Pickle, squishy and tadpole: The most common nicknames parents-to-be call mother’s baby bump

Is a baby bump a 'bean', or is it more a 'bambino'?

Sabrina Barr
Monday 18 February 2019 16:18 GMT
Comments

When parents prepare to welcome a new addition to their family, one of their main priorities - aside from making sure they have enough nappies and have a the cot built in time - is picking a name for their baby.

While some may deliberate over naming their baby after their favourite Game of Thrones character, others start the name-giving process months in advance by nicknaming the mother's baby bump.

According to a recent study of 1,500 mothers and fathers conducted by online parenting community ChannelMum.com, during pregnancy nine out of 10 parents opt for an alternative moniker for the baby bump.

Some of the most popular baby bump names among the parents included nicknames such as "Button", "Sprout", and "Pebble".

The study also found that it took the parents an average of 12 weeks into pregnancy to come up with a nickname for the baby bump.

“Choosing a bump nickname is a modern rite of passage where the child really starts to feel like an individual person," said ChannelMum.com founder Siobhan Freegard.

"Becoming a parent starts long before your baby is born and naming the bump is the first step to bonding with your tot."

More than half of the parents polled stated that they continued to use the nickname that they chose for the mother's baby bump after their baby had been born.

One in 20 parents said that their baby bump moniker influenced the name that they eventually gave to their child.

When it came to the inspiration behind their baby bump nicknames, thirty per cent of the participants said that the blurry image of their ultrasound scan helped to inform their decision.

Furthermore, 61 per cent of the parents said that they chose a name for the baby bump so that they could stop referring to it as "it".

Here are the 25 most common baby bump nicknames, according to the survey:

  1. Bean
  2. Little Man/ Little Miss
  3. Jellybean
  4. Pickle
  5. Squishy
  6. Bambino
  7. Button
  8. Sprog/ Sproglett
  9. Sprout
  10. Monster
  11. Bug
  12. Beanie
  13. Thumper
  14. Pebble
  15. Cupcake
  16. Dot
  17. Angel
  18. Thumbelina
  19. Grape
  20. Peach
  21. Spawn
  22. Tadpole
  23. Prawn
  24. Chickie
  25. Snowflake
Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Click here to check out 10 of the best baby products for new parents, and here for all baby esssentials.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in