Picking a Baby Name!

When I had my first daughter I was online searching like crazy until I was working and a older lady came through my line and she name was Sidney. I fell in love with the name immediately. (I spell it Sydnee)

My youngest daughter is named after my dad Charles Edward, I gave her the name Carly Elease. On one of the many name bank websites it told me that Carly was the female version of Charles.

Choose the name that you love, they will be stuck with it forever!! Good luck!!

My mother actually found my daughters name on the internet and I liked it. It is really unique and I can guarantee that nobody else will have her name in the class when she starts kindergarten in the fall!! Her name is Aaralyn (like Carolyn without the C) and her middle name is Elizabeth. There are all sorts of names out there and it was overwhelming trying to pick out a name for all three of my kids. But one will just stick. Maybe even after she is born, one will just happen!! Good Luck.

Wait until the baby is born and see what she "looks like". I have a friend who didn't name her son for 8 or 10 days, they just couldn't find something that fit and and they really loved. *shrug*
Nothing says you HAVE to have the name chosen before the baby is born.

Have you considered the meaning of the names? Pehaps that will help narrow it down for you. We always talk for months before coming up with a name. We just liked the first daughter's name. For the second daughter, we were living in England, so picked an English name that we liked. For the third, we were going through some difficult times during her pregnancy. We chose a name with a meaning that will always remind us of that time in our lives. It is a positive name that reflects what God was doing for us during that time. You'll figure it out. We always do! I don't know of any unnamed children. :)

You will know when you find the right name, you will just feel it. I looked everywhere watching for names, reading the names at the ends of tv shows and movies, in books, on web sites, ect... There are names all around us everyday, and we know when one sounds nice, but only when you are with child will you know which name it that child's. If your old choices do not feel right, than keep looking. The names I ended up with I had never dreamed of before I was pregnant. When you find that one name that keeps coming back to your mind even when you try to think of others, that will be the one, rather it is unique or common (I was one of 5 Jennifers, but it was not so bad).

I've actually heard of parents just calling their child "baby so and so" on the birth certificate and waiting for the child to pick their own name. They would have pet names in the mean time so the child would know when someone was referring to them. One couple named their daughter "Barbara" when they saw her point at herself in the mirror and say "ba-ba". I'm not sure I would do this, but it is an option for the parents having a tough time picking out a name.

And try to relax, whatever you decide. She won't be stuck with it forever if it doesn't suit. It IS possible to change names after all, especially if both parents agree. Maybe use one of your classic names as a middle name, so you can just switch the middle and first name around later on, if it suits her better than what you ultimately chose.

Good luck!

If you have names you and your husband love. use them. Your daughter will fit her name. If the name is common, your daughter can pick out a nickname or she'll just forgive you. My girls are Sarah and Laura. I liked the names. There are lots of Sarah's but so far, my daughter doesn't care. My neighbors tried for unusual names so their child would be the only one with it, and it didn't work because other parents tried for the same thing. Use the names you love and you can't go wrong.

I have many friends who have had those "name battles" With our first son my hubby called me one day and asked what I thought about name Israel......it had a great meaning and was rare.....so it sounded great to me:). Many people told us we were crazy giving him that name(family members called him by his middle name for a while). It's interesting to me when people say their baby looks like one name or another. That was the name we chose, he was called by that name from the time we found out he was a boy. It was the same with our second, he was Emmanuel from the 20 week u/s. It's the same with this baby, next week we will find out if it's Zion or Selah:) Those are the names we like, even though many people don't . I would go with the name you like and not worry if it's trendy or not.

Wow...sounds like we're in the same boat! A website we've had a lot of fun "playing" with has been www.nymbler.com In it, you type in your favorite girl/boy names or even your family names and it generates names that coordinate well with them. So, if you input things like Olivia, Emma, or Grace, it won't spit out a suggestion that's way out there, but more of a classic name. You can ask for it to generate a girl's name from a list of your favorite boy names even. It somehow reads the type of names you tend towards to and goes from there. There are multiple pages of suggestions too. I hope that helps. I know my Husband and I had fun with it.

Whew! You can wait to name her once she is born and no pressure in the hospital either. You can take her home as baby girl (your last name here) for a few days. In CA it was 5 days. We discovered this when my baby brother was born and my father told my mother that he had a named picked out and he would share it once he was born...eeeks is right! ended up that he only had a middle name picked out so we brainstormed for a few days. My gf has a 7 month old that also came home w/o a name for a few days aswell. Sometimes they just dont 'look' like or 'feel' like a name you have in mind, you're right!

