Surprising number of mums who regret their baby name choice

When it comes to picking the perfect baby name, it’s a lot of pressure.
You want something that’ll grow with your child, something that suits them and their personality – which you will know nothing about at this point in your pregnancy – and that you and your partner both like.
It’s a huge decision and unsurprisingly one that doesn’t always end well, with a lot of parents admitting to baby name regret. 
According to a new survey from BabyCentre, almost one in 10 mums wish they went with a different name for their baby. 
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But when it comes to baby name regret, there were a few different reasons as to why these mums felt the name wasn’t the right fit. 
Around 10 per cent of mums admitted they now didn’t like the moniker they went with because their child’s personality just didn’t match the name they’d picked. 
A large number of mums admitted they’ve actually grown to prefer the nickname for their child, rather than their full name. 
When it comes to nicknames, the 20 per cent of mums who prefer that said the name is either a shorter version of the child’s legal name or a completely different name altogether. 
Middle names have even taken preference for some parents, with 15 per cent of mums saying they like their child’s middle name more than their given name. 
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Then there’s 15 per cent of mums who explained that they’ve had someone outright tease their name choice, or mocked it, which led to the regret. 
“I named my son Kyan (rhymes with Ryan), but every time I introduce him, most people say, ‘Like cayenne pepper?'” one mum told BabyCentre. 
But while there are plenty of reasons for the regret, not that many parents have gone down the path of changing things. 
Only 6 per cent, or around one in 20 mums, have gone as far as legally changing their child’s name, according to the survey. 
Australian Professional baby namer Michelle Casey previously told 9Honey Parenting baby name regret is something she is seeing a lot in her work. 
She has found a lot of name regret either comes from a traumatic pregnancy or birth, or the baby came earlier than expected and the parents didn’t really have time to think about the name more. 
“Once baby’s here, everyone’s all hormonal, especially Mum, and they might make a decision quickly thinking that’s the right one,” she said. 
“And then down the track they go, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s not right’.
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“Or another reason, because in the US there’s definitely some states where they have to name their baby before they leave the hospital, so they feel very rushed and a lot of them come from that.”
In Australia you have six weeks from your child’s birth to register it, and Casey often gets people coming to her with just days left needing help with confirming their child’s name. 
“Or they’re like, ‘Baby’s here, we had this name in mind, and this happened’, or, ‘Someone we knew close to us just had a baby and chose the same name’ or ‘the baby doesn’t look like that – we were picturing a blonde head, and they’ve come out with brown’,” she explained.
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