I paid tribute to my son’s roots – trolls say his name sounds like a bouillon cube
A mother-to-be received mixed reactions after she announced the unique name she wanted to give her son.
The pregnant woman explained that the baby’s name refers to her family’s origins, but people pointed out possible similarities.
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In a after On Mumsnet, the user indicated that she wanted to choose a name with meaning.
She said she was expecting a “baby boy with three nationalities.”
The expectant mother explained that she wanted to pay tribute to her son’s Finnish roots, but also wanted to choose a name that was easy to pronounce in English and French, his other two nationalities.
She said she and her partner considered naming their son Otso.
“It means bear in Finnish,” the Mumsnet user explained in her post.
According to Finnish mythology, Otso is a bear, the king of the animals and the leader of the forest.
Otso is considered a sacred animal in the Finnish spiritual tradition and is seen as the mythical ancestor of all people.
Despite its deep meaning in Finland, people were quick to point out that the name probably had associations in English.
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Mumsnet users share what came to mind when they first came across the name.
“It’s a name I’ve never heard before. At first I thought it was a typo for Otto. It also reminded me of Lots-o the bear from Toy Story,” wrote one reader.
“I was also thinking of Lots-o bear from Toy Story,” agreed another Mumsnet user.
“It looks too much like Oxo to me, sorry,” someone commented.
“It sounds like a bouillon cube! Just call it Bear!” suggested a third commenter.
“It’s an unusual name, but easy to spell and probably spelled the way it sounds,” wrote another reader.
“But I would be prepared to hear ‘Otto?’ wrong a lot.”
Are Unique Baby Names Worth It?
You may think that a unique name will make you stand out, but is it really?
Josie Griffiths, deputy editor of Fabulous, 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.
“It also reminds me of Lots-o, the angry bear from Toy Story.”
“I’m also someone who first thought of Oxo cubes or Lots-o from Toy Story. I also think it will always be misunderstood as Otto,” someone said.
Other parents pointed out that the unique name could even lead to bullying.
“Otso sounds like a fatso,” one reader commented.
“It might be easier for him if we choose a name that is known in all three countries,” the expectant mother concluded.
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