KOURTNEY Kardashian has announced her new baby daughter's name is Penelope Scotland.
Named after our beloved country – how's that for a middle name? It comes in the same week it was revealed Sienna Miller's new daughter is called Marlowe. That's right, as in the English playwright – not that I'm suggesting that's whom she was named after (although it would stand to reason with both parents being theatrical types). As one person tweeted: "Another day, another ridiculous name for a celebrity baby."
I disagree. I like both names. After all, who am I to judge? I have first-hand experience of naming a child. I'm pregnant with a boy. Early on, I instinctively knew what his name should be. (Let's just say it may have something to do with the fact I was watching a lot of Danish drama on BBC3.) But it also has personal meaning and, as time has gone on, my partner and I can't imagine anything else.
So it was with total confidence that we told my in-laws. Cue silence – and then came their reaction. "Fine. If that's what you want to call it, fine," my husband's mum said, clearly meaning the opposite. "Your son's going to be the butt of jokes at school," said my father-in-law. Don't hold back, I thought.
I laughed it off at the time but it bothered me. As one friend said: "It's a bit like saying you hated someone's partner after they broke up. If they get back together, they'll always know how you really felt."
At the end of the day, names – whether they're wacky or not – are the parents' choice and nobody else's. (Ours isn't unusual, incidentally.) Heck, maybe we'll change our mind when we see him. But I doubt it. I now want this name more than ever.
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