Play the Britney Spears song "Lucky" to them. Most parents don't want their son to have a girl's name.

Best advice is to tell Grandma to back off. It is not her baby, it is not her decision and it certainly isn't her place to "change their minds."

I just named my daughter Lucy fully aware that people may have a dog named Lucy. If they are sure they want to bring that up, I say, "Isn't it a great name?" :D So I went into it knowing. Not to present a double standard for the parents to be, Lucky on the other hand, seems like a loaded name-- better a nice nickname if so fitting. LOVE what Name Lady says here. If they're that kind of trendy, why not Felix? Really, I can see an employer, a bully, a girl he crushes, initially affected (at least) by a name that makes such a specific claim.

I went to school with a Lucky. Nobody ever had a problem with it, certainly not other kids-it was just his name. He's now a successful business owner, so it doesn't appear his name held him back at all.

Grandma needs to stop being so judgemental and realize it's not her place to "change their minds" Hopefully she's doing all her venting & complaining to the poster & not to the parents to be.

The parents may be pulling her leg. Perhaps they have chosen a name they think everyone will hate, so they have chosen a joke name so that when little Eugene, Chester, or Walter is born, the family members will be delighted that he's not named Lucky.

Oh my, the audacity of grandma to think it's her place to change the parents' minds! She had her child naming opportunity, and so do these parents. She doesn't have to like the name - he's not her child! To even suggest that grandma give tips about using Lucky as a nickname rather than a full name is to suggest that she has a say in this child's name, and to put her on the wrong side of a losing situation. Obviously the parents didn't ask for her advice; therefore, she doesn't have a say! The fact that grandma is "livid" is simply ridiculous - what entitlement!!! She needs to zip her lip and mind her own business before she creates any unnecessary drama. I doubt she'd feel the same way if the parents had chosen Max, the number one name for dogs. With only six weeks to go, it's doubtful that the parents are going to change their minds. Grandma should mind her manners and, if she has nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. Lucky is just fine as a first name, even if it's not everyone's style.

Here's a professor named Lakshman who is always called Lucky:
http://www.outreach.psu.edu/news/magazine/vol_2.3/yapa.html
Obviously didn't interfere with his career, or maybe it even helped? It's certainly memorable, and it probably makes people smile.

The best strategy of all: back off!!! This isn't grandma's baby, so it isn't her choice. It's completely inappropriate to be "livid", to try to change the parents-to-be's minds, or to offer suggestions of more "formal" names. Nor will it be appropriate to passive-aggressively disparage the child's name or call him by a different name once he's born--behavior not unheard of among grandparents who take this entitled attitude about their grandchildren's names.
If they've announced their choice for the baby's name, they've made their decision and your only response should be, "How wonderful! I can't wait to meet little Lucky!"

...It would be good to point out (with that the mainstay of this format and the topic of naming) it really isn't *any* of our business. Therefore, though I agree that Grandma is out of line, we tend to use the internet to vent, explore, *comment,* and it's proven that we type out things we would never say to strangers or acquaintances alike...best of luck; and calmness to all.

My parental grandparents NEVER approved of the name my parental gave me or my younger sister (Dylan), and worst of all they let us know they thought our parents had made mistakes giving us "boy" names. Now nether of us has ever had an issue with our names and no one in school ever thought it was weird ether, but my relationship with my grandparents was undermined by their behavoir, I never felt emotionally connected to them in anyway. So I strongly advise that if this grandma wants to have a good relationship with her child and her grandchild she needs to get over it and NEVER mention it again, to anyone.

It was good enough for Lucky Spencer on "General Hospital," the son of famed Luke and Laura!

I agree with everyone that grandma had better keep her comments to herself. It is the parents that will choose their baby's name and not her, so she has no say in the matter. She should just love this baby regardless of what his name is and be "Lucky" to have him in her life!

Your friend, the soon-to-be grandmother, may wish to casually mention to the expectant parents that the child named Lucky will probably be called "Unlucky" by classmates and neighborhood children. Then, suggesting possible given names for which "Lucky" can be the nickname as The Name Lady suggests, might be a good tactic. If that doesn't work, your friend will have to resign herself to a grandchild with the given name Lucky, who will cry about the unfortunate nickname of "Unlucky." When that happens, as a good grandmother she can console the child with hugs and positive comments.

Oy vey, the whole pet name theory lol. When we wanted to name our daughter Zoe my sister-in-law was against it. "That's the name of my sister's dog! You can't use that!" To which I said, "I don't know your sister or her dog. In fact I live across the country from her so I don't see how it'll bother either her or me." We used the name and no other peep was said about it. As wonderful as pets are, unless they live in the immediate family I don't see how it matters at all.

