I gave my baby Britain’s maddest name – my mum couldn’t stand it & OAPs troll me, but it’s so unique I love it
AS an OAP leans in to coo over her three-year-old son, Chesney Leigh Wright knows full well what conversation is coming her way.
The mum-of-two, 26, braces herself as the elderly gentleman asks for her toddler’s name to which she replies “Boye” with a smile.
Baffled, the man asks again, explaining that he doesn’t want to know her son’s gender but his name, failing to understand that Boye is in fact his moniker.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Chesney says: “This happens all the time.
“OAPs lose the plot when they ask my son’s name.
“When they find out what I called him they tell me I am bonkers and crazy and that I should give him a real name.
“I can’t believe I’m trolled by pensioners.”
“It’s Boye for a boy, simple as that,” she explains.
“When he was born and we started using his name I loved it. It suits him perfectly and I legally registered it without complaints, even if people do call it ‘Britain’s maddest name.’
“My boy Boye’s name breezed through approvals.”
Chesney’s son arrived in November 2019 after an eight-hour labour, weighing 8lbs 1oz.
Chesney’s co-parent and Boye’s dad Joe was also there to welcome the little lad when he arrived at Mansfield Kingsmill Hospital.
Chesney, who gave Boye the middle name of Lei, (a modification of her middle name Leigh), says that the name had initially been a joke among the family.
“We wanted an unusual and memorable name but couldn’t find one we liked,” she says.
“When his dad, my ex-partner, was born his mum and dad expected a girl.
“When a boy arrived, they called him Boy for a few weeks until they decided on a name.
“While I was pregnant his dad and I made a joke saying we should call our son boy.
“It was a running joke. Then in my final trimester I realised I warmed to the name and decided yes, we would call our son Boy but with an E so people wouldn’t be confused.
His dad loved the idea too as a tribute to his heritage.
According to Chesney the ‘E’ has little effect on stopping people’s confusion.
“The nurses at the hospital were shocked, declaring they’d delivered lots of boy’s but never had one named Boye,” she says.
“You either love it or hate it.”
And Chesney admits that her own mum, Boye’s gran, Heather, was horrified by the choice.
“My mum was fuming. She refused to use his name for four months after he was born,” she says.
“She told me it wasn’t a proper name and begged me to reconsider. Now she loves it.
“I get asked if I am going to call my next child girl all the time.
“Other people asked me if I did it for a dare.”
Chesney explains she loves the name choice as it suits her precious lad perfectly, however, using it in public can be problematic as people often think she is being too tough with her son.
“When they hear his name is really Boye, they end up laughing,” she says.
In Britain no children had the name Boye before Chesney chose the title.
Surprisingly around the globe an international name search engine has revealed fourteen men have the first name of BOY and while four women possess the moniker.
For the spelling of BOYE sixteen men and three women share the tot’s name.
But Chesney is used to baby name controversy.
Her first child, Eriella Leigh was born in April 2016, in a car park near Mansfield Hospital after a two hour labour weighing just four-pounds-one-ounce.
“Eriella is a cross between Ariel and Elijah, which are names I loved,” she says.
“I used the full spelling of Leigh for her middle name and Boye has Lei for his in tribute to my middle name,
“It’s a homage to my side of the family.
“When my friends heard Boye’s name they just rolled their eyes.”
“But I couldn’t care less about what anyone thinks of his name – it’s perfect and as long as I love it that’s all that matters.”