I had a girl name picked since I was 10 years old. Of course when I became pregnant we were told we were having a boy. So I named my kitten Isabella and told my hubs I had the perfect boy's name. My grandfather's name Emilio. I loved that name. 2 days before he was born my hubs said he hated that name becasue it reminded him of some guy he had hated in H.S. Back to the baby book we went. For some insane reason my hubs wanted a Hawiian name. He, we are not Hawiian, then he went to welsh names and finally he said what about Kel-el? Huh???? He told me it was superman's real name. That was it, my hubs was banned form picking a name. When my son was born 2 day later I looked at him and there was no doubt he was a Marcus. Fits him perfectly. You'll know when you see your girl.

My daughter's name was Margaret Katharine long before she was born....however I'd intended to call her Maggie Kate....when she was born she was SSSSOOOOOO not a Maggie! And so she's just Margaret, still after 13 years not a Maggie, but SUCH a Margaret! Congratulations on your wonderful family, thank heaven's for little girls!

My son was named early on because we didn't know if he would make it. Not to be a bummer, but he did make it and we are very happy with his name.
My daughter on the other hand was 4 days old before we could decide and it was none of the names on my list. But, it fits her.
There is something to be said for waiting even though I was not the waiting kind at all. I just couldn't get dad to agree to a single thing.
If you have names you love, stick with them. See your baby and you will know when she comes out which to choose.
Baby names are so hard because our kids will have them all their lives.
I had the same problem you do....too many suggestions. I poured over baby name books and made lists all of which were vetoed.
You will find the right and perfect name. I'm sure of it.

Best wishes and let us know what you decide when your baby arrives.

You could consider making your grandmother's name her first, instead of middle. Though I'm assuming you've thought of that already :)

Otherwise, we decided on two boys names and two girl names and decided we would wait and see which fit the best when our baby was born (it was a suprise for us, so we needed girl and boy names).

We picked our names based on names we liked and family names. We went through baby books and websites, but in the end I think they came to us just through games my husband and I would play--throw out names to each other and see how they sound. We even went through my family tree book, though that did not help (made for a few laughs though!).

The two names we ended with for girls were Grace Elisabeth and Caroline Elisabeth. Grace we both loved, and Caroline is a take off on my mom's name, Carol. I will say I loved the name Beatrice ("Bea" for short) and the name Abigail (Abby), but my husband was not a fan.

We ended up having a boy, and while we knew his first name upon seeing him, it took us a couple days to decide on a middle name of all things. That one just came to us...

Good luck! The perfect name will come to you.

Okay... for us, we chose a name by going by the "meaning" of the name. You just do a Google Search on "baby name meanings"

For us, we chose names that meant something that we thought was meaningful and had good qualities.
And then we printed out the names/meanings... and chose one.
Then we kept the print out, to keep as a keepsake for our children, about their names.

The point is, you choose a name that you have and love.
So what if it is trendy or classic. And yes, certain names are very common "trendy" names. I for one, KNOW which names I hate. So you stay away from that.
The gist is, you choose a name that you love... not based on the stats or "Top" baby name lists or popularity lists.

Our kids, have names & middle names that we love, and have nice meanings, and reflect their heritage. We chose the names before they were born... and they fit their names very well... and they love their names.

all the best,
Susan

When we knew we were having a son, my husband wanted to name him John. My Grandfather was John, my Uncle is John, my cousin is John, my father in law was John, my husband is technically John Peter (but he's always gone by his middle name). I felt we had more than enough John's to go around already without adding another one to the crowd. When we found our that Evan was a derivation of John - I was thrilled! And that's what we went with. And the name fits him so well!

I don't think I can add anything that hasn't already been said, so i'll just tell you how we came up with our two daughter's names.
With our first, we knew she was a girl, and took a short list of 3 names to the hospital. We agreed on Nicole as the middle name, since it's also my middle name. Two days before she was born was the 2004 Presidential election. We were watching the results on TV, when it was mentioned that George Bush has two daughters, Jenna and Barbara. My husband turned to me with wide eyes and said, "Jenna!! That's it!" I wasn't convinced, but it went on the list. Fastforward a few days, and the baby was 3 days old, without a name and we are about to leave the hospital. The nurse kept kindly reminding us to fill out the forms and turn them in to her before we left. My husband really loved the name Jenna Nicole, but wasn't pushy about it. I have to admit, at the moment of her birth, the first thought that popped into my head was "oh, wow, she really looks like a Jenna!" I knew at that moment that we would name her that. I wrote the name on the forms and my hubby was so happy...i think I even saw a tear or two. And, guess what? She's 5 1/2 and she's a "Jenna!" It fits her perfectly!
17 months later, we had another little girl. She was breech almost the entire pregnancy so at each scan, they couldn't tell the gender. We had a boy name picked out, so no problem there. I had a girl name picked out from the time I was 18 years old that we discussed using for Jenna. I told my hubby in the hospital when I named Jenna that the next baby was going to be my favorite name. We didnt even discuss names during the pregnancy because he knew up front that if it was a girl, Alyssa Faith was the name. We call her Aly.
We did both approaches---waiting to see the baby first and picking a name that had been choosen many years previous. I dont regret either because both names fit my girls to a T.
I guarantee you will just know and you will make the right choice! Good Luck. :)

