Pregnant woman warned 'please don't' after she picks name for her baby
A woman was met with a furious response after she shared the baby name she'd picked out for her little one.
When she turned to Facebook for feedback, she was ridiculed by the 333,000 members. In the online forum, the mum-to-be said: “I feel like some would say my son’s name belongs here, we’re naming him Rayleigh.”
Fellow Facebook users flocked to the comments section to share their thoughts - and they didn’t hold back. One person said: “That is a terrible name regardless but even worse for a boy. Poor kid. Please don’t.”
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Another agreed: “Please don’t, also that name sounds female. Edit: My name sounds feminine too, but you are falling to know a psychological phenomenon - this has happened with other names in the past. In your attempt to be 'different', you actually are doing something extremely common and cliché and it’s not even easy to spell, he's gonna spend his whole life correcting people thousands of times because his name has a stupid spelling. If you are interested I’ll link a vid."
Others even accused the woman of being "cruel" to her future child. A commenter insisted: “The name is bad, for a boy it’s just cruel. Quit being selfish and think about your kid."
But thankfully, some were more courteous with their approaches. While they weren't fans of the name, they tried to get the mum to rethink in a positive way.
A group member pointed out: “In the kindest way I can say this, it's not great. I'm not a parent but my observational skills in that regard are good. You have to remember that you're naming your son who is only going to be a baby for a small percentage of his life.
“Genuine question: Have you thought about him when he's a 40-year-old man and his name is Rayleigh? Even if you spaced it out like 'Ray Lee', it's not great, but that's a million times better so he can pick one or the other for a nickname. Or just have that be his first and middle name. I really mean this in the nicest way, please reconsider."
Despite some insisting Rayleigh would only work for little girls, it's actually gender neutral. The English moniker is derived from a surname, which itself comes from a place name.
The name is composed of two elements: "ray," which can mean "roe deer," and "leigh," meaning "clearing" or "meadow." Therefore, the name Rayleigh can be interpreted to mean "meadow of the roe deer" or "clearing of deer."
It carries a sense of pastoral beauty and connection to nature. As with many names, the specific meaning and its appeal can vary based on personal or cultural significance attached to it by parents.
