More on baby names

[EllasMama]

I'm just curious, HOW are you all picking baby names? What I mean is, what are the criteria you're using? Does it have to have family ties, or reflect an ethnic background? Would you consider a new-agey name, or an ethnic name that didn't reflect your heritage? Do you want your kids to have names that start with the same letter/sound? Or are you totally against that? Tell me what you think about that sort of thing.

I feel like this baby has to have a name that's sort of "like" my DD's name (Ella Sage). Hers is simple, Anglo-sounding, short, that sort of thing. A touch of nature/depth with the middle name. So I would feel strange about naming a child something that was way different (like Chakra Moonbeam or something). I also find myself gravitating toward the same sorts of names (two syllables ending in an "a" sound for a girl, just like Ella, and lots of things that start with an E or A). But then I worry that it'll be TOO much the same, too boring.

So, how are you all deciding on names? Any favorite websites or tips? (I laughed at what someone said on another thread about imagining yourself yelling out the child's full name from downstairs when you're upset, then you really get a feel for whether it has a ring to it - LOL!)

Carol

[danav]

I really just think about names I like the sound of. We did use family names for middle names of our first two (DD has my middle name, DS has his grandfather's name for a middle name) but the first names don't have any meaning other than we like them. For this baby, I read the name Ian in one of DD's story books and just liked it! I also really like that it means "God's grace". My first choice for the middle name, Matthew, just seems to go well with Ian - no other real significance.

The one criteria I have for names for my children is that whatever we name them is what they will be called - I personally don't want to give a child one name with every intention of calling them something else as a nickname (especially if the nickname is not even a real part of the given name, like John Doe III and calling them "Trey" - no offense meant to anyone who might be planning to do that, just a personal pet peeve! :) ).

I also like names that are not so uncommon that people have trouble with them, but that are not overused or really trendy.

[5xmom]

Here's a great site -http://www.angelfire.com/id2/heathersnamepage/

[beanbean]

We're looking for names that have stood and will stand the test of time. We don't want a name that says "Oh you must have been born in 2006!"

Other criteria:

Easy to spell. My child will not go through life as "Kraig with a K" or "Wendie with an ie" (both real-life examples, who found their "clever" spellings to be irritating)

Easy to pronounce.

Not likely to carry any associations with it. We lean towards more common, classic names, because, for example a name like "Mark" doesn't have a very specific association, while a name like "Pilot" or "Thurston" or "Maverick" does. I find that to be more freeing, because names with certain associations are more likely to tie a child into those expectations. A "Mark" could be wild or sedate, an artist or an accountant, etc. Someone looking at his resume will have no preconceived notions when he walks through the door -- Mark will be free to be himself.

(let's all have a moment of silence for poor Peaches Geldof).

Because unusual names have become so popular, your "Mark" is not likely to be one of 3 in his class. Unlike Jaden and Caden. I think I read somewhere that the #1 most popular name is now only twice as popular as the #10 name.

We're also looking at family names for middle and first names, and for names that are those of respectable, admirable people.

[savannah smiles]

We try to use a first name that we both really like, and then a middle name that has some family significance. My dd's name is Savannah Leigh. I like Savannah because I grew up near there plus it's sounds pretty on it's own. Leigh is my sister's middle name and it flows nicely with Savannah.
We haven't gotten very far with name choices for this baby. For a boy, maybe Liam Thomas with Thomas being my dh's middle name and a family name. If it's a girl we'll try to find a first name that fits with Rose for a middle name because it's a family name on my dh's side.
For boys I like more traditional names while I'll get a touch more creative with a girl's name. I'm so *not* into kre8tive spellings nor top ten names so we'll be avoiding those.

[rachdoll]

We don't like popular names.

We watch what the initials might spell - Alison Sue Smith or Francine Ursula Kents don't fly for us.

Middle name is a family name.

First name is not a family name.

We aren't against using nicknames, but want our children to have strong names that can follow them along whatever life path they choose. I know a doctor whose given name is Danny. I never got used to that. Always seemed like he should still be a little kid playing with legos, instead of administering a pap smear! :)

Hmm, I am sure we have more rules for ourselves, but can't think of them right now!

It's fun to see other people's criteria, I'm enjoying this thread.

[Heavenly]

I wouldn't worry too much about the names sounding similar. We did it accidentally with Elijah and Olivia. Both start in a vowel, both have the L as the second letter and both end in the A sound. We chose their names over 7 years ago and Olivia wasn't popular then but we love it and stuck with it. For this baby the name we love, love, love for a girl also starts with a vowel, second letter L and ends in A! We really struggled with it, thinking that was dumb but we really love the name so if this baby is a girl (which I think it is) it will be Eliana. So we will have Elijah, Olivia and Eliana! Elijah is called Lijah, Olivia is called Livvie and Eliana will probably be shortened to Ellie. If its a boy it will be Asher which still starts with a vowel but doesn't sound exactly the same.

