I’m pregnant and I have a unique baby name idea for my daughter – but other parents think I’m crazy

A mum has faced backlash for a ‘strange’ name she wants to give her baby.

The Melbourne mum has her heart set on ‘Smokie’ as a first name for her daughter, and cannot understand why her community has shunned it.

She ‘keeps coming back to the name’ because the mum is fond of unique names and she’s only ever heard the name ‘Smokie’ once before.

The mum began to question herself after ‘everyone’ in her life discouraged her from using it, with one even warning her not to let her ‘crazed whim be a burden and abuse for the poor child’.

‘I’m so in love with the name, I just can’t change my mind,’ she said.

After adverse responses from people in her life, the Melbourne woman shared her dilemma on a popular parenting forum and asked for advice.

‘Is the name ‘Smokie’ really such a bad idea for a little girls name?’ she asked. 

‘I keep coming back to that name and everyone keeps telling me it’s a no-go, but I’m so in love with the name I can’t change my mind … but I don’t want to make a mistake with the name.’

She revealed that the name flows particularly well with a family name. 

‘I’m thinking of naming my little girl Smokie-Marie. Marie is after my sister, so I want that as a full name, and I’ll give her my other sister’s name as her middle name. 

‘The name flows together nicely for me but don’t want to set my kid up for failure with a name not everyone agrees on!’

The mum asked the online community if they were aware of the name being used in formal settings.

‘Does anybody else have the name ‘Smokie’ for a baby other than a pet name? Honestly I heard it one day and loved it. I don’t like common names, I like names nobody else has.’

The mum began to question herself after ‘everyone’ in her life discouraged her from using it, with one even warning her not to let her ‘crazed whim be a burden and abuse for the poor child’

Parents were quick to liken the name to pets, machines, and smoke breaks. 

‘Smokie is the nickname of a machine that produces too much smoke. A train, a tractor, a car with a bad exhaust,’ one said.

‘It is also used as a name for grey coloured pets. Then there is the Australian slang, Smoko, a short work break traditionally used for smoking,’ they added.

‘Smokie is a name for a dog, cat or rabbit. Not a human child who has to grow up and apply for jobs,’ another said.

Some even tried to put the name in perspective.

‘Just remember you’re not only naming a baby, you’re naming a school child, a young professional, an adult. Will they get teased on the playground? Will they get hired and taken seriously?’ a mum wrote.

She added, ‘Don’t let your crazed whim be a burden and abuse for the rest of your poor child’s life.’

But a mum revealed that despite anyone’s opinion, the government might not let her name her child ‘Smokie’. 

‘It doesn’t matter if you want to call your kid Smokie, or Durrie, or Ciggy – the Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages very likely just won’t let you.’