Mom Sparks Debate As Teen Daughter Wants To Change 'Old Fashioned' Name
A mom has sparked debate after revealing her 13-year-old daughter wants to legally change her "old fashioned" name.
The teenager, thought to be from the U.K., is legally called Elizabeth, but wants to change her name to a more popular moniker like Emily because she feels the name is more fashionable among her generation.
However, her mother was devastated the teen dislikes her "classic, no nonsense name," suspecting she isn't keen because of the association the name has with Queen Elizabeth II.
According to Nameberry, the most popular girls' name in the U.S. in 2021 was Olivia, while neither Emily or Elizabeth made the top ten. Meanwhile, the most popular girls' name in England and Wales in 2020 was also Olivia.
In the U.S., name legislation is determined by state, but in the U.K., you must be 16 years of age or more to execute your own deed poll. Children under the age of 16 can change their name provided everyone with parental responsibility agrees.
Taking to Mumsnet for advice under the name Laurenw16, the mom wrote: "I'm just not sure what to do. It's really upsetting her, feeling like she's embarrassed of her name.
"To be honest I'm more upset because Elizabeth is such a timeless name I never thought she would even want to change it. She will probably get over it when she's older and gets past the teen stage. What should I do?? Should I let her change her name or just make her carry on with having a name she hates."
The post, which can be found here, received nearly 200 comments from users offering their advice to the mom, with several suggesting her daughter use Emily as a nickname or change her middle name.
One wrote: "As others have said, has she seriously looked at all the possible different shortenings of Elizabeth? Beth, Eliza, Liz, Ellie—to me Ellie is similar to Emily!"
"Why can't she just use Emily as a nickname? Many people are known by names that are not their full name," asked another.
"With so many nicknames for Elizabeth, I'd encourage her to maybe explore them first before going down the route of changing her name entirely," a third wrote.
"I'd maybe consider letting her add Emily as a middle name. In reality though, I would probably try hard to steer her towards considering one of the many shortenings of Elizabeth. Liz, Lizzy, Libby, Beth, Bethany, Betty, Bett. Bettany," said another.
