‘Oooh, that’s unusual,’ – The life of a parent to a baby with a ‘different’ name.

Sophie Simpson - 12 Mar 17

When I was pregnant, James and I couldn’t find a name we liked, it wasn’t like he liked some that I didn’t and vice versa – we just couldn’t think of any that sounded just right. We have a pretty standard surname (Simpson) too so it wasn’t like we were going to struggle to find a name that “went” with it – some hilarious friends suggested some classics like “Bart” and “Homer” but surprisingly they didn’t take our fancy!

Before I begin my rant about the annoying people of the world who question his name, I’ll explain how we came up with it…

I was visiting my brother one day in London and he happened to mention his boss’ name in passing conversation – “Rune” pronounced Roo-Nah. I immediately loved it, and thought it sounded really cool, without being one of those faddy passing cool names that come around every so often and result in an entire year of children being called the same thing. I waited until I saw James before running it by him as I thought if I text the name Rune (which would read like Rooon) he’d be like “VEETO!”.

When I did finally get around to telling James he loved it too (I genuinely think our baby would be called James Jr. if we hadn’t found this name) so from the now on our bump was known as “Baby Reu”. As you can see we didn’t adopt the original spelling of the name as we thought people would be forever pronouncing it wrong, so we came up with a new spelling (more phonetic) in the hope that people would get it right…nope!

Now the fun begins, here’s an example exert of a conversation have at least 15 times a week…

Annoying person…”Aww she’s so cute”

Me…”it’s a boy”

Annoying person…”what’s his name?”

Me…”Reunah” (said nice and slowly)

Annoying person…”Bruno?”

(are you having an actual laugh…Bruno?!) Me…”No, Reunah” (fake smile)

Really annoying person…”Luna?”

(FFS, that’s not even a boys name!) Me…”R.E.U.N.A.H” like Reuben and Jonah merged together” (you imbecile)

F***ing idiot…”Ooo that’s unusual isn’t it”

(I’ve already walked off before they’ve finished the word “Ooo”!)

Now I am aware that it is a very different name, but come on…its 2017 FGS – the name Apple has been commonplace for at least ten years now, get with the programme! It’s got to the point where I actually contemplate telling people a fake name, just so I don’t have to have the same annoying conversation with the same annoying people.

Now to be fair, most of these people are older and obviously of a generation where if your baby isn’t called Tom, Dick or Harry you are a naming Maverick. However, my issue is not that they don’t recognise the name, it’s their casual rudeness (more often than not complete strangers too who think it’s normal to strike up a detailed conversation about their opinion of you your new bundles name in the M&S cafe) and obvious lack of understanding as to why we called our child such a n”unusual” name.

I would like to add at this point that not once have I ever questioned or judged anyone else’s name, or child’s name for that matter, nor have I asked for the opinions of others, so it really does baffle me as to why people think they can do it to me?!

To add to our woes we also have real issues with poor pronunciation of his name, for example at say the doctors when called in for our appointment we have so far experienced the following…

“Ray – ooo – nah”

“Reh – hoo – nah”

along with just an inaudible muffle for those too scared to try.

So please, to all those people out there who meet anyone with a child that has a non conventional name, please keep your opinions to yourself, learn the correct pronunciation, and follow my lead with a simple smile and nod if you’re not entirely sure.

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Sophie Simpson

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