Baby Name Chat Thread - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[spotty4]

Huh, I wouldn't have thought Berkeley too girlish.  Instead my head went toward too pet-like.  Berkeley sounds like a dog's name to me.

[bearandotter]

Originally Posted by shanna-cat 

would you name a BOY Berkeley?? DH and I have been tossing this around for a while... while we love the name we are concerned it's too 'girlish'.... thoughts?

I think it is a great name, not 'girlish' at all. Have you thought about what he might get called for short - Berk? Ley (lee)? I like them for short names, but worth considering if you like them too. 

Major conundrum here - If DD2 was a boy, her name would have been Ayan (Eye-an). It is the reverse of DD1s name (Naya). We still like the name and it has family meaning for us, so it is still on the table if this one is a boy. But I feel it is unfair to our "middle child" (DD2) who has an unrelated name. DH doesn't see the problem. What do you think?

[easttowest]

Berkeley, while not a common first name, is a boy's name when it is used. To me, it's a city - but Brooklyn is one of the most popular names, so there is that. Not my taste, but it definitely has the classic sounds of a masculine name.

I wouldn't name children Naya and Ayan but if you do plan on it, I think it's almost better to have another name/child in between so it doesn't come off too cutesy and matchy. What is your other daughter's name (if you don't mind)?

[bearandotter]

Originally Posted by easttowest 

I wouldn't name children Naya and Ayan but if you do plan on it, I think it's almost better to have another name/child in between so it doesn't come off too cutesy and matchy. What is your other daughter's name (if you don't mind)?

Thanks. I agree ;) 

Our DD2s name is Adiya (AhDeeYa). So far, our kids have names that are derivatives of my FILs GIVEN FIRST name - Gandha Parimala AdiNarayan.  Umm... yeah...Lots to work with there, so I'm sure there is going to be another first name for a boy in there. 

If it is a girl we are thinking of breaking from using FILs name and instead choosing another Sanskrit word ending with -ya, like the other DDs. We are thinking of Mahiya (MaHeeYa), which means dearest or beloved. 

[Tenk]

My previous OB named her daughter Berkley.

And while I do agree 100% that we all have the right to our own opinions I do not think it's appropriate to tell someone you would NOT name a child a name someone has already named their child.  I'm not pointing fingers or name calling here I just want everyone to remember to be nice ... this is not one of those "other websites" where these things are ok.  Just an fyi :)

[easttowest]

Everyone has preferences, saying I would not name my child something does not at all mean it is not a lovely name that is completely appropriate for someone else's child! I am always interested to learn what people name their children, it tells you something deeply personal about them. And I agree that since Berkeley isn't a traditional name anyway, it could go for any gender. Just saying it is almost always used for boys, but a girl could certainly rock it. Hope no one was hurt by anything I said. You are free to ignore my suggestions! And there is an important difference between expressing the opinion that you wouldn't give your child a name that was your other child's name backwards and saying you don't like a name another member has used. The former specifically answers the question that the poster has posed; the latter is just rude.
Edited by easttowest - 2/14/13 at 8:07am

[shanna-cat]

I was not offended, and honestly I don't care if people do or don't love my baby names. But I do like to hear opinions! I know we have unique (and to some unsavory) names for our children but I couldn't imagine them named anything else.

In reality, I find it strange to actually name a child before its born, even if you know the sex. We will likely have a small collection of names and then decide for sure after we meet our baby. I even have a hard time calling it a boy and and not an 'it' or just baby.

[bearandotter]

Also no offence here. Such a difficult thing communication when all we know and read is the words that are written and not the other 75% of what communication entails. Plus this group is full of women experiencing the craziest hormonal swings and surges of their lives.....

Actually seeing both names typed beside each other really does make me think that the reverse name is not for us. I've handwritten them before and they didn't bother me, but typed is different somehow. Naming is such a challenge for us as a bicultural family. DH is from India. I'm white anglo-saxon. Our last name is very Hindu. The ILs want traditional hindu first names (with the first sound assigned by a 'priest' in accordance with the birth star). We try to go for a hybrid name that meets the needs of North American ears with the cultural values of parts of the family. I might just let DD1 name this one to save on the struggle of finding a name - her current vote is 'Camera' (guess what she got for Christmas).

As for Berkley - I really don't think of it as a dog name. But perhaps since the dog on Sesame Street was Barkley it has that connotation for some. I was named after the #1 TV show the year I was born. You know, the one with Mork played by Robin Williams. A handful of times people have remarked on it, but the connotation his never caused any problems or negative thoughts for me. 

[dayiscoming2006]

Originally Posted by Sassicaia 

We're having a girl, and I think we've settled on Briana Cady Ruth (lastname). I'm not sure about the double middle name though. I like both Cady and Ruth, and might just go with Cady, except that Ruth is the name of both my last surviving grandmother who is awesome, and DH's only known grandmother who was also awesome. I'd really feel good about using it. So maybe both? Too much of a mouthful?

I have a 2 middle name kiddo. It sounds nice together, but I will say that it seems a bit much now. If I could go back in time, I probably would have settled on just one. I love the family history for Ruth, but it's all up to you. :)

[dayiscoming2006]

Originally Posted by shanna-cat 

would you name a BOY Berkeley?? DH and I have been tossing this around for a while... while we love the name we are concerned it's too 'girlish'.... thoughts?

I don't think it sounds girly. I love the suggestions of Berk or Ley(lee) as nicknames if you do nicknames. 

[mommacunningham]

I know I'm chimming in late, but I must say I've enjoyed reading through all of the naming posts here.

