NEED TO KNOW
Josh and Aubree Jones set the internet on fire this week when they unveiled the name of their seventh child: Disney
Speaking to PEOPLE, the pair push back against the critics of the unique choice, explaining its meaning to their family
“Most of the time, the negative comments don’t affect me because I don’t believe them,” says Aubree. “I don’t believe our children’s names are weird”
The last thing Josh and Aubree Jones want for their children is a common name.
The parents of seven — who share their lives as a family to millions of followers on social media — know that their surname is already one of the most common; according to data from the 2010 Census, “Jones” ranks in the top five among Americans. And Josh still viscerally remembers a moment in grade school when he was called down to the office and accused of punching another student, mistaken for the other Josh Jones in his school.
So when it came time to name their first kid 13 years ago, they went with something a little more obscure to avoid a repeat of Josh’s childhood mix-up: Trendy. And they followed suit for their next five children, named Zaylee, Sunny, Truly, Journey and Rocky.
“They’re all very unique, but they’re spelled exactly how you would think they would be,” Aubree tells PEOPLE in an interview.
Despite their uniqueness, says Josh, their names “all just fit them perfectly” — so the pressure was on as they welcomed their seventh child on Oct. 4.
“We are very inclusive with the whole family, so we had multiple times where we sat down and were like, ‘What are some of the names we like?’ ” says Aubree. “We were really gravitating towards ‘D’ names.”
On that list: Daisy (but “a little too common for us,” says Aubree), Desi (Josh didn’t love as much) and Davy (a top contender).
Once they settled on their choice, they decided they would have a bit of fun with their followers online, who have come to expect an unusual name announcement when they have a new kid.
The family posted a video on Sept. 18 dancing in wild costumes to the “Harlem Shake” — including one of their daughters dressed as Elsa. A couple of days later, the family unveiled some of the other names they considered, including Winnie as a nod to Winnie-the-Pooh. And that was just the beginning of their seven days of clues.
On Oct. 8, they finally made their grand reveal: Their baby girl’s name was Disney Mae!
The pair says the name has a deep resonance for their family: Aubree grew up in California and Josh was raised in Florida, so they each were in proximity to Disney theme parks throughout their childhood and have only magical memories attached to them.
“Disney movies probably raised us almost as much as our parents did,” laughs Josh. “But the main thing, though, when we were looking at it as a name was what it represents and the person — Walt Disney — what he created and how he impacted our lives and the world.”
Meaning aside, Aubree admits the reaction to their announcement was “very mixed.”
“There is something about baby names, and it’s not just on social media, it’s in person too,” she continues. “People are going to give you their opinions whether you ask for it or not.”
Aubree and Josh have heard it all: People telling them it “should be illegal,” that they had infringed on a trademark, that their kid would be bullied in school.
Even their own parents “weren’t too excited about it,” says Aubree. Josh’s mom laughed when they revealed the name to her, and Aubree’s mom told them she preferred Daisy.
As for the online commenters, continues Aubree, “I’m surprised by how upset people are by what I named my child. You’ve never met me in your life. I show up in your phone a couple times a week, but the name of my child really aggravates you. I didn’t realize I had so much influence over people and their emotions.”
Despite the onslaught of negative commentary, Aubree and Josh are unbothered. If anything, says Josh, any feelings that it was “awkward” to call his newborn daughter “Disney” during the first couple of days of her life evaporated as soon as the feedback came rolling in.
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“It wasn’t until we posted the video and it got negative when I was like, ‘Oh no, this is absolutely her name,” says Josh. “It was that day: I was like, ‘It fits perfectly.’ So, anyone who said anything negative about her name, thank you so much.”
“Most of the time, the negative comments don’t affect me because I don’t believe them,” adds Aubree. “I don’t believe our children’s names are weird. I don’t believe they’ll be bullied. And so it doesn’t bother me.”
“The name that she has right now is perfect for her. It matches her energy. It matches her sweetness,” concludes Josh of their daughter. “She looks like a Disney.”
Read the original article on People
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source ca.style.yahoo.com ’