[beanbean]

I wouldn't worry too much about the names sounding similar. We did it accidentally with Elijah and Olivia. Both start in a vowel, both have the L as the second letter and both end in the A sound.

I think Elijah & Olivia are different enough not to be confusing. But take into account my SIL's children: Liam & Eli. And dog, Elliot.

All have a long E sound. All have an L sound.

I spent a week there and found myself often calling one of them by the wrong name. And I'm not prone to doing that usually! My son at the time called both boys "Lie Lie".

For some reason, SIL did not think about JUST how similar the names are.

[musemor]

I have always loved talking/thinking about names (I like etymology in general). Our naming preferences for this child went along these lines:

- Not too common
- Not a "new" name (i.e. we wanted a name that has history) or "creatively" spelled
- My husband wanted an English-language name (this is relevant because his mother's side is Hispanic)
- We were both interested exploring family names but weren't stuck on the idea
- I did not want a III (husband is a Jr.)
- I did not want a name with nickname(s) that I dislike...my husband's family ALWAYS uses nicknames so it would be a sure thing that our baby would get the nickname. Same for middle names--they often call kids by their middles rather than their firsts, even when the parents don't.

I tend to like more unusual names (i.e. Leona, Delilah), my husband tends to like more mainstream names (i.e. Katherine, Isabelle). We were looking a name that bridged the divide and that wasn't shooting up the charts. We ended up with a recognizable but relatively uncommon (#460) first name and a more common (#10) family middle name.

The Baby Name Wizard book and its associated Name Voyager website (http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html") were invaluable to us.

[5xmom]

We ended up with a recognizable but relatively uncommon (#460) first name and a more common (#10) family middle name.

Can you tell us?
I also loved Delilah (my first choice, actually!) but my Dh vetoed it.

[musemor]

Can you tell us?
I also loved Delilah (my first choice, actually!) but my Dh vetoed it.

We're pretty set on Jane Elizabeth. Elizabeth is my mom's middle.

Delilah was WAAAAY at the top of my list, too, but my husband also vetoed it very firmly on religious/Biblical grounds. We're not a religious family but he had a religious upbringing, so it has too many connotations for him. I love how it sounds (and the nicknames: Dee, Del, Lila, etc.) and that it means "night".

[savannah smiles]

Musemor, I love the girl name you've picked out. I really like Jane, but that's my MIL's name and (nothing against her) but it would feel awkward using it when I'm not really naming the baby after her, you know? Also, I worry that my mom would feel hurt or imagine a slight. Jane is such a pretty and classic name!

[AndiG]

I despise creative spellings.
I think they are irritating so I avoid them. I like names that are simple and easy to pronounce. For the record, I thought Silas was a commonly heard name (it was my great grandpa's so I'd heard it all my life and thought everyone else had too. Also there is a Silas in the new testament but again, most people haven't heard of him...)

I like strong names and I'm not big on names that start with vowels.
simply becuase many of my friends have vowel named children and its irritating to stumble through Annabelle, Ava, Adrian, Isabelle, Ashley and Ewen before I get the right name.

[EllasMama]

Thanks for the posts, I feel like we're mostly in agreement. I also don't like planning to use nicknames, except in rare cases (like I love the name Finnegan but think "Finn" would be a cool nickname). And I don't like creative spellings, either. I don't mind creative names for girls, like I have a friend who's daughter is named Kaia (rhymes with Maya) and I think it's a pretty name. But yeah, for boys I probably wouldn't be so out-there. I don't like the super-common names, though (John, Paul, etc.). I guess I want something unique without seeming out there, LOL. Something like Silas, I really like that name.

I like Irish names a lot. I have some Irish heritage, but not super strong. I just like the way some of the names sound. Also some Scottish names. But not the ones you can't spell/pronounce!

One thing about popular names is that you never know what's GOING to be popular. We chose "Ella" b/c (besides loving it) it wasn't popular. Not even in the top 100 in 2000/2001. Then year by year it's leapt up the list. I recently saw on babycenter.com's 2004 top names that it was #24 and they think either Ella and/or Ava may enter the top 10 for 2005. Talk about irritating!!!!! So much for our non-popular name. :( Oh well, it's always hard being a trend-setter, LOL. ;)

OMG, only ~4.5 months left to decide, hahaha!

