Don't change your name

[kenzi]

My daughter Evelyn is 14 now and keeps telling me she wants to change her name. She says that it is too girly ( she's 'more of a lime green kind of girl mom! duh! *insert eye roll and 'tsk' noise*') for her not too girly but not too tomboy state. I always tell her that i believe Evelyn Skye is a beautiful name and i would be so sad if she changed it! What do you think? Is it wrong for me to not want my daughter to change my all time favorite baby girl name?

[crimsoncat]

Does she go by any nn? I think Eve could be a girly girl or tomboy. I think Evelyn Skye is beautiful. It is not wrong of you to not want her to change this name that you put a lot of thought into. I would tell her that she can change it when she is eighteen if she still does not like it, but at fourteen I would not make a major decision like that. My opinions changed all the time when I was that age. I was a tomboy too and wanted my name to be Toni or Sam. haha.I think when she gets older she will appreciate her name more and it's classic beauty and be thankful that she was not given a trendy name like Jayden or a unisex type name like Madison. Hang in there momma.

[amandajordan]

14 years old is certainly the wrong time in life to change your name! 10 years from now she may love her name to pieces because it is classic and elegant and looks great on a resume and her mom did a really great job of naming her! Not to mention that whatever name she feels infatuated with at the moment may be repulsive to her in 6 months (6 weeks?). Maybe she could go by Skye till she gets through this...it's feminine but not frilly, offbeat, earthy and might help her feel 'unique'. Hang in there...this too shall pass

[ashthedreamer]

Evelyn Skye is a lovely name!

I remember wanting to change my name when I was her age. Ashley was just so boring to me and I always irrationally hated Marie. I always dreamed of all the other names I could have, and I think that's one of the reasons I am into names so much. How long has your daughter been talking about not loving her name? I talked about it for years, and I must have broken my mom's heart because I know she still loves my name to this day. I ultimately decided that I wasn't anything but an Ashley Marie and even though I like a lot of other names more, I wouldn't change it. It's who I am. Maybe your daughter needs some time to just play around with her own name, get comfortable with it. Classic and girly and lovely though it is, Evelyn technically is a unisex name, so it sounds perfect for a tomboy to me! Especially with the mn Skye, which sounds very androgynous to me. Maybe she could go by Skye for a while, see if it suits her more, or play around with some nicknames for Evelyn (Leni, maybe, or even Eve/Evie/Ev...).

Even though I always said I would change my name when I was old enough to do so (it never even entered my mind to ask my parents to do it for me), my parents never made it easy for me to do so. They always told me how much they loved my name and let it take its course. Maybe your daughter will grow to love her name, and maybe she won't. Everyone goes through a stage of not liking their name at some point. Maybe this is that time for your daughter. Honestly, though, I would tell her that unless she is being teased mercilessly because of her name and her life is a living hell because of it, she's going to have to live with that name until she can make a wise, informed, responsible decision--as an adult (maybe not quite in those words, but you get the picture). I didn't know how I felt about it until I was at least 21--as some of the other pps have said, it's impossible at the age of 14 to know how you'll feel about anything a week from now much less a decade! So many things change in those crazy teen years. Evelyn Skye is a lovely name, and, in the long run, I think the name will suit her really well.

Good luck!

[east93]

Evelyn is far from girly, but if she doesn't like it, then it's her right to change it.
One thing I don't like about naming is that we never get the child's input or preference, we just stamp a label on them for life, regardless of if they like it or not.
Of course most times/people love their names, and have no real qualms, but for others they do. Yes, it hurts that your daughter wants to change your all time favorite baby girl name, but she's not a baby anymore, and it's not your name. It's not her favourite, it's yours. If she's really unhappy with it, then it's best to let her find a name she likes.

At any rate, she's only 14, and going through a phase. I don't care what teenagers say, they all go through a phase in their early teens. I'm 18, and I would not suggest she change her name now. Legally she can't anyways, at least were I live. You have to have parental consent.

She can try rearranging her name for nicknames, use her middle name, or a nickname from her middle name. Or even pick out a totally new name, and test run it. I know a girl who did that for grade 7, 8 and 9. Every grade she had a new name, she'd go by, and now I think she's using her birthname.
Her dislike of her name can just be a phase, or it can be a serious dislike. Eitherway, there's zero harm in her finding a name she likes, and using it unofficially wherever she pleases. It's her name, and she's the one who has to spend her life with it.
The more adamant you are about not letting her do so, the higher the chances of her hating her name even more will be. Trust me, I speak from experience.

[emiliaj]

I agree with pps try a funky new nicknames. Even better let her come up with some nicknames.
Something like Ever sounds like a 'not girly' teenage type name- but lets her keep her real name too. Maybe the ES initals could be something like Essi?
Give her time, she won't be 14 that long.

emiliaj

[rollo]

Evelyn Skye is a beautiful name, and one combo that I have never heard before, so kudos to you Mum for choosing such a good combo!

I like the Eve(ning) Skye in her name too. My gdaughter is Chloe Skye, someone nicknamed her once Cloudy Skye, you can't win can you?

She could go by Skye if she goes to another school otherwise I think she will have to use Evelyn or Eve, Ever or Evie or whatever nn her friends give her and be happy.

rollo

[malaria]

When I was 14, I wanted to change my name too. My problems were that it was too girly, too long, and too hard for other people. I'm only 16, and I'm definitely over it. I wouldn't change my name ever, so I wouldn't let her do it just yet. However, you could help her find a nn that she thinks fits her. I started going by Mo, whic fixed all of my name problems. Maybe she can just be Ev, Leni, Eve, Len, or maybe even (as suggested above) Ever. She'll most likely get over it in a year or two, but I wouldn't be too pushy about her loving it like you do. If my parents did that, I can guarantee that I'd still be on track for changing mine the second I turned 18

[c@29]

Her name is so adorable! and yeah, I agree, maybe she could go with Skye (as nn) instead of Evelyn.

[historia]

I agree with those who say that since she's 14, it's probably just a phase and if it isn't she can change her name when she is 18 or older. I 2nd or 3rd the suggestion of Ever as a possible nickname. Honestly, it seems silly to go through the legal hassle (with possible big regrets later) of a name change when with Evelyn, there are multiple nickname possibilities to choose from.