Lawyer&Mom Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 DH picked our top two girls names when I was pregnant with Dd #1. We didn't have a middle name for the second pick, but we figured we had time. Well now I'm 22 weeks pregnant with Dd #2 and despite months of agonizing, I still don't have a middle name I love. Still love the first name, can't figure out a way to make the whole name work. Enter Princess Charlotte. I've always loved the name. (I had a friend Charlotte in preschool.) I have a family middle name that would totally work with Charlotte, but just doesn't work with the other name. We could still use Charlotte, right? I know it's popular already, but everyone in our little family has super traditional names that are perennially in the top 25, if not the top 10 baby names. I wouldn't want people to think we named the baby after Princess Charlotte, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. There are only so many classic names to go around. Also, we've been telling people that Dd #2 will be named the other name. Anyone else have experience with changing a name midway? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Sure why not. I doubt you will be hanging around socially with the royals. :lol: There are a lot of people named Charlotte. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 IMO, one of the cardinal rules of baby naming is to name your child what you want. If you want to use a name used by a royal family, a famous person, or the name of your mailman, go ahead. After all, chances are that at some point in your child's life, he or she will run into another person with the same name. Most people survive. Also, imo, it isn't official until the name is on the birth certificate. FWIW, we don't even discuss names until baby is born. (In our state, you have until baby is 1 yo to put the name on the birth certificate. The longest it's taken us is 5 days. My midwife did have a patient once who didn't settle on baby's name until baby was 11 months.) I'd just say something like, "we've found something we like even more" if anyone questions it. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsWeasley Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Charlotte is a wonderful name. I especially like the nickname Charlie. Unlike, say Elsa, it's such a popular name anyway I don't think people will make the connection. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 You could always say you had the name on your list before the princess was born and that the Duchess called to make sure *you* were okay with *them* using the name. I like the nickname Hattie for Charlotte. And agreeing with the above. Use the name if you like it. Yes, you'll get comments about the princess for a little while, but oh well. We have an Axel and got comments about Axl Rose for a little while, but rarely anymore (ours is 7 now). Charlotte is a lovely name. (If she ever has a younger brother, I wouldn't name him George. ;) ) 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 If people ask at all, they will only ask about it for the first few weeks and then stop associating the birth of your baby with the royal baby. I don't even remember the other royal baby's name or when it was born, exactly. Or when William and Harry were born. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I have a nephew named William and it never occurred to me that it is also some one in the English royal family, until now! Very cool :) Charlotte is a beautiful name. It was one of our top picks too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I wouldn't want people to think we named the baby after Princess Charlotte, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. There are only so many classic names to go around. I doubt they would but even if they did, who cares? Name her what you like best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Frankly, Charlotte is so popular already I doubt what a princess did will make a difference. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Definitely still use it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Definitely! I've loved the name Charlotte forever btw. That said, I do believe there will be a lot of baby Charlottes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Also, we've been telling people that Dd #2 will be named the other name. Anyone else have experience with changing a name midway? All you need to say is, "We thought she looked more like a Charlotte than a {othername}." Once the baby is born, no one will care, UNLESS someone is planning to monogram or needlepoint Baby's name onto something before she's born. Way back when, my mom planned to name my baby sister Laura (...if it was a girl....back before ultrasounds when they didn't know baby's gender until baby was born). I was 5 at the time and said all along that "Mom is having a baby girl and her name is going to be Cindy." I was apparently so confident that it was a girl that I wouldn't believe people who told me, "You know, it might just be a baby brother." Turns out, when the baby was born, it was a girl, and she looked like a "Cindy" more than a "Laura." So I got my baby sister, and got to name her too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Of course! It's terrific, terrific, terrific! ;-) I do like the name. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Also, we've been telling people that Dd #2 will be named the other name. Anyone else have experience with changing a name midway? I think you should use the name you like. Who cares what someone else named their baby? And, I am not sure I get this question (quoted). The baby hasn't been born yet, right? So you are not changing anyone's name! Enjoy your new baby Charlotte! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Yes, I think Charlotte is still very much open for use by anyone, just like Elizabeth, Catherine, Henry, Charles, etc. It's not like they chose something wildly unusual (Chrysanthemum?) and you had picked that also. The Social Security Administration says Charlotte was already the 11th most popular girls' name in the US in 2013, having risen gradually from #289 in 2000. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epicurean Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 According to the Social Security website, Charlotte was the 11th most popular name in 2013. It was popular long before the Royals chose it. Don't worry about other people using it. It's classic for a reason! