‘That’s a lunchbox,’ people say to mother who shares the name she chose for her son
THERE are many factors to consider when choosing a name for your baby.
An expectant mother shared her dilemma and her favorite choice for her son.
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In a after On Mumsnet, the user explained that she wanted to choose a name to honour her son’s heritage.
“I am originally from Brazil and my husband has Italian ancestors,” the pregnant woman said.
She said they had found a name that fit into both cultures.
“We are considering giving Bento as a boy’s name,” the poster read.
“It means ‘blessed’ in Portuguese and goes very well with our last name.”
The meaning comes from the late Latin Benedictus, which has been shortened over the years to Benedictus and Bento.
In ecclesiastical language it means ‘blessed’ or ‘well spoken’.
The Mumsnet user pointed out that the name has another association in today’s world.
“I know people will associate it with bento boxes,” she said, referring to the lunchbox-like dish that originated in Asia.
The name of the dish is inspired by the Chinese term biandang, which means ‘convenient’.
While she explained that the association “doesn’t really bother” her, the expectant mother said she didn’t want her son to have any problems with his name.
“I don’t want him to be mad at us later,” she wrote.
For comparison, she said her son would grow up in the UK.
Mumsnet users shared their thoughts on the unique name in the comments.
“Isn’t that a lunchbox? No, mine,” wrote one unimpressed reader.
Are Unique Baby Names Worth It?
Fabulous’ deputy editor-in-chief talks about the problems she had with her name as a child.
As a child, I wanted nothing more than a personalized keychain with my name on it.
But it wasn’t. The closest I could get were Rosie, Joseph (not so nice for such a little girl) and Joanne.
Josie is short for Josephine, a French first name, and I’ve been in my twenties without ever meeting anyone with the same first name.
When I try to introduce myself to people I get called all sorts of random names like Tracey and Stacey and it can be quite annoying.
Although I’ve met a few Josies in the past year (there are a few around my age), it’s still a much rarer name than most of my friends’ names.
Overall I don’t mind it, at least it’s not crude or spelled weird.
And that means I can get away with ‘doing a Cheryl’ and just calling myself Josie.
I’m getting married this year and some friends are shocked that I’m changing my last name. It’s not considered cool or feminist these days. I explain to them that I’m not that attached to Griffiths because I always just say ‘Hi, I’m Josie’ when I call a friend.
I like being unique and I will definitely try to achieve this when naming my own children.
You have to watch out for the crude names, so after nine years as a lifestyle journalist I will definitely avoid them.
“Bento Box was my first thought. I would go for one of your alternatives. Kids will make fun of you,” someone else commented.
“Yes, people immediately think of the lunch boxes. It’s a bit inevitable I’m afraid,” agreed a third Mumsnet user.
“If you really, really like Bento, who cares if some people mistake it for lunch? Lunch is hardly a bad thing and it’ll probably end up being Ben anyway,” wrote another reader.
“I’m also someone who immediately went for “box”. Bento boxes aren’t bad per se, and I think it’s a nice name, regardless of the association,” someone said.
“Yes, I originally thought of a Bento box, I’m so sorry. There’s a beautiful meaning behind the name,” wrote another commenter.
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