How do you go about deciding on a name?

[Belia]

This probably sounds like a really dumb question, eh??  

But seriously, I don't really know where to start.  We know the sex- should I just read a baby name book cover-to-cover and write down names that strike me?  That sounds really overwhelming.  I've browsed through the SS list, but that didn't feel productive.  Like, I kept reading the same thing over and over without digesting anything.

I do have one name stuck in my head.  Is that it?  Should I just go with that and call it a day?

This just feels like a chore.  Where do I start?

[MamanFrancaise]

I had a name I loved even before I was pregnant. Then, DH didn't like it so I painfully went through the boys names A-Z online on various websites. I found 2 backups that I could live with.

Then DH changed his mind and now likes my original name. 

So that's that. I am no longer looking at names. If you don't have a name in mind, maybe your DH does? I'd start there.

 

[ilovejeff]

I downloaded a baby name app to my iPod and set it to only show names in the top 1000, since we don't want anything too unique. I went thru once to see if anything jumped out at me, but no luck, so I went back through and marked all the names I might like...and that's where I am at the moment, since DH refuses to talk names until we know the sex.

You could probably do the same sort oft hingwith one of the baby name sites online.

[Just1More]

We always like to give our babies names of something that we would like them to remember, or of something important to us.  Not something that would be hard to live up to, or anything, just something meaningful.  We have even looked up names that meant a particular word or phrase to try to capture what we were thinking/feeling. 

What was the reason you named your son Colin Theodore?  Is there something about his name or the reason you chose it that you could make a tradition?

[Peony]

Naming is so hard for me, i take it serious. This is someone's identify! I go through books, websites, and keep running lists of ones that interest me. Eventually the list gets narrowed down to maybe a dozen for each gender. Then I started sectioning them off, first name, middle name or could work for both. Next up is pairing names. I probably end up with 4 complete names for each gender when I am all done, and then I just wait. By the end of the pregnancy, I always have 1-2 that are my favorites. From there it is simple once baby is born, it obviously halts the names, and the baby just seems to be a name. Or possibly none of those. which means I just start all over again!

[katt]

we throw out names throughout the whole pregnancy.  I write down the ones we like to a long list.  Then close to the end we narrow it down to a short list.  Then we decide when we meet the baby.  

It helps that we both have similar naming styles and like unusual names.

We only have to choose one name, so it's a bit easier.  Middle name is already my maiden name.  :)

[Belia]

Originally Posted by Just1More 

What was the reason you named your son Colin Theodore?  Is there something about his name or the reason you chose it that you could make a tradition?

We had a short list when I went into labor and I didn't worry about it too much, but once he was born I kind of freaked out about the name.  I mean, choosing someone's name?!?!?  All of a sudden that seemed like such a HUGE deal!  It was going to be with him FOREVER!  Often the first thing that someone would know about him!  What if I screwed it up?!?!?

Naming a PERSON is such a huge responsibility.  So we waited a few days (DS was in the NICU so we had some time) and drove everyone in the hospital and our families CRAZY.  

The social security / birth certificate lady at the hospital was coming by twice a day and leaving baby name books at my bedside, and when I read the meaning of the word "Colin" one book said "little cub" and I just pictured my little guy in the NICU bassinet and thought "That's him! My little cub!"

Plus, the Chicago Cubs were having a good season in 2008 so that helped, too.  

"Theodore" is after DH's BFF who passed unexpectedly when we were 6 mo pregnant, so that was easy.

But it still took probably another 24 hours for me to commit.  

[scowgirl]

DH and I each went through a baby name book (the Baby Name Wizard book--it's not quite as huge and overwhelming as some of the others) and wrote down all of the boys' and girls' names that struck our fancy. Now that we know it's a girl, DH has seeded the girls' names into an NCAA basketball-style bracket with the four grandparents' last names as the "regions" (so names from my mom's side of the family and/or Irish type names go into my mom's "region," my dad's gets names from his family or Scandinavian names) where we will pit the names against each other head-to-head and see which one comes out the winner.  Obviously we will not "have" to stick with whatever name "wins," but we thought it sounded fun. Then again DH is a basketball FANATIC and already tracks a lot of statistics using various spreadsheets and stuff, so it's possible we are weird. 

