Husband hates Tabitha--help!

[ponymom]

We had almost agreed on Stella Imogen for our baby girl due in April...but I have returned again to Tabitha. I really love this name above all others in the running and I always have. But my husband dislikes it, mostly because he hates all the nns for it (Tabby, Tibby etc) and also sees it as a cute name and not as a grown woman's name. sigh.

He is of German descent so I have tried to point out he could call her the German version Tabea, which he sort of likes and I think is cute.

I would like her name to be Tabitha Imogen. Sibs are sister Sydney and brother Bram.

Any other help or suggestions on selling this name would be appreciated! Or should I stick with Stella? DH also likes Sabrina, Lara, Rebecca, Annika. I like these but don't really love them.

Thanks!

[cora]

I love Tabitha, too! :-) I'm sorry he doesn't like it. :-( At the same time, I think that Stella Imogen has a better flow then Tabitha Imogen. I really love Stella!

Here's a subliminal message for your husband: You LOVE Tabitha. It's your favorite name. You LOVE Tibbie and Tabby...You will now go out and buy your wife some beautiful jewelry. :-)

(Let me know how it goes....)

Take care! :-)

[deirdre]

Would he be influenced by meaning at all? Does he know that Tabitha means "gazelle". What a great meaning to have associated with a name? Are there ways you could help your DH to build positive associations with the name Tabitha? EG Characters in books or movies he would like with the name Tabitha?

[susan]

Would he be influenced by meaning at all? Does he know that Tabitha means "gazelle". What a great meaning to have associated with a name? Are there ways you could help your DH to build positive associations with the name Tabitha? EG Characters in books or movies he would like with the name Tabitha?

Tabitha is a pretty name with a great meaning. I love Tibbie. But, and this is a big but, it is no fun when your father doesn't like your name at all. I know because that happened to me. So I always say, make sure that both parents love the name that they give their baby. If I were you, I would tell my husband that I really love the name Tabitha. If there could be any way he could love it, that would be great. But if he can't love Tabitha, then we need to find a name that we could both love a lot.

[anobles]

If he likes Tabitha and hates the nicknames, could you agree not to call her either of those? With effort, you can prevent an unwanted nn from sticking, I think. For instance, my mother prevented people from calling me Mandy. Good luck! I feel your pain. My husband REFUSED to name our daughter any of my first choices, and I finally had to cave because I didn't want to force something he didn't like upon him.

[kiki]

I think Tabitha is a very dignified name so I can easily imagine it on an adult.

Would Beth be an ok nickname? I think you could get that from Tabitha.

[gwensmom]

I love Tabitha too! I agree with pp - do you have to use a nickname? What do you call Sydney? Abby could be a nickname for Tabitha. I like Stella too, and I'm happy to see Sabrina on the list because it seems similar to Tabitha to me for some reason. Sabrina Imogen? I think you need to find a name that you both love - is Imogen a contender for the first name?