Why did you pick what you picked re: childrens names

[podsnap]

[rubidoux]

Mostly I just loved the names.  They're pretty simple and common enough that they aren't strange but not so common that they don't sound unique.  I think they are also both pretty whimsical sounding, which is funny because I wouldn't say that whimsical is something I have any great value for, but I guess I must deep down.  Augie is short for August which isn't whimsical at all.  And we gave them both very normal middle names in case they ever decide their first names are too out there  --  Milo is Milo Leo and Augie is August Roland.  

I've never met another Milo or another Augie irl, but I did google their names together and found a woman who had two boys with the same names.  We also had tons of other stuff in common, like she seemed pretty AP/non-mainstream, sahm, she knitted and sewed, and I think she was about the same age I am.  So odd!

[kathymuggle]

In the case of first names it is because we like the names - and while my sons name did end up being somewhat common, it was not when we picked it.  We like less common but not unheard of names.

2nd names are for family members or to indulge flights of whimsy we did not want to saddle the child with as first names.

I will not give out first names as it might out me to too many people, lol, but middle names are unknown by almost anyone but family members, so here goes:

Margaret, Marie and Kenneth are family names; Merry (christmas baby!) and Piper (from Charmed - DH's pick) are the whimsy.

[Belia]

DS's first name was one of about six that we liked.  A traditional name, but not overly common.  Also, at the hospital when we were trying to finalize our decision we looked at a baby name book, and discovered that "Colin" means "young cub."  Well, I am a Chicago Cubs fan and 2008 was a good year for them.  Plus, I had a thing for panda bears when I was pregnant and baby bears are called cubs.  I looked at DS wrapped up in his blanket and just thought, "That's my little cub!"

DS's middle name is after my husband's best friend who passed away WAY too young when I was about 6 months pregnant.  Found out later it was also my grandfather's middle name.

[LynnS6]

I liked them.
They had some family connections.
They were names that everyone could pronounce. They're saddled with a last name that can prove difficult to pronounce.
I wanted names that could be easily pronounced in several different languages.

[Smokering]

Rowan (DD) I liked because it was Celtic/Britishy (our heritage), and it reminded me of a stark tree on a hill, in a kind of dark-red way. I realise that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. :p But to me it connotes a strong woman without a trace of "girliness", and a vaguely Tolkienish, slightly bleak, but still homely vibe. So, um, yeah.

Miles (DD) I liked because it had an English, old-man-in-a-tweed-cap-and-pipe, CS Lewisy vibe which I thought went well with Rowan. And it reminded me vaguely of the poem "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening", which I like a lot (and it was referenced in Buffy, which I also like a lot). And, to be perfectly honest, because of Miles O'Brien on Star Trek. :p And also, because DH vetoed Lachlan.

I also liked that both names were fairly uncommon, although I didn't realise quite how uncommon until we named them and everyone started saying "What?". We nixed Liam for that reason - sadly, because I love the name, but it's REALLY popular over here at the moment.

[JBaxter]

Logan because I had the hots for Wolverine when I was a preteen and thought it was the coolest name ever

Connor  I had insomnia and was watching old movies late at night and the Highlander came on and Connor was it.

Nathan was the only name DH and I could agree on

Jackson Charles .. Jackson was my grandfathers middle name and Charles was DH's grandfather and uncle and he was born on Uncle Chucks birthday.

All my boys also have family middle names.

[momof3tobe]

I named my dd Bridget because one night I was bored so I went to our bookshelf and randomly chose one of my dh's books to read. The first character mentioned in the book was a girl named Bridget and her birthday was April 29th. The next day I found out I was pregnant and that my due date was April 29th. I told my husband that if this baby was a girl I felt obligated to give her that name and he thought that was cool.

[funkymamajoy]

DD is named after DH's late sister. She died at 3 months old from SIDS.

Both boys are named after comic book characters.

[DariusMom]

First names were names we liked *but* it was tough because DH and I are from different countries/cultures so we needed names that would sound good (and be pronounceable!) in both languages. The middle names were family names.

[Lazurii]

Both of my children's names start with "A".  We wanted to honor my husband's brother who passed away 7 years ago, and his name was Aaron.  Also, Aaron's two sons have names that start with "A" and The Hubby's name starts with "A", so we thought it was a good tradition to keep up.

Since we didn't know what gender baby we were having first we chose a girl and boy name.  We wanted uncommon names with deep meanings to us.  When my daughter was born we still loved the girl name we picked out so we used it.

Middle names are family names.

