I guess I always thought I'd be one to go for traditional, family or Biblical names but by the time DH and I decided on names, they were none of the above really, lol.
We each had names we didn't want either because we didn't like them, neither of us were thrilled with most family names, one of us knew someone with a certain name,
and I think there were even certain letters that each of us didn't want the children's names to begin with, phew. I agree with you, MPsSweetie, it does get harder with each baby for us too! :)
I sometimes ask myself if we should have just tried to incorporate maybe one family name from each side and/or Biblical names because we do like that association, significance and meanings in general are important to us. We also don't really care to have names from the top names lists (not on purpose anyway) and like some unusual but not "far out there" names, as it were.
We named our DS Zander Lewis. Zander is short for Alexander and has the same meaning, "defender of mankind/defender of all mankind/protector of men" and Lewis means "famous warrior/famous in battle/famous in war". We discussed Alexander and letting him choose a nickname of either Alex or Zander but DH didn't really care for Alex much. I really hope in real life he doesn't physically have to live up to his name in war as such but we do think that "there's something in the name" that sort of goes along with personality and how a person is. He definitely has an independent and strong-willed side to him yet he's very sweet, caring, and funny, among other things.
We named our DD Zayla Rielle. Zayla is derived from Sarah which means Princess but also means independence, empowerment, zeal, envy (I forgot about the envy one, lol). I found "Rielle" as a variation/part of the name Gabrielle and it's meaning/one meaning is "strength of God". After looking at so many names, "R" seemed like the best letter to start her middle name with it following "Zayla". She definitely lives out her name meanings in various ways. :) She's also a very sweet, caring and funny little girl who also has a very independent, strong-minded side to her and it's an interesting balance. :)
So, here comes the harder, "fun" part, lol. It took us much longer than I ever thought it would to name the first two and am wondering how it's going to go now with number 3 on the way. We didn't ever set out to have names that both started with "Z" so now we're trying to decide whether to try and keep up the pattern or find different ones and will possibly try to avoid using the same vowels/sounds. We will probably have a 4th down the line if all goes well and we're not sure if there are enough "Z" names to choose from and/or that go well with the other two names and/or that we both like enough, lol. I find myself thinking ahead to when they're all older and wonder if they'll ask "how come you didn't name US with Z's too?" or "how come they're different and we both have Z's?" LOL.
Sigh, oh the added fun of parenthood, lol! ;-)
Personally, I think it's better if you drop the "e" in Brook(e)s - the "em" makes it look to feminine for my tastes.
I agree.
Basil is currently on my list of names for boys, too. :)
I really like the name Astrid for a girl, but my husband looks at me askance, considering that it's the name of a character from one of my daughter's favorite movies. I WANTED the name Morgan Elaine for a girl, but our neighbors two doors down just named their baby Morgan, and I figured that would be too weird.
I've been toying with the idea of using the name Geoffrey for a boy. My dad's name was Jeffrey and he died in a car accident when I was 16 and I've been feeling a lot of emotional turmoil over the loss during this pregnancy, so the name is somewhat bittersweet, at the moment. I also feel like I should ask my brother if he wants to use the name at all, since I feel like he has a stronger claim to it. Is it weird to think that?
I don't know. My husband isn't offering up any suggestions at this point, and it's starting to get frustrating to me.
Another idea for those who like Basil is my friends husband's name is Bazal its not one I've heard often.
I love Piper for a girl, but DH sings the stupid tongue twister and rhymes it with diaper, hyper, wiper, typer...just to spite me. I still like it. Especially the nickname Pie. I knew a girl in high school called Pie (short for moon pie---her name was actually ordinary, I don't remember it though) and it was sooo cute!
He would compromise with Penelope, but I really don't like the nickname Penny. He told me I could just call her Pie anyway. Hmmmm, maybe.
I am stumped for boy names. I want it to have a vowel sound that isn't a long E or long A (my other sons have these sounds) and end in an -n, as in Logan or something. But I am not crazy about Logan. Ivan...but not crazy about that one either. Stumped.
cabbitdancer and GranolaMama09 -- I like the name Basil a lot - especially the British pronunciation.
Writermama -- I think the name Piper is super sweet. And I think I agree with you about the nickname Penny -- not my cup of tea. I'm trying to think of some other boy names fitting your criteria (I've also been thinking about boy names that begin with any vowel but "A")... All I can think of at the moment is Oren... There's always something like Edison... Evan... Owen... None of these names are very similar to Logan though so I don't know how helpful this is...
Here's what I've got so far (haven't really been trying/looking around much):
Girl: Loralei; Remy; Cameron; Ammelia; Gianna; Lillianna; Ginger
Boy: Corbin; Eli; Griffin; Pike; Gideon; Reed; Nathaniel; Emmett; Seeley
I love the name Juniper for a girl, but it's very common here. And my fav for a girl is Lilou and DP has nixed it from the beginning.
Writermama - Piper is a great name!!
I may have been totally bullied last night :) into Rowen for girl or boy. I like it, I do. But I like Piper better I think. DH won't budge. Nope. OTOH, Rowen is a beautiful tree and is associated with transformation and a whole bunch of cool celtic stuff. I wanted to name a child Cedar for years but DH wouldn't let me, said all he thinks about is a cedar chest or cedar shingles. So Rowen is nice compromise. And the nickname Roe is pretty sweet, just not as sweet as pie. Oh Well. I should let it go.