Carol

[beanbean]

One thing about popular names is that you never know what's GOING to be popular. We chose "Ella" b/c (besides loving it) it wasn't popular. Not even in the top 100 in 2000/2001. Then year by year it's leapt up the list. I recently saw on babycenter.com's 2004 top names that it was #24 and they think either Ella and/or Ava may enter the top 10 for 2005. Talk about irritating!!!!! So much for our non-popular name. :( Oh well, it's always hard being a trend-setter, LOL. ;)

I'm with you on the Ella thing. It was my beloved grandmother's name, and totally unheard of a few yrs ago. Now it just seems trendy. Sigh. It might become a middle name if we have a girl.

[My Three Boys]

Carol - I had to laugh that you tried to get an unpopular name and ended up getting a fairly popular one (sorry!). We thought we were so creative with Samuel nearly 10 years ago. It just wasn't a popular name. Oh well! We also thought we were being creative with William in using an older name. This year Will has THREE Wills on his soccer team!!

My criteria -

Must have a kid-like nickname that WE choose to use through childhood and an adult sounding full name (my Samuel is Sam, Andrew is Drew and William is Will).

I like religious meanings.

Family names as middle names.

No creative spellings or names that could be used for boys or girls. (My sister's dh LOVES the name Palmer for a girl! I think it sounds like a boy!)

We just went through our baby name book and think we've got the girl's name - Margaret (Meg) Shannon. Shannon is my dh's grandmother's maiden name and she just passed away last year. We may use Elizabeth as a middle name though.

Boys - We're still way up in the air!! We just love the traditional names (obviously!). Peter, Johnathon, Nathaniel, Alexander, Thomas, etc.

[dane]

This is a really fascinating thread. I love hearing people's biases and preferences about names and naming. Do you all know about the Social Security name database website?

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

It's a terrific searchable site that traces the most popular first names in the U.S. from 1879 (when they first started keeping records) to the present day. You can trace the rise and fall in popularity of individual names, read the 1000 most popular for each year, etc. I could seriously spend the whole day playing around on this site -- even before I was pregnant, I loved going there.

I can't find it now in this thread didn't someone in the Feb. due date club have Millicent Ruth for a girl? Totally love that. I tried to get my boyfriend to go for Ruth as a first name, but he has a cousin named that, and it's a Jewish tradition never to name a baby after a living relative -- it's considered bad luck.

[mraven721]

We went a no nickname name. Nothing that starts with a C or ends in er, as our son's name already does :) No last names for a first name for the same reason. Simple, pretty, and not too too popular. Although I have a nack for liking names that will become very popular. I loved Tristan a few years old, but now I feel it's too popular.

Great links everyone :love

[Boobiemama]

I have no clue. I dont even want to think about names yet. Its so hard and frustrating to me. And my hubby and I never agree.

My kids are Daniel, Eric, Camille, and Jack. The only easy one was Camille, She was named at 17 weeks. jack was, we cant agree on anythng, and it was Eric's idea to name him jack, so Jack it is.. LOL

Since we are having another girl, I want something that will go good with camille. So I can say these are my daughters Camille and _________.LOL I love Ruby, but I wonder if it will sound funny with the last name Robinson?

[aguacates]

I love the name Ruby. DD was going to be a Ruby if she wasn't a Zoe, DH really really loved Ruby, but we were also pretty set on Bliss as a middle name, and Ruby Bliss sounded kind of like a wine cooler to me. :LOL

I do feel that naming your subsequent children is harder because of the need to go with the other name(s). And also, DD's name is so perfect for her that I feel like I need to find an equally perfect name for this baby.:eyesroll:

[zonapellucida]

I use family names and names )usually ) that can be found on most popular lists--I was really upset when I found Ella was popular--fortunatley her full name is Ellamarilla after my Grandmother Almarilla. I DO NOT KNOW what this child's name is going ot be. and Trenton was unnamed for months!

[noodlepopsmom]

We like family names with a twist: With our first child we wanted to honor all of the Joe's on both sides but flip tradition a little & do it with a girls name so we named our daughter Jolie. With this pregnancy we want to use the name Kaia for a girl (closest derititive of my MIL's Hebrew name who recently passed away). We need serious help with a boys name. We have a good system: everytime I think of a name my husband sits & thinks of the ways that he/she might be teased with it! Oh, and I forgot to add that it can't be a name that sounds like it came from the "WB" channel or a soap opera!!! Well at least this is all good entertainment for us!

[frog]

WRT the "Ruby Robinson" thing, I have an alliterative name. I didn't like it when I was a kid, but I LOVE it now. I think that it sounds strong, and I have no interest in changing it. :)