[cappuccinosmom]

Our kids are growing up immersed in my culture, and dh wanted to them to have something from his culture.  So they got names. :)    In his language, each of the names has special meaning, and he considered long and hard for each one.  He debated back and forth on the last one.  The meaning is "blessed", but for a while he was thinking to call the kid "blessing" because we got so much unwanted sympathy about having a third boy and that ticked him off.  And it would have been kind of cathartic to respond to "What's his name?" with "His name is Bereket and it means blessing."  But "blessed" is good too.

[velochic]

Dh picked out dd's names.  They are so common in his native country that he has a few friends who have named their daughters the same.  It's like Morgan or Cameron in the US.  Really, very common.  We thought that it would be an easy name in English, too, and there is even a well-known writer with the name.

I felt that dh got naming rights because I was the blessed one who got to grow the baby and nurture her with my body.  I told him that he could pick out the name so that he could have a deep and abiding contribution to the life we were bringing into the world.  I gave him 100% license to name her and never even questioned his decision.  Would I have chosen that name?  Probably not (because it's not common in the US), but it fit her to a T and I think he chose very well.

Only after having her did we realize that people in the US have a hard time pronouncing her name.  Most of our friends are not American, and she doesn't attend a typical American school, so it's not a big problem because every non-English speaking person we've encountered doesn't have a problem with it... but my family had/has a hard time with it and when I introduce her we get, "Huh?  What?"  To which I reply, "You know, like the famous author."  Which often gets, "What author??"  Oh, well.  I still think he chose well.

[hildare]

dd is named for my grandma and dh's grandmother and our babe in feb. will be named after dh's dad and grandfather. 

[ollyoxenfree]

DS was named for family. First name is a traditional family name in DH's family and is used for boys and girls these days. It was originally the maiden name of a great-great-great-etc. grandmother, and was used as a middle name by both DH's dad and also DH's sister who died in infancy (mumps, I think). DS also has the names of my father (which is unmistakably from his family's culture/heritage) and DH as middle names.  

DD's first name is one I always loved and it is definitely a feminine name, but with a lot of strength. Unfortunately, it's fairly popular, so I regret that she'll always have to contend with the confusion of a common name. One middle name is a variant of my mother's. It's "Joy" and a few of her teachers have commented on how well it suits her (she's a very happy kid), so that was fortuitous  . The other middle name comes from my father's heritage, since we wanted to honour it, but it has no particular family significance - we just liked it. 

[Megan73]

Simple. Not common but not weird. Easy to spell. Plus all three mean something - farmer, knight, lion.

[34me]

Originally Posted by JBaxter 

Logan because I had the hots for Wolverine when I was a preteen and thought it was the coolest name ever

Connor  I had insomnia and was watching old movies late at night and the Highlander came on and Connor was it.

Nathan was the only name DH and I could agree on

Jackson Charles .. Jackson was my grandfathers middle name and Charles was DH's grandfather and uncle and he was born on Uncle Chucks birthday.

All my boys also have family middle names.

My Conner is named for exactly the same reason!  I looked at the video box for the spelling.  I never realized it would be so popular.

[philomom]

We picked my kid's names off the family tree. Old fashioned names were making a comeback but I didn't want anything trendy.

Also, the name can't rhyme with anything.

The first and middle name have to have a cadence to them because they were born in the South where you do hear a kid's first and middle name on the playground. They call it a double name but its really just your first and middle run together. Ex. Sally Mae.. John Walter

Must be easy to spell and easy to pronounce. My parents did a KR*TV spelling on my name and I hated them by the time I was eight. Having to spell your name out to absolutely everyone is a real drag.

No juniors or naming them after live people. My brother and dad get each others mail all the time because they still live in the same town. And my husband's family is Jewish.. they only name after dead relatives.. otherwise its like wishing someone into the ground.

[Imakcerka]

We gave our girls each three names, from those three names they can come up with over 10 decent names a piece.  Why?  Because growing up I hated my name.  People would say what's your name and I would say my name and they would say... "NO, really what's your name."  So the girls have options.  I love their names but they may not always like them and that's fine. 

[Lovebuggy]

DS first name is easy to pronounce, not weird but not common. DH ran it by me first and I liked it as well. His middle name was my choice and it is a Biblical name--chosen for that reason.

DD first name was THE only name we could agree on. It is easy to pronounce and is not common. It is gender neutral--which I like (future employers won't be able to look at her resume and tell if she is male/female). Her middle name was DH choice although I also like it. It is becoming a very popular name (for both first and middle names).