A mum has shared her bewilderment at the reaction she often receives to her son’s traditional name.
Choosing a baby’s name can be a daunting task, as it’s a moniker they’ll carry for life and could influence people’s first impressions.
This mum believed she had aced the challenge by selecting what she considered “a solidly classic name with no ill connotations”, yet some family members have been left scratching their heads over the choice. She’s noticed that it’s typically the older generation who seem less taken with her and her husband’s decision to name their boy Laurence.
Turning to Reddit to air her grievances, the mum recounted: “After he was born, my in-laws said to my husband, ‘Are you sure that’s what you want to name him?'” She added: “For reference, for some reason they had in their head he would be named Gunnar, which we’d never choose in a million years. Hours later when I came home with him, they said, ‘so… did you decide on a name or…?’ and were all weird about it. Same day, our neighbour said, ‘yeah, but you’re not going to call him that, right?’ What?!”
She continued to express her frustration: “It’s been over a year and I feel like every 60+ person we meet looks at us like we have two heads when we say his name. 99% of the time they think I’m saying Lauren so I have to repeat myself.”
The mum shared that she and her husband often call their son Laurie, which might seem “somewhat odd” in the United States where it’s traditionally a girl’s name. She revealed that “boomers” appear most “confused” by his full name, Laurence.
During her son’s recent birthday celebration, her mother-in-law expressed disbelief at the choice of name, saying she “still couldn’t believe” they’d named him Laurence. The mum added: “I’m not offended, just very confused! Am I missing something?!”
On Reddit, hundreds chimed in with their opinions. One user commented: “I think to that generation, it may be the equivalent to a millennial naming their child Betty, Helen or Nancy. It’s just old fashioned!” Another suggested: “I think it’s more like the boomer equivalent of naming a baby Kevin.”
Echoing this sentiment, a third wrote: “This is it. My mom felt the same way about my daughter’s name (Alice). She insisted it was an ‘old lady name’, but it seems fresh and timeless to me.”
One person from the older generation offered their perspective: “Speaking as one of ‘that generation’, you are 100% correct. To me it does sound like a great uncle’s name or something of that age. Don’t take offence though, when you get to our age remember this discussion when you hear the latest babies names and think to yourself ‘omg why?’ You’ll know exactly what I mean.”
Another humorously added: “[I don’t know], old people are weird sometimes. Laurence is a nice name and Laurie is a cute nickname.”