A mum has sparked fury by naming her children after her favourite TV shows and films. Rachael Cresswell, 42, and her husband, Daniel are big movie fans and decided to name each of their sons after their favourite film characters.
The Mirror reports that the couple, from Devon, have a wide range of names for their five boys inspired by both the big and little screen. But their decision to give their sons titles based on made-up characters has come under criticism from fellow parents.
The couple's one-year-old was named Leif, after they discovered the birth name of Joker actor Joaquin Phoenix is Leaf. They also have Jaxon, named after Sons of Anarchy character Jax; Noah, from his namesake in The Notebook; Cole, from The Affair; and Bodhi, from Point Break.
Rachael said: "They are all named after TV shows we were watching together while I was pregnant. It was really great to give us inspiration. We were struggling with a name for Leif.
"We were watching the film Signs and were commenting on how good Joaquin Phoenix is in it and then found out his birth name is Leaf. Dan really liked him in the Joker too.
"The Scandinavians spell it Leif which is more common. Ocean is Leif's middle name because we live by the sea and I spent a lot of time at the beach. All of our sons have really grown into their names. Most babies suit their names I think."
Despite having all boys, Rachael admitted she has never been bothered about having a daughter. However, she conceded that she worried her one-year-old Lief would be a little girl.
Rachael added: "People always ask if I want a girl, but with Leif I was actually worried he might be a girl - because it would be different and I didn't know how a girl would feel about being around four boys."
The mother claims she was initially unsure if she wanted children until she reached her 30s and decided she wanted to start a family. After giving birth to Jaxon, now eight, back in 2014 she says she found herself loving motherhood and fell pregnant with Noah six months later. Rachael said: "I didn't know I would enjoy motherhood so much. We ended up with three under three."
Their third son, Cole, was born in December 2016, followed by Bodhi in May 2019 and their youngest, Leif, in January 2022. The mother says she felt it was important to have a connection to the pregnancy in the naming process for each of her children.
Rachael said: "It was hard having to think of things. They are all films or shows we've watched together and liked when I was pregnant. It's nice to have that connection to the pregnancy too."
Despite the couple loving the unique monikers, others are not as keen. Rachael admits that some people can be opinionated about her choices for her children's names.
She added: "Someone told me that they thought Jaxon sounded like a criminal. Some people were not so sure about the name Leif online but family and friends love it. People like to have an opinion about names. People comment things like 'she did not name her child Leif'."
However, regardless of other people's opinions on her children the mother couldn't be happier. She says despite people thinking the names are 'criminal' the fivesome are normally well behaved.
Rachael said: "We go out to eat and people watch us. People will come up and say: 'We've been watching you and I'm surprised at how good they are.' I think it's because we don't have screens when we're out either. I always have Playdoh and colouring pens on me which keeps them occupied and happy."
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