In 2022, Kylie Jenner gave birth to her second baby, a son named Wolf — and then famously changed his name to Aire. Jenner revealed that she felt pressured to sign the birth certificate and chose the name in haste, instantly regretting it. And it turns out some degree of regret over a baby name occurs in nearly 1 in 10 moms, according to a survey from BabyCenter.
The baby names blog surveyed 478 parents and found 9% regret the name they chose for their baby. In Jenner’s case, she and her son’s father, Travis Scott, “just didn’t feel like it was him.” So, months after he was born, Wolf became Aire.
It took a while for Jenner to find the perfect name for Aire and she even called him Knight for some time. “[A]nd my daughter, still to this day, is like, ‘Do you remember when Aire’s name was Knight?'” she recently told British Vogue. “And I’m like, ‘No.’ And she’s like, ‘That was so funny, Mom. I like Knight better.’ And I’m like: ‘You know what, we are not doing this again.'”
About 6% of parents in the survey went on to legally change their baby’s first or last name, which can be a lengthy process.
Some survey respondents told BabyCenter that the regret they felt didn’t last — and if it did, using a nickname or legally changing their child’s name has helped.
But what causes the regret? Ten percent of those surveyed shared sentiments like Jenner’s, saying their child’s name just didn’t suit their personality.
Fifteen percent of those surveyed said their baby’s name was mocked or critiqued.
Amy Schumer said in a standup act that she changed her baby’s name — Gene Attell Fisher — because it sounded like “genital fisure.” She had chosen her son’s middle name to honor comedian Dave Attell, and changed his middle name to David.
The survey found 20% said they prefer their child’s nickname, while 15% said they prefer their middle name.
Serena Williams’ first daughter is named for her husband, Alexis Ohanian, but they call her by her middle name, Olympia.
Podcaster and actress Casey Wilson named her son Henry Bear, and said on her “Bitch Sesh” podcast she wished she made his first name Bear. She now calls him Bear, but it is unclear if she legally changed his name.
Eleven percent of the parents surveyed said while they like their child’s name, it is culturally-specific and they chose to refer to the child with an English language name.
And some parents have difficulty choosing a name from the start. While some sift through the options in baby name books or websites, others go as far as to hire baby name consultants. Baby name consultant Colleen Slagen told Inside Edition she charges $250 to $400 for name consultations.
On TikTok, a baby name consultant who goes by @emdoodlesandstuff on the app tries to predict social media influencers’ baby names based on their online personalities and aesthetics — and those are some of the criteria she uses when helping clients choose names for their babies. She also takes into account names they like but don’t want to use, and family names.
