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Baby names

CLAIRE for a BOY?

66 replies

salmanadersamantha · 15/05/2013 14:25

Hi,

I'm new to mumsnet so sorry if I get anything wrong! I was wondering what people thought about the name 'Claire' for a boy? I'm due in a couple of weeks and I quite like the idea but my husband's not sure. I know it's slightly unorthodox!

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harleyd · 15/05/2013 14:26

its ridiculous

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pooka · 15/05/2013 14:26

No no no!

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wannabedomesticgoddess · 15/05/2013 14:27

Oscar for a girl.

Claire for a boy.

WTF is going on today?

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pooka · 15/05/2013 14:27

Why would you do this? It's not as if there aren't a gazillion other names, including unisex ones, that you could choose.

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pooka · 15/05/2013 14:28

Oscar for a girl? Wtf.

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badchat · 15/05/2013 14:29

I would find that very strange. Have never heard of a boy Claire, not even a Clair.

Sinclair?

Blair?

Clay?

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YoniYoniNameLeft · 15/05/2013 14:29

Gorgeous! Go for it. If I had a boy would definitely call him Claire.

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Playerpleeease · 15/05/2013 14:29

Was thinking the same wannabe, maybe the same person? looking for a reaction Hmm slightly pointless but ho hum Grin

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noddyholder · 15/05/2013 14:30

Clair is the male spelling i think.It was always a traditionally boys name. My ds has a name that some people on here consider female (it isn't) and apparently I was cruel to invite bullying into his life deliberately Grin

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tigrou · 15/05/2013 14:30

I thought the boy's name was Clair, without the final e.
Still sound's like a girl's name though.

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YoniYoniNameLeft · 15/05/2013 14:30

What about Susan or even Julie.

Julie has such a masculine sound to it, don't you think?

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AuntieStella · 15/05/2013 14:32

I sat on my hands instead to stop myself posting on the Oscar thread!

The polite version of what I would say is that I really do not like names that swop sex, especially when novel. I'm not wild about names that are only part way through transition, either.

Claire is wrong on a boy. If you want the "transferred surname " approach (which I think has been used for boys) then spell it Clare. But I think that would also be difficult to live with (to put it mildly),

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wannabedomesticgoddess · 15/05/2013 14:33

Oi Yoni.

Julie is very feminine ACTSHERLEY. :)

Theres another thread about calling a girl Oscar.

Do these people not realise that these children have to live with these names?

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amothersplaceisinthewrong · 15/05/2013 14:33

Utterly ridiculous. You are setting your child up for bullying in five years time.

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AntsMarching · 15/05/2013 14:34

I read a book once with a male character called Clare. It was short for Claredge (I think it was the mother's surname).

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DomesticCEO · 15/05/2013 14:35

Boy named Sue? Wink

Don't be daft, Claire/Clare/Clair are girls' names - I should know, it's my name! Grin

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OneLittleToddleTerror · 15/05/2013 14:39

I'm sure this is a joke thread. Especially since the OP hasn't posted on MN before.

How about Tracey or Sharon?

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piprabbit · 15/05/2013 14:42

I think Clair is a very old-fashioned boys name and has long fallen out of use. You wouldn't be doing a boy any favours by trying to resurrect it as a boy's name.

Or you could go all Hardyesque and try Angel Clare.

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CashmereHoodlum · 15/05/2013 14:45

I know a male Clair. He is in his 70s. I think it is not an uncommon name where he lives.

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YoniYoniNameLeft · 15/05/2013 14:51

Annabel?

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MadBusLady · 15/05/2013 14:52

Why does anyone do this? Genuine question. I'm hardly a bluff old traditionalist where gender stuff is concerned, I just can't imagine deciding it was a great idea to randomly use an opposite-sex name (as distinct from a unisex name), any more than I'd randomly decide to call a child Desk or Lamp or Cup of Tea.

So why do it? Other than to make a very cutesy point about structuralism and semiology, in which case you are plainly a bit of a knob.

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Greensleeves · 15/05/2013 14:54

There are lots of names like Claire that used to be unisex - Kerry, Anne, Hilary, Christy, Jocelyn. Anne de Montmorency was a famously vicious French general.

It all depends on whether you want to put up with the "ooh, really?" responses or not, and whether you think your child will appreciate your choice (I think unusual names are more acceptable in some areas/spheres than others. Fine if you live in Totnes!)

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Fuckwittery · 15/05/2013 14:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GibberTheMonkey · 15/05/2013 14:55

If you go for Clair I think you have to send them to prep and public school too

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salmanadersamantha · 15/05/2013 14:59

Interesting view points, thanks guys. Still got some time to decide before I pick him up from the breeders in early June.

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