I think Berkley is a beautiful name, my thoughts lean toward it for a not, but either way a nice strong name.

Milo and isla are also among favorites I've read here and the culturally connected names are just precious and will be neat for your children to carry in their heritage especially in blended families

I'm not a fan of 2 middle names, but I know many children with 2 and it seems to be a nonissue so if you love it go for it! I personally love Ruth!

DH and I are undecided as well and this is our 4th. We have 3 boys; corbyn Matthew, Camdyn Bentley, and Gabriel agatino. All three have middle names after family members. We go for out anatomy US on Monday but aren't dead set on anything.

Girl
Naomi (loved since our first after my great grandma) possibly Carolyn for middle name (after my grandma)

Boy
Chale or chael
Carter or cartyr

Thoughts, ideas?

[dayiscoming2006]

Originally Posted by mommacunningham 

Girl
Naomi (loved since our first after my great grandma) possibly Carolyn for middle name (after my grandma)

Boy
Chale or chael
Carter or cartyr

Thoughts, ideas?

I had considered Naomi myself because it is a nice bible name. I like it a lot and think it's neat that it is after your great grandma. 

I prefer Carter for your boy names. I also prefer traditional spelling because I've heard that a lot of people who were named with non-traditional spelling had a tough time dealing with having to spell out their name all the time and mispronunciation sometimes.

[littlegreenlady]

oh the naming thing has always been so hard. You guys are coming up with some great names that I'm surprised I never though of. We also have a multicultural family and though I would like to give my children Spanish names I know that they will be mispronounce and having grown up with that I know it can be very frustrating. So My goal is to have names that can be pronounced well in both english and spanish. I somehow keep coming up with names that really don't sound good in spanish without completely changing the name like Charles, Edward etc.

[JNajla]

We're still stumped... it will probably be "baby boy" until the last minute. :/

[MayasMama88]

Oh! I've got another one.... DH actually came across this name online, and he said he liked it a lot... And so do I, but I wonder if we're going to get any guff for it because.... 

The name is Makeda. The meaning of the name is "African Princess." We are not african. I know it shouldn't matter, and honestly it doesn't matter to us, but I wonder if others who find out what it means will be puzzled, or assume that we can't name our child Makeda because of its meaning.

Oh, and as a side-note, my ex-boyfriend who is of african/mexican heritage named his daughter Makeda, which I though was very interesting!

[littlegreenlady]

oh Makeda that is so pretty. It's hard to know how people will react to the meaning. I've run across this with some other names that I liked thinking well I'm not French and so on. 

[BabySmurf]

I love Naomi too! That was on my list, but DH wasn't crazy about it :(  I also prefer Carter over the other name.

As for Makeda, I think that's a beautiful name...If the meaning isn't a huge issue for you, I wouldn't get too hung up on what others think.  No matter what you choose, people are going to have opinions that may or may not coincide with yours.  It's not as though the name has a bad connotation or a negative story behind it, which would be something that I would be more concerned about than a name being from a different culture. 

And speaking of others opinions....with our first, we weren't sure of the name until birth, so we weren't really sharing ideas, and never really got any feedback on names.  This time, we are pretty sure that unless she pops out and is a boy, or for some reason the name just doesn't fit, this is going to be baby Isla.  So I've started telling people when they ask what the name is.  Most of the time feedback is positive, but there have been a few less than supportive replies....How does one handle that? No one said anything bad once we had already named DS, I find it kind of weird that people would be negative about a name that we have decided on, but baby just hasn't been born yet.  Luckily I'm not the type of person to take those types of things to heart, but I would LOVE to think of some clever comebacks!

[veggieviola]

We're only beginning to narrow down the names we like - Amelia and Isla have both been on our list of girl names for a while, but seems like those are both becoming quite popular!  I also love Naomi, but it happens to be the name of a family member with whom I've had a rather strained relationship in the past.  Same goes for a few boy's names that I really like - I seem to have negative associations with those names in the past.  

As a general question, have any of you been able to reconcile less-than-positive name associations and put them aside in naming your children?  Or do you just nix those names from your lists?

[littlegreenlady]

We have a lot of names we like, but can't use because of negative associations. We have decided not to use any of those, I also have a hard time choosing a name a friend may have given one of her/his children even if I really liked it before hand. In general using a name of a person we know is a tricky business for us. A loved family member seems to be ok as well as a loved friend. Someone we know but are not very close with is also ok as long as we really like the name. Outside of that it gets weird.

The first time around my mother told a friend of hers that we had named our son after her late husband. I had never met the man and felt offended that my mother told her that being that it clearly could not be true (honesty I'd never even heard of him before she did this). Her friend was so touched that a big deal was made and I received gifts and gratitude. I felt really awkward about it. I feel naming someone is very personal and it can get weird when other people take it to mean something it doesn't. My family seems to feel they have all the right to be part of the naming process weather it's expecting you to use the name they prefer or criticizing the name you have chosen long after the baby is born regardless of how old the baby gets (it's been three years and my brother still thinks it is fun to tease me about my sons name which for the record is fairly common, but for his just isn't manly enough like Zach or jack and so on) Who knows maybe I'm just too sensitive about the whole thing.

[ulybka312]

Hello, we`re picking names for a girl but we have problems. DH likes some names that I don`t ...And I like some names he doesn`t.

I like:

-Iris

-Mara (my favorite)

-Maya

-Maria

-Jasmine

He likes

-Andrea

-Georgiana

and the most he likes Lacramioara ( That`s a national, romanian name that means a white flower and also means teardrop) I don`t really like how it sounds and I dont want my baby named "teardrop" that sounds kind of sad. And DH insists a lot