Expecting and Brothers Don't like Name We Have Picked Out for Their New Brother

Write down Sam on a bunch of little pieces of paper and put them in a hat. Tell them whatever name gets picked out the hat is what you name the baby. Only have pieces with Sam on them but tell them half the pieces say Thomas. End of story.

Could be worse - they could want to name him Sponge Bob.

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They can name their kids whatever they want when they grow up! This is YOUR baby, and his brothers are still really young kids who don't really need to have a say in what the new addition's name is going to be!

Tell them when the grow up and have kids, they can name them Thomas or anything they want. But this is your kid, not theirs and so you get to choose the name. And tell them you won't listen to another word about it.

How about Samuel Thomas?
Really, it's YOUR child. Name him what YOU want.

You know who the parents in your house are... the boys will get over it. Name the baby Samuel as you want to.

PS: It IS Samuel right, not just Sammy? If it's just Sammy you may want to consider giving him a more manly sounding middle name that he can go by when he's a grown man. Sammy just doesn't sound right for a man.... not that you care about my opinion of course (or even that you SHOULD, it's not my baby after all) but there it is for what it's worth. :)

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I just thought of something else. If they ARE into Thomas the train and this is why they want to name their brother Thomas, then maybe you could get them a small pet like a hamster or a fancy rat that they can name Thomas instead.

I don't mean to be rude, but who is in charge in this house? You name your kid what you want to, and he's free to change it when he turns 18. Other people (including your sons) can deal with it. I'm guessing this has more to do with maybe not wanting another little brother than the actual name.

I'd tell your boys that you are naming the baby 'X' and they are free to call him whatever (polite) name they want... might be cute for them to have a special name for him, but Mom and Dad decide what his "real" name is. Good luck-- 4 under 6 is going to be very interesting!

It's simple in our house. "Suck it up!" I'm sorry, but it wouldn't even be up for discussion in our home. A 6 and 3 year old? They have no opinion. Tell them if they complain again you'll change THEIR names to Sam! LOL

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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They just want to name him after the lovable Tank Engine! The 3 yo probably won't remember later, and the 6 yo will move on to something else once he sees you won't budge. Congratulations on your newest blessing!!

Julie B said it so I don't need to!

You put down Samuel on the birth certificate but why not let them affectionately nickname him Thomas... Chances are, after the first few weeks/months of everyone else calling him Sammy, they will too. Hence, for the initial welcoming home of the baby, no one will have negative feelings. You can even tell them that part of being a big brother is to give the baby their own special 'secret brother name'.

I'm sure it must be frustrating, but I would just be firm and tell him that is his name and there's no discussing and end it there. I know you dont' want them to be resentful of Sammy, so maybe if you tell them that it's just who it is, and you can't change it and call someone by a name that's not theirs and say it would be like me calling you(your son) by the name ___ (another name they may not like). But i would do this just once and let them know there is no other option and no debating. If they bring it up, just firmly state it again and change the subject.

You already have a lot of great responses, so I apologize if this repeats any. :)

What about making Thomas the middle name? Samuel Thomas ___? I think it sounds like a very strong and handsome name. ;) At least this way you could tell/show them that their suggestion was used.

I had a similiar situation, only it was with my MIL. She "detested" quite a few of the names we had proposed for baby #3. More often than not, she turned her nose up to any name we mentioned that we were considering (which was difficult enough for hubby and I to agree on!). Bottom line...we named our son what WE wanted. And truth be told, it was one of the names she absolutely did NOT want her grandchild to be named. Fast forward a few months...she loves him, his name and all is forgotten.

Go with what you and your hubby want. After all, they are just kids...they'll forget all about it. If my MIL can get over it, your kids will too! :) LOL

Just out of curiosity ... why ISN'T Thomas an option?

Maybe sit down with them and ask them WHY they want Thomas and WHY they don't like the name Sam. And they are probably gonna be mad no matter what you name him LOL

Sorry, but your question made me laugh (thank you, as I have been needing a laugh)...it made me think of being pg with my youngest, and the oldest was SO upset that we wouldn't even consider naming him Squirtle! I'm sure the youngest appreciates our unwillingness to compromise :)

Hey there-

I’d say this is a case of choosing your battles. Why not just say “you can call the baby anything you like, as long as it’s nice, but Daddy and I are going to call him Sammy.” Karen M is right, once they hear everyone else calling him Sammy for a few weeks/months, they will forget about calling him Thomas. And the baby won’t be old enough yet to get confused by it. You could even tell your boys that Thomas can be their special name for the baby and that only they will be allowed to call him that because they are the big brothers. My son calls my stepdaughter “sissy” and she is very protective about him being the only one who is allowed to call her that. It’s kind of a cute bonding type of thing.

Give the baby the name you want, they will come around or not like it. I wouldn't change the name becasue older kids don't like the name I picked out.

Are they Thomas the Tank Engine fans? Most kids want to name things after things they like... Ha ha. Don't worry about them... you know what you want your son to be named... they will get over it.. ;)

Hi, D.:

Thomas Samuel, both are strong names.
There can be a compromise. Find it!
Good luck. D.

I agree with Samuel Thomas and call him Sammy..
I think it sounds very distinguished..

maybe they like thomas the train - when my daughter was due my son wanted to name her emily molly or rosie, and I realized they were all thomas names lol - sammy is a cute name, they will get used to it

Do you think that maybe they are so used to getting their way that when they don't it really troubles them? Not judging-and this may not be the case with you at all- but I do think that some kids are treated as though the sun rises and sets with their every action and all family eyes are always adoringly on them and what they say usually goes. Don't worry they will get over it-just don't make a big deal about it. And my son wanted to name his brother Thomas also-after the train. Good thing he didn't b/c he quickly outgrew that obsession and would have hated Thomas then.

I'm sure it will go away, and really they have no say. It did make me laugh though as I remembered being Strongly opposed to a name my mom liked for my youngest brother. I was 11 and my other brother was 8 when my little brother was born, she picked a name that happened to be the name of a somewhat ugly and hugely fat kid in our school (I know it sounds terribly mean now), but my brother and I both vetoed that name, we just couldn't ignore the association. My mom didn't name him tht, but not b/c of our veto, she just named him after our dad instead, the other name was just one on her list. They will love him (and hate him) the way all brothers do whatever you name him. I do like the Samuel Thomas suggestions, unless YOU or your hubby has a strong negative association with the name Thomas. Just be glad it's not Tinky Winky or some other goofy little kid show name. I don't think you need to talk about the coming bundle of joy that much with the boys, and you definitely don't have to encourage the conversations about the names. Good luck