Mom picked a 'solidly classic name' for her son — her boomer in-laws think she has made a mistake
One of the challenging parts for new parents is choosing a name for their baby. To pick a timeless, symbolic name that will be something their child will carry for a lifetime is a major task. Parents brainstorm and pull out various sources to pick the ideal name. u/Petichououou shared a post mentioning that she decided to name her child with a ‘solidly classic’ name. However, several people, her in-laws and many over 60 in particular seemed to have a dissatisfactory response to the same. Moreover, on hearing the name for the first time, her in-laws asked her to reconsider, wondering if she had made a mistake.
The mom revealed that her son’s name was decided as “Laurence.” “His name is Laurence, which I feel is a solidly classic name with no ill connotations,” she explained. However, her in-laws or grandparents of the baby were confused and taken aback by their choice. “After he was born, my in-laws said to my husband, ‘Are you sure that’s what you want to name him?’” The woman mentioned that the in-laws presumed she’d name her kid “Gunnar” which seemed even more bizarre to the mum. Nevertheless, despite making a choice, the in-laws were in a fix. “Hours later, when I came home with him, they said, ‘So… did you decide on a name or…?’ and were all weird about it,” the mom recalled.
To her disbelief, even a neighbor questioned the choice they’d made. “The same day, our neighbor said, ‘Yeah, but you’re not going to call him that, right?’ What?!” the mom added. She was caught off guard by the unhinged responses and lack of support she received for naming her baby with a fairly genuine name. However, things didn’t stop there. “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 and I have to repeat myself,” she remarked. The mom also noted that “Laurie,” is attributed to a girl in the US and it would make sense if the confusion stemmed from the same.
The people were, however, stunned by the name, “Laurence” and found that name strange. “My MIL made another comment about it on his birthday, telling my mom she still couldn’t believe we named him that,” the woman wrote. She shared two possible reasons why only boomers were astounded by the name. She mentioned that fellow parents who had named their kids the same name also received “perplexing responses from their parents.” “Boomers view this as a grandpa name and are not ready to accept those names again,” the mom suggested. Sharing another possible theory, she wrote, “There are some boomers with this name so they view it as if a millennial named their kid Kyle / Jessica.”
The theory of the name feeling like a boomer name resonated with many parents. u/FoxyLoxy56 shared, "My father-in-law told me if we named our son Oliver he’d get made fun of. It was the third most popular boy name the year he was born.” u/Effective-Sundae881 wrote, “I think that generation, it may be equivalent to a millennial naming their child Betty, Helen or Nancy. It's just old fashioned!” u/hopeful-sindarin pointed out, “It’s just a generational thing / the hundred-year rule for them. To them, Laurence is their grandpa’s or dad's name. For us, it would feel like our kids naming our granddaughter Brittany or Ashley or something like that."