A mother has confessed she has regrets after giving her daughter an old German name.
She said trying to agree with her husband on their daughter’s nickname was a challenge.
The mother asked for advice about the situation in a forum post on pregnancy website What To Expect.
Mystifying Nickname
She and her husband have “opposite” tastes in terms of names, which made it difficult to choose one for each of their five children.
“I prefer older names (think grandparents) and he likes what’s trendy/unique,” she said, writing under the handle Chai Tea.
“We’ve never had one that we loved that either of us hated.
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“With this baby, we vetoed each other’s names to the point that we only had Ottilie and Echo left (I didn’t love them either).
“We took some votes, Ottilie won. She’s turning 5 months old this week and I was hoping it would grow on me, but it hasn’t.
“Nobody understands what I’m saying when I say it, nobody knows how to spell it, it’s frustrating because it’s not even a name I like.”
The mother said she is becoming “resentful” because her husband refused to change their daughter’s name.
She revealed that during her pregnancy he chose 15 “unique” names and rejected her long list of suggestions.
“I’ll say ooo, I love Caroline! And he’ll say ‘Oh, that’s terrible! And Ridley!’” she said.
“We thought Ottilli was a good common ground, as it’s a bit of both, and I actually agreed, as it’s not made up.
“It’s almost in the top 100 in the UK and it’s a very old German name.
“I thought even if it wasn’t common, people would recognize it as a name, but boy was I wrong!
“I feel like people look at me like I call her ‘spoon’ or something and then I have to clarify it over and over again because they think it’s too weird or hard to say.”
The mother said she tried pronouncing the name in different ways, but it still didn’t work.
What does the name Ottilie mean?
According to The collisionOttilie is a girl’s name of German origin that means “prosperity”.
Its popularity has soared in recent years, with UK-based influencer Zoe Sugg choosing it for her daughter.
Lottie and Tillie are among the nicknames associated with Ottilie.
UNPOPULAR OPINIONS
Responses to the post were split, with most commenters eager to suggest ways to tweak the name.
“Ottoline? Otto is VERY masculine,” one person said.
“Why not something beautiful and feminine like Caroline? Emelina? Madeline? Natalia?
“Respectfully, I’m so confused about how you pronounce her name in general.
“It seems completely made up and she will spend her whole life correcting people. I would change her name.”
However, another forum member argued that the mother should choose a nickname instead of changing her daughter’s name.
“Oh my God, she’s so cute, I see a little Tilly,” she said, referring to a photo of the baby.
“Ottilie is precious and has several nicknames she can use. I wouldn’t change her name.”
The mother was delighted with the nickname suggestion and thanked the commentator.
“I think we’ll call her Tilly,” she said. “It’s very difficult because I think it could be a geographic problem after researching more online.
“I have no doubt we wouldn’t have a problem in the UK or parts of the US, but we are in Arizona.”
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