names that are being considered. After all, how many times have you seen unfortunate misspellings like Analease (rather than Anneliese) about to be given to an innocent little girl? ;) And the parents honestly might not have realized it actually read as "anal ease," rather than the name they were intending, had a "perfect stranger" not been kind enough to point it out ahead of time. LOL Honestly, any random input that might save a child from a lifetime of torment is well-sought-out in my book!

Likewise, I can certainly understand people who DO have a certain sort of name in mind, and are simply looking for suggestions in kind. Asking for classic, feminine names that aren't quite as common as, say, Emily, Emma, Isabella and Hannah, for instance. Or Celtic names for their son that aren't already a dime a dozen (Aidan, Connor, Logan, etc.).

After all, not everyone is completely computer-savvy or even aware of certain sites (such as Behind the Name, Baby Names of Ireland or the SSA's searchable database), so it's understandable that they might request the help of others who are. ;)

At least they're putting serious thought into the child's name (in most cases LOL), rather than simply pulling Emily Rose or Nevaeh Leigh out of a hat, and assuming them uncommon and completely "unique" choices. ;) Thank goodness for that!

Answer 4

I think on one side you may have touched the truth... but on the other I think it is fun, and not all persons are so sure about things
I have known the names of my daughters since I was a girl, and I have been lucky that my husband was absolutely in the same level with me. But not all persons have that situation, some of them tend to follow trends and fashions, so they want to know what popular names are.
Also it is not a bad thing to brainstorm a bit, for example looking for middle names and so.
But all in all it is extremely fun and nice to imagine little babies and name them....so that's why I participate often and try to do my best
good luck

Answer 5

I've asked for middle name suggestions b/c I have no clue at all. My bf has no clue & I hate every name that my mom, sister, & aunt gives me. Lol. I ask to c if people can come up with anything that I like & have never heard before. It doesn't work though. I only liked 2 names out of who knows how many. My baby girl still doesn't have a definite middle name.

Answer 6

Getting an opinion is ok. I get what your saying though. But I guess sometimes they just want to hear some names that people might think of that they might actually like. After all you do name your baby after a name you REALLY like so maybe ppl have good ideas and they havent heard of this name before but LOVE it. Its not necessarily being impersonal.

Answer 7

I'm with ya on this one but at least I get a cool 2 points and I really like reading some of the names these people come up with WOW!!

Answer 8

I think that a great deal of people here are really just trying to get ideas, kind of like a baby name book.

Answer 9

I don't think it's weird, I mean to each their own. If they aren't creative enough and think that people on the internet can help them, then they should go ahead. They'll say later on, "oh I got the idea from this great site on the internet", and they'll "internet? That thing's still around? that's so old!"

Answer 10

I dont think its weird. I think often an opinion from a stranger helps. You live your whole life around strangers who may judge you only by your name.