We don't agonize over names - I honestly can't say why - maybe the name chooses us? But this baby if it's a boy will be Theodore Lewis (called Theo or Teddy) and if it's a girl will be Caroline Lily (and I'm leaning towards calling her Lily . . . ) but I'm pretty sure it's a boy.
My other two are Gabriel Lucas and Norah Lorraine. We like maintaining the "L" middle name, though Edward is a contender for middle name of the boy, but I far prefer Lewis.Not a big Edward fan. Especially since Twilight fan-dom. My dad is Ted - not short for Theodore - just Ted, so Theodore is kind of in honor of him, without being a direct, hey, we named the baby after you!, and we love the name, and it's meaning, which I think means gift of God . . . it does! just checked!
Caroline is a spin on DH's Grandma's name - Carolyn (she was born Caroline, but always spelled it Carolyn and changed it as an adult). we are obviously traditional name people.
I like Rowen, it's a little different spelling than I normally see (Rowan, I think) and more masculine. Piper is also adorable.
When we were pregnant with DD#1, we had decided on Rowan if she were a boy. We were set on Rowan River for a while but SO thinks it sounds too girly. Now, we're deciding between Rowan Caspian, Rowan Phoenix or Rowan Canyon. SO picked Delilah June Bay for a girl but I'm sure he'll want to change it at the last minute like he did with our first. She was supposed to be Annika Blue but he decided he liked autumn instead, so we added it to her middle name...Annika Blue Autumn.
I LOVE the name Annika Blue. Almost chose Anika for our DD#1, until I said it out loud with her last name and realized that they just don't work together. 
Such a bummer!
My DD's name is Rowan. It turned out to be MUCH more well-used than I had anticipated and she's had "another Rowan" in classes and whatnot since she was wee.
Rowan is the normal spelling, but I think it might be more common as "Rowen" in Australia because we got a little letter-train thing from some Australian relatives for DD and they'd spelled it with an 'e'.
writermama, how about Rowen Piper? 
We really have nothing determined yet. We've bounced about a number of names casually, but only a couple have been interesting enough to keep in the backs of our minds, and there hasn't been any "aha!" moments. We have both vetoed several names the other person really liked, but that doesn't help find good ones. 
And I'm definitely struggling with the fact that SO MANY of our friends have had babies in the last few years, and have all picked really awesome names, and I don't want to pick one of those!
I also kept my last name when we got married, which my husband was totally fine with, but that's creating some discussion too. We both really like our own last names, and he is completely anti-hyphenation. And also anti-make-up-a-new-name. Either one of our last names could be fine as a boy's middle name, but really wouldn't be good for a girl. At the moment, we are leaning towards using my last name if its a girl, and his if its a boy...
C. Chip - we're dealing with a bit of a last name issue, too. We're not married (and I have no desire to be married, much to his dismay). I think he just assumed the baby would have his last name (which is a nice, easily spelled name) but I'm leaning towards using my name (11 letters, 3 K's, horrible for people to pronounce...) But last night I was wondering about using his last name as a first name (I haven't discussed this with him yet.) Might be a nice comprimise. Davis. I don't LOVE it like I LOVE the other names I've shortlisted, but with some discussion it might be a solution for us.
AKind1 - I LOVE the name Gabriel. A co-worker had a babe this spring and chose this name, but uses (and always had planned on using) the middle name. So it's out of the running and she doesn't ever even plan on calling him Gabriel :(
JuliaGoodie - I named a cat named Delilah Blue, just got her last year. Should have reconsidered her name since I LOVE it and now it would be weird using it. My 11 year old Bullmastiff is named Dawson (another one I like).
My SIL's name is the same as a dog that my IL's had before she was born. The dog was no longer living by the time she came along, though. We like to tease her every now and then that she was named after the dog, but for the most part it's HER name and nothing else would fit her so well.
I was recently considering the name Olive, then I remembered that I once had a cat with that name. Not necessarily a deal breaker, but the realization did give me pause. I think it would be different if the pet were still alive/in the family, though.
We also have a bit of awkwardness in the surname department. Before our first baby was born we decided to give the baby a last name different from either of ours (he and i have different last names). The chosen name was an old family name from my side. But then just before she was born he changed his mind and decided that it meant a lot to him for the baby to have his last name. I wasn't totally pleased with this, BUT I respect the fact that it meant a lot to him. It really wasn't a huge deal to me. And, honestly, I do like his last name very much, but it would sound horrible as a middle name. We ended up giving her the old family name as a middle name, and she has DH's last name. Now that we've done this for the first child, we'll probably just do it for future kids as well.
LightForest - DP already has a son with his last name, so while I understand that it means a lot to him, he's already passed on his name, whereas I have not. And my only brother has decided not to have children.
My mom is named Patricia and her father had 3 dogs growing up, all named Patty. I don't think it's that weird, as long as the animal is gone - if not, I could see people thinking you were darn near crazy - lol.
Ha! We also wasted a good name on our dog, Kali, but would be v sweet on a little girl (with different spelling). DH's surname, well ours too officially since we got married last year, ends in a 'y' and it's darn annoying how many cute girl names are ruled out by the alliteration or rhyming sound. Sadie is one I particularly liked.
I love the name Rowan but have only met boys named it so don't think its too girly at all. I adore plant names in general. Theodore and Gabriel are great boys names but I dunno about the inevitable shortening of Gabriel to Gay. Eli and Nathaniel are lovely too, Eli would be a contender for us if not for the 'i' ending :(
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