The pet connotation doesn't matter at all so far as I can see. AFter all - it's not "Rover" (does anyone ever call dogs Rover?) The only problem, apart from a narky granny-to-be is that the name is an adjective and is simply asking for fate to dump bad luck on the child from a great height. That's if one is superstitious! It's like calling a child Bella (beautiful) and having her turn out plain, or "Blanche" (white) and having her with black hair and olive skin or Lovelace and having her stumping about in gumboots and ripped jeans. Mind you, we called our daughter Tegan (beautiful) and she actually IS! Many people wouldn't associate Bella, Blanche, Lovelace and Tegan with their meanings but Lucky is such an overt meaning... bit like having a bloke named Mr Big who is, in fact, five feet nothing.

For those saying they don't see the problem with the connection to a dog name, are you serious? My name is Sadie and growing up I HATED my name because every person I met either had a grandmother named Sadie or a dog or cat (or else knew somebody with a dog or cat named Sadie).

I love my name now, yes, but it was a problem for me growing up because it was a "dog's name." If I had been a boy I would have been named Rex, and while I love the name now I have been hesitant to use it for my own child because I don't want my child to grow up with people picking on their "dog name" (despite the fact I haven't met a dog named Rex). Every man named Rex I've met I've complimented on his name only to be told they hate it for that very same reason.

Now, the thing with names like Rex, Max, Sadie, Sophie or Bella to me is that they all have enough human connections for me to not immediately think of a dog. Even a name like Rusty I could see (but I live in the south).

Lucky is a name that immediately brings up a dog in my mind, I can't even count the animals I know named Lucky on one hand.

While the grandmother might not have the right to be livid, she has a right to be concerned for the child and the difficulties a name will bring them. Lucky is a FANTASTIC nickname, but the parents would do the child a favor to give them a more professional sounding name for important functions.

I hope he has a good middle name he can go by if he just totally hates Lucky.

Grandma needs to back off, period. She sounds awful. Her trying to manipulate something as big and personal as a first name is waaaaay out of line. These parents trusted her and let her in on their chosen first name. Grandma needs to ask herself how important the relationship with them is, and remind herself of that every single time she believes it is ok to railroad them, or she may find herself cut off from them very soon.

As an aside, I knew a Lucky once, and she was by far the coolest woman I had ever met, she was a real role model. The name works just as well on a man. But these are just opinions, same as your sister's, and they were NOT asked for by the parents. Your sister needs to learn how to be supportive!

I feel for the grandmother, and I do think she should speak her piece if she hasn't already, but then she needs to let it go. Someone in my family used a name for a baby that is really dreadful and especially bad with their last name. I have never said a word to them about it, as it was not my choice to make. I feel bad for the kids who are given these terrible names, but you never know. Sometimes the names end up suiting them just fine.

FYI for the person who brought up Lucky Spencer from General Hospital--his given name is actually Lucas! No one ever really calls him that, but it is his name. Lucky is just a nickname, technically.

Lucky doesn't seem like a pet name to me, I've never met any pet named Lucky. It sounds more like a retro nickname for a guy.

Did she ever bother to ask them the story behind them chosing the name? Maybe it has personal significance. Maybe they are telling the grandmother the nickname they plan to use for the baby rather than the true name, or are making up a name so people will back off and they can keep the real name a secret.

Even if they really do plan to name the baby Lucky and go through with it, it is not the grandmother's place to try and "change their minds". Unless they asked for her opinion, she needs to keep quiet. Focus on being happy about a new baby, rather than being "livid" over the name choice.

Lucky not only associated with pets. A song by Britney was titled lucky. A song also Lucky was written by by radio head. - J. Kale Flagg

I can't believe everyone is hating on the grandmother so much. Yes, it is not her turn to choose a name, but regardless, the name is TERRIBLE! Worse than it being a dog's name, it is incredibly unprofessional and inviting criticisms and to be made fun of by other children. I can absolutely see where she is coming from. She dislikes the name for a reason, and other people will share similar distaste. Personally, if my parents really hated a name I liked for one of my children I might reconsider simply because I know how much disliking a name can create further tensions.

in Penting, Panas, Perlu dan Seruu as allowed to name my youngest sister. I was 12 when she was born, and I think it really helped me feel connected to a sibling who was so much younger. My mom did retain veto power, though she didn't actually use it.

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