The decision by football player Wesley Sneijder and his television presenter wife Yolanthe Sneijder-Cabau to name their first baby Xess Xava has generated more than a few raised eyebrows in the Netherlands.

The long-awaited baby boy was born in Turkey, where the couple live, on October 15. Sneijder plays for Turkish club Galatasaray.

‘Yolanthe is a great girl and very pretty but it is really stupid to call your child Xess Xava,’ said one commenter on Twitter. ‘She should be fined for this,’ said another.

Others pointed out the difficulty of pronouncing the name and the trouble the child will have spelling it over the phone.

‘A cross between cava and xanax – the child will have a happy life,’ said actress Babette van Veen.

Name expert Maarten van der Meer told the Telegraaf he did not think the couple had thought properly about the name, pointing out the child’s initials will be XXS.

This is why it is always good to discuss your ideas for a child’s name with other people, Van der Meer said.