‘That’s a lunch box’ people say to mum who shares name she picked for son & everyone says he’ll be picked on
THERE are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a name for your baby.
One expectant mum shared her predicament with her favourite pick for her son.
In a post on Mumsnet, the user explained that she wanted to pick a name to honour her son’s lineage.
“I’m originally from Brazil, and my husband has Italian heritage,” the pregnant woman said.
She revealed that they narrowed down a name that had a place in both cultures.
“We’re considering the name Bento for a boy,” the poster explained.
“It means ‘blessed’ in Portuguese and goes very well with our last name.”
The meaning comes from Late Latin Benedictus, which has been shortened to Benedict and Bento over the years.
It translates to “blessed” or “well spoken of” in the Ecclesiastical language.
The Mumsnet user pointed out that the name also has another association in today’s world.
“I know people will link it to the bento boxes,” she said, referring to the lunch box style dish that derives from Asia.
The dish name was inspired by the Chinese term biandang, which translates to “convenient.”
While she explained that the association “doesn’t really bother” her, the soon-to-be-mum said she didn’t want her son to have an issue with his name.
“I don’t want him to be upset with us later in life,” she wrote.
For context, she added that her son would be raised in the UK.
Mumsnet users shared their thoughts on the unique name in the comments section.
“Isn’t that a lunch box? No from me,” wrote one unimpressed reader.
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When I was a child, all I wanted was one of those personalised keyrings with my name on it.
But no joy, the closest I could find was Rosie, Joseph (not great for a little girl) and Joanne.
Josie is short for Josephine, which is a French name, and I managed to reach my 20s without ever meeting anyone who shared it.
When I try to introduce myself to people, I get all sorts of random things – like Tracey and Stacey – which can be pretty annoying.
Although I have come into contact with a couple of Josies over the last year – there seems to be a few of us around my age – it’s still a much rarer name than most of my friends have.
On the whole I don’t mind it, at least it’s not rude or crazily spelt.
And it means I can get away with ‘doing a Cheryl’ and just referring to myself as Josie.
I’m getting married this year and some friends are shocked that I’m changing my surname, as it’s not seen as very cool or feminist to do so these days, but I explain to them that I’m not that attached to Griffiths as I’d always just say ‘hi it’s Josie’ when ringing a mate up.
I think it’s nice to be unique and I’ll definitely try and replicate this when naming my own kids.
It’s the rude names you’ve got to watch out for, so after nine years as a lifestyle journalist I’ll definitely be avoiding those.
“Bento Box was my immediate thought. I’d go with one of your alternatives. Kids will take the mick,” pointed out another person.
“Yes, people will immediately think of the lunch boxes. It’s a bit unavoidable I’m afraid,” agreed a third Mumsnet user.
“If you really, really like Bento, who cares if some people will take it to mean lunch? Lunch is hardly a bad thing and he’ll probably end up being Ben anyway,” wrote another reader.
“I am another who immediately went to “box”. Bento boxes are not a bad thing in themselves, and I think it’s quite a nice name, aside from the association,” said one person.
“Yeah, I originally thought of a Bento box, I’m so sorry. It’s a lovely meaning behind the name,” wrote another commenter.