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 DH picked our top two girls names when I was pregnant with Dd #1. We didn't have a middle name for the second pick, but we figured we had time. Well now I'm 22 weeks pregnant with Dd #2 and despite months of agonizing, I still don't have a middle name I love. Still love the first name, can't figure out a way to make the whole name work. Enter Princess Charlotte. I've always loved the name. (I had a friend Charlotte in preschool.) I have a family middle name that would totally work with Charlotte, but just doesn't work with the other name. Of course. My SS teacher's niece was born SUnday evening. They named her Charlotte Anne. IT was the name they'd been calling the baby among themselves all along and they decided not to change it. (They didn't announce names until after the princess's name came out. So they explained themselves using the same name.) And evidently Chelsea Clinton's little girl is Charlotte. So it may not even have been the royal princess that triggered Personally, I'm partial to Lottie from All-of-a-Kind Family 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 If they had picked some novel and trendy name for their baby (which I don't think they really had the choice to do - you're lucky not to be in that boat), then people might figure that you're copying them. But they picked a somewhat old-fashioned, traditional name that is quite popular already in the US and the UK because traditional names have come back in style (it's the name cycle - the names of your agemates are boring, the names of your mom's agemates are old fashioned, the names of your grandma's agemates alternate between sweet and dowdy, but great-grandma's names are timeless), so I doubt anybody will notice or care. If they do, just blink and go "oh, I don't pay attention. They had a girl, right?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Go with Charlotte. It's not Apple or North or even Eugenie. My DD and three of my boys share names with Presidents or First Ladies (the fourth boy has a President's last name as his middle name); it wasn't intentional until the third boy, but none of them are particularly unusual names. People do not immediately make the connection at all; it's not like we used Barack, Rutherford, and Millard. I think Charlotte is timeless enough and currently popular enough that people are not going to associate her with the new princess OR Chelsea Clinton's daughter. (When I was expecting DS3 in July, 2011, Katherine was at the top of our list, right after Will and Kate's wedding. It wasn't in honor of her; I just adore the name. It did cross my mind that there were probably a lot of little Katherines/Catherines that year, but since it was also at the top of my list for DS1 in 2005 and DS2 in 2008, I wasn't too worried about it, especially since we aren't British.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Well shows what I know - didn't even know she was named Charlotte -- and I have a Charlotte already. :) Love the name and I would care nothing about famous people using a name I like. Only name issue I have is the name at the top of my list was found in a recent popular book series (and it really isn't even that good of a book - though it was VERY popular). I almost hate to use it because that is where I found it, but I do so love the name and simply never heard of it before then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 My 3 month old granddaughter is named Charlotte... I think it's become more popular now.... although my dd planned on this name when her son was born 2yrs ago in honor of her paternal Grandmother. In a few years no one will make the connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I think it's likely to dip in popularity in the next few years, meaning that I suspect it will date her generationally when she's an adult. But it's a great name. It was one of our picks if we'd had girls. I think since it's so popular the princess isn't a reason to sway your choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer&Mom Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 I am a known royalty junkie, so I imagine there would be some good natured ribbing from friends and family if we go with Charlotte. (Although our other girl names are both currently used by young royals on the continent, but most people wouldn't know that.) I actually initially ruled out the name because a close family friend has a Charlotte, but they live in another state so it wouldn't be a day to day issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Yes, use it! The media storm will blow over in a few weeks, and by the time she's a couple of years old, nobody will even make the connection anymore! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I think it is odd that William and Katherine chose Charlotte Elizabeth Diana when the brother of the late Princess Diana named his two year old daughter Charlotte Diana. Nearly identical names and they are cousins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I think the trend was started by the character from Sex and the City, but it's a lovely name, and I'm grateful Kate rescued it from that legacy. I wouldn't worry about naming my daughter something that me or DH's cousin is named either. It's not like my kids interact with my cousins much unless it's a wedding or funeral. Half the time I can't tell my parent's cousins apart, and several of them I've never even met. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Unless you're known as a royalty fan girl among your friends and family, I can't imagine anyone connecting your Charlotte with the princess. I wouldn't give it another thought, whether it was my own baby, or a friend using that name.ETA: I see that you are a self described "royalty junkie"!! Honestly, then I would assume you chose the name for that reason! Also, we've been telling people that Dd #2 will be named the other name. Anyone else have experience with changing a name midway? We changed my son's name two days before he was born. The name change came about after a friend commented that the name was becoming a popular girl name. My personal experience: It took me a month to remember his name in my head. I would automatically think of the original name, then go through three others, like a list, before getting his name right. Fortunately, I never did that out loud, or people would have thought I was crazy. But it was good, I was always glad we changed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I saw this today and thought of this thread. ;) Japan zoo apologizes for naming newborn monkey Charlotte. Officials at the zoo and the city were still discussing what to do with the monkey's name. The zoo now plans to seek advice from the British Embassy before making a final decision, Kyodo News agency reported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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