I think you need to narrow it down. I am 1/2 Jewish and to honor that I decided to look for Hebrew names. Also, in the Jewish religion, they don't name a baby after someone who is still living in the family. I used the middle name to honor someone who passed away in my family. So, if you are French or Greek or want to incorporate your middle name, I think these are all good ideas. Good luck

Updated

I meant incorporate maiden name, not middle.

I used to watch the credits after movies for names....I also paid attention to charactors names in TV shows and musicals.
Being named Margaret, I had a HUGE reason NOT to name MY child some dusty old name. It came down to two...Erin, that I picked out of a book, and Bethany, that came from the little old woman that wrapped her cat up at Christmas in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation....I just had to see her....three and a half years later, Bethany is my sweet lil' pumpkin. The name fits her too a tee.
The ONLY thing that irks me is that stupid woman on Bravo with the show, Bethenny Getting Married? Oh, what a waste of a perfectly pretty name on such an attention junky!!!! Oh welll, I still think I did well.
Case and point, if you dont have exactly what you want...pick a few, then wait to meet your child...it will definitely hit you...I would have bet money three hours prior that my baby would have been Erin.
Good Luck and Congrats!!!!

Whatever you do, please do all your daughter's future teachers a favor and stick with a name that is spelled the way it sounds and is pronouncable. I've been a school librarian for 17 years and can't tell you the number of times I mispronounce a name or just find a name that makes absolutely no sense. I didn't see your earlier post and don't know what middle name you chose-- but when naming our daughter 7 years ago we chose a name that we felt wasn't common (though we have heard more of it since). My suggestion since you are using your grandmother's name for a middle name, look back on both sides of the family at g-g-g-grandmothers' names and see if there is one that "fits" with the middle name you've chosen. Good luck you will be fine.

It might be easiler to help if we knew the middle name you are set on.
I mean if it is Ruth options are very different that if it is Ella.

I believe you know your body and if it concerns you enough to address the issue then it is a concern so don't be so h*** o* yourself
give a little more detail on the middle name and perhaps your son's name to see if they match or sound good calling them together?

I personally would RUN as fast as possible from any name in the top ten...as a former teacher, I did not like having 5 Davids in the same class...there are plenty of name lists and books out there...try not to obsess about this any longer, if only for your own mental health...

This may be tough, as what you think may not be popular may end up so. This happened with my first daughter! It also depends on where you live - I've noted her name is more common east versus west side. We're naming our new baby Olivia Harlow. I'm a teacher and of 450 students, not aware of one Olivia but it is in the top in the baby name lists. Again, area even community specific. I like classical sounding names and something a bit different for the middle (yet named after Jean Harlow, still classical to me) - what about Vivienne, Lizbeth, Victoria, Emma?

My first daughter was named after someone i went to school with who was very intelligent. I wanted her to have an intelligent name. She is now almost 10 and she makes straight a's. My second daughter was not named utnil she was 20 minutes old and the name fits her perfect. My suggestion is when you have her and you can look at her whatever name pops in your head you give her. It is that moment the name she is given can only suit her. You may want to try going back in your husbands family tree and looking at his grandmas great grandmas so forth and so on full name. Since u already have a name from your side it would be tradition to have her full name from someone on both sides. Good luck i always hated this part of pregnancy!!!!..lol

Hi! I had one of those names in school... six others had the same name! Laurie, Laura, Lori.... etc. Ugh. I did not want to do that to my daughter! So, we chose something different, but not too weird. We thought about a season and a month, but decided on a day of the week! I also like strong names like Merit and Miranda :o) I had a name picked out for twenty years, but when it became trendy, I dumped it. (Madison) Sophie and Sydney were on my list, too... but, alas, also trendy. You will hear it during the next few months... THE name that will make you all happy. Relax and enjoy this time that you don't have your hands full! Pretty soon there will be no going out without the diaper bag, car seat, and stroller.... No more running in to some store quickly!! :o) Good luck!
PS. We used my maiden name for our son's middle name.
Maybe you could talk to a librarian? I bet they've seen tons of great names!

