BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Baby Names A friend wants to name her son Alexandra - wdyt?

A friend of mine is thinking of naming her son Alexandra (not Alexander). She just prefers the spelling and the way Alexandra looks and sounds over Alexander and its her favorite name.

What do you think? Big mistake? No big deal? Will many people notice (they sound so similar and I expect the kid will go by Al or Alex most of the time anyway).

I have tried persuading her to consider other names, but I am thinking the best I might be able to do right now is get her to drop it to a middle name.

Any suggestions on tackling this one and not putting my friendship on the line?

A child's name should always be chosen for the benefit of the child, not the parents.

Sorry, but I think your friend is being really inconsiderate. All it takes is one bully...

The child's going to take a beating on the playground.

Kids are inherently cruel. Why not Alexandar? She gets her way and the kid does not get picked on for having a girl's name.

A male Alexandra... hm...

Well, he'd probably go by 'Alex' most of the time, so it may not be such a big deal.

But I do think the name would be better in the middle. As a first name, Alexandra may (or may not) be fodder for teasing, etc. -- hidden in the middle, it's much less likely to do damage.

If your friend won't budge, though, I don't think a male Alexandra would be all that bad. (At least she isn't leaning toward something ultra-feminine like Isabella or Liliana.)

Isn't it strange that we think it just awful that a boy have a girl's name, but the other way around is just fine. We have a grandaughter name Alex and no one even blinks. Just one more example of even women considering women as second class citizens and passing it to the next generation.

Jan Goldfield

Yeah, I named one of my daughters Devyn. I saw a girl on TV with that name while I was pregnant and thought it was really neat. While I was going through a baby name book, I found out that Crystal used to be primarily a boy's name, but nowadays a boy named Crystal would be ridiculed to no end. Things change, I guess, and the naming of a child is really the private business of the parents.

IMHO baby girls can get away with being called a Jamie, Jeffrey or a Bobbie. With baby boys it's just different.

It's 'just different' because we consider girls and therefore girl names second class. Boys must have boy names so they will NEVER be considered in any way shape or form ANYTHING like a girl.

Interesting theory, Jan.

I'm with Chik in post 2--choose a name that will suit the child.

But do give some thought to the playground factor.