Almost one in ten mothers regrets the name she chose for her baby, according to a survey

In 2022, Kylie Jenner gave birth to her second baby, a son named Wolf—and then famously changed his name to Aire. Jenner admitted that she felt pressured to sign the birth certificate and chose the name in a hurry, which she immediately regretted. And it turns out that, according to a BabyCenter survey, nearly one in ten mothers feel some level of regret over a baby name.

The baby name blog surveyed 478 parents and found that 9% regretted 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 the right name.” So Wolf became Aire a few months after his birth.

It took Jenner a while to find the perfect name for Aire, and she even called him Knight for a while.”[A]And my daughter still says to this day: “Remember when Aire was called Knight?” she recently told British Vogue. “And I say: “No.” And she says: “That was so funny, Mom. I like Knight better.” And I say: “You know what, we're not doing that again.”

About 6% of parents surveyed officially changed their baby's first or last name, which can be a lengthy process.

Some survey respondents told BabyCenter that their regrets were short-lived — and if they were, using a nickname or officially changing their child's name helped.

But what is the reason for this regret? Ten percent of respondents shared the same opinion as Jenner and said their child's name simply did not fit their personality.

Fifteen percent of respondents said their baby's name had been mocked or criticized.

Amy Schumer said in a stand-up performance that she changed her baby's name – Gene Attell Fisher – because it sounded like “genital fissure.” She chose her son's middle name in honor of comedian Dave Attell and changed his middle name to David.

According to the survey, 20% prefer their child's nickname and 15% prefer their middle name.

Serena Williams' first daughter is named after her husband Alexis Ohanian, but is called by her middle name, Olympia.

Podcaster and actress Casey Wilson named her son Henry Bear, saying on her podcast “Bitch Sesh” that she wished he had given him the first name Bear. She now calls him Bear, but it's unclear if she has officially changed his name.

Eleven percent of parents surveyed said that although they liked their child's name, it was culturally specific and they therefore chose to call their child by an English name.

And some parents have trouble choosing a name right from the start. While some scour the options in baby name books or websites, others go so far as to hire baby name consultants. Baby name consultant Colleen Slagen told Inside Edition that she charges $250 to $400 for name consultations.

On TikTok, a baby name consultant who goes by @emdoodlesandstuff on the app tries to predict the baby names of social media influencers based on their online personality 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, as well as family names.