I do feel much better having gone through the whole name list to make sure I didn't "miss" any names that I like. I really wasn't looking forward to it, but I like having the list now, and it was interesting to see which names DH and I both picked independently. I wouldn't be surprised if we still end up going with a particular name that we have liked for a long time, but I want to make sure that's the right one and not just the one that seems the most "comfortable." Also having so many names listed out will make it easier to choose one of the "weirder" names as a middle name if we want to.

[greenmamato2]

With my first, we had our boy name picked out before we were married (still haven't used it  ).  I picked out the girl name before we even told anyone we were pregnant.  I had a tiny hand-held baby name book, saw the name Abigail and just knew.  Same thing with her middle name Elizabeth.  

With my second, we didn't know what we would name her until about a week before she was born. We had NO names picked out except our never-gets-used-boy-name.  Then my mom told me a friend of hers had a baby and named it Anna, and that's when it clicked.  So... Anna it was, and Kathryn is my middle name, so she got that. :)

With this one, we have a list of names for both (our boy name, Job Alexander, is getting tossed out after 13 years of no use).  We have names we both like, but have no idea if we will use them when the baby comes.  Thankfully we still have some time, and I'm sure we'll narrow it down. 

The names we have picked right now are ones that just resonated with me, or were suggestions from friends or family that we liked.  Some of them have elements of family names that we like.  For example, I'm considering Kathleen if we have a girl, because its my mom's name.  We'd either call her Katy or Kat. :)

[AndtheStars]

I hear names on the street, at work, in books, magazines, I browse baby name lists...then I suggest them to DH.  He shoots almost every single one down.  What doesn't get shot down goes on a list.  About a month before I'm due, we go through the list again and take out ones that DH decides he now doesn't like (He is most picky man on the planet).  We won't decide the name until the baby is born because the name that we thought we wanted might not feel right.  We didn't have the lists with us at the hospital (home birth transfer) and once we got home, we realized that we had crossed DS's name off the list.  But that's just the name that fit him so that became his name.  I do believe that a child will let you know what their name is supposed to be if you're not sure when they are born.  It might take awhile but they will get the right name. 

[Laurucha]

Baby names are an interest of mine, so I had lots of ideas long before I got pregnant. Please make sure you consult with some reputable sources on baby names. So many parents chose a name and don't realize something about it that they don't like until it's too late, like that it has gotten really popular. Sharing your choice with family and friends can be frustrating, so it's understandable if you don't do that. But please share it with people on the internet, because there might be something about it that you overlooked that someone else might pick up on.

My overall favorite website for baby name information is Baby Name Wizard (http://www.babynamewizard.com/). Behind the Name is, I believe, reliable for information the origin and meaning of names. It's almost comical how many websites are full of made-up BS about the meanings of names!

[Katielady]

I love this for browsing baby names:

http://www.nymbler.com/

you pick out a few names you like and it makes suggestions based on what you like, and you go from there. Like netflix! Geektastic fun.

[cat13]

DH and I had an ongoing list that we would add and delete names from throughout the pregnancy. A few of the names have always been in my head, but many of them were just names I'd heard here and there. I like reading MDC signatures for name ideas, and there are a few old threads about favorite names or rare names or nature-themed names that I browsed. By about 38 weeks we made a decision to stop adding names to the list, and accept that our child's name was already on there. Then, after he was born, we threw out the girls names and "tried on" all the boy names, until one of them fit.

Funny that you were pressured to choose a name by the SS lady. I was pressured by my insurance company. We were ok with waiting a week or two before deciding on a name, but DS was severely jaundiced and we wanted to take him to the ped at 3 days. But the ped wouldn't see us until the HMO had DS in their records, and they wouldn't add him until he had a name. So I said I'd call them back and DH and I talked for a few minutes. Decided to finally go with the name we were leaning towards, River, and called the HMO back. :)

[katt]

Just to let you (general you) know, my friend and her dh couldn't decide on a name for almost 2 years for their son.  (baby #2)  They mostly called him Brother.  They finally decided on a name.

DH wanted a crazy name like: Royal Thunder and my Friend wanted something like Nathaniel.  

Neither one of those names ended up being used but, I know they took him in for check ups and everything else and still didn't give him a name until they were ready.