When we still didn't know we were having a son, we chose liked these names for a girl:
Samantha (that was our actual choice)
Sydney
Olivia
Victoria Elizabeth
Jordan
The first two names we actually loved because of the short Sam and Syd.
Good luck, I know we didn't make up our minds with our 2nd son until almost due date, and even then I questioned it. We agreed on one we both liked, eventhoug it wasn't either ones favorite. We've grown to like it now.

You've had a lot of great advice here, so I'll just add that you shouldn't stress out too much (I know, easier said than done, right?) With my daughter I had always had a name picked out that I loved, and I ran it by my husband who said he liked it, however when I got pregnant he suddenly said that he hated the name! So he gave his suggestions and I hated all of them! We went back and forth like this for almost the whole pregnancy, until we both semi agreed on Rylee (very common name, but it was the only one we both liked!) However, a week before our daughter was born my husband said that he like the name Sophia, but we didn't talk about it until she was born (she was three weeks early, so it was a surprise!) and once she was born we both looked at her and agreed that she wasn't a Rylee, she was a Sophia. And I know that this name is one of those that is gaining a lot of popularity and that there may be a lot of kids with her name, but when we saw her we both just knew that she was a Sophia Kate (I had already picked out the middle name as well) and stuck with it. Neither of us have regretted this decision - I love her name, and it can sound elegant and cute (Sophia or Sophie). But yeah. I stressed about it so much for almost the whole pregnancy, even to the point of tears at times, but just know that you will find that perfect name for your little girl, even if it is at the last minute! :)

Good luck!

Hi - I totally get what you're saying about classic but not trendy names. I feel the same way! I'm a S. and there were a few others in my class, but not that many. I think it's actually a lot more common now because I'm always spinning around in the grocery store when parents are calling after their little girls named S..

We didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl but we had a few ideas for each. I felt like no matter what, I needed to see and hold my baby to make sure it was the right name! We had a boy and we knew he'd be a Stephen something or a something Stephen, but we had to wait and see. We had a good friend named Stephen who passed away so we knew we wanted to honor him - just weren't sure if he'd look like a Stephen. Well, he did! :)

I actually had no name for a few days after I was born because my parents weren't sure. When I was a kid, I sometimes wished I had one of those trendy names, but now I love it. I have been told many times that I "look like a S." and I think my parents made a great choice. In other words, I think it's ok to not make up your mind before she gets here.

How about asking your older relatives for names of women in your families? You could try just searching for female biblical names or something like, "great heroines of literature" or something like that. Or famous actresses from the 40's. Maybe, "most popular girl names in 1920" or something like, "traditional Irish girls' names" or whatever your or your husband's heritage is. You'll get some duds for sure, but it would be a little more manageable to look at. I also remember being totally overwhelmed when I was looking at thousands of names!

Good luck! I'm sure you'll find the perfect name! Maybe you'll end up sticking with your old favorites or find new ones, but I'm sure you'll find something great.

I also wanted a name that had some meaning. We had our girl name picked out, so of course we had a boy. ;-) We went back and forth about a name and fought and disagreed and everything. It was a MAJOR stressor! Anyway, God told me in a dream to name the baby Matthew, which I later found out means "gift from God." It is common, but he is unique so it doesn't matter. Anyway, if you like nicknames, you can't go wrong with E.. I have had so many nicknames you wouldn't believe it. LOL Our baby girl name would have been Molly, which is like a nickname but has such a joyful sound to it. Anyway, don't stress about it. Just listen to names all around you and look up meanings for traits you want her to have. It will all work out.

www.babienamegenie.com

I am also in this process. I had a few friends tell me that they hated being one of several kids in the class with the same name (Jennifer and Melissa, popular in the 80s). I looked up the most popular baby names and nixed the top 30 or so immediately. Her nick name can also be her initials. Good luck!

Well, it depends on why they don't seem right to you is it b/c they are now more popular or you just don't like them as much. Definitely do a name that you love for your child. I went through the same thing, about 20 years ago I decided if I EVER had a daughter I was going to name her my maiden name. Since then, that name has become more mainstream, not completely popular like in the top 10 or 20, but I've heard it several times. I was hoping to have a completely unique name, but I also still loved it no matter what, especially since it was a family name. We had a boy first and then god blessed me with a little girl 3 months ago. We used the name and although I thought about some other names, I knew I'd always go back to the original one I'd chosen. I always wanted traditional and strong names for a boy but was willing to go a little more creative for girls. I looked in a Cool Named for Baby book that gave some different suggestions, but I think you either hear names or see names that just become favorites. I always say there aren't many names I don't like, but only a few I would pick for myself. It's complete personal preference, but whatever you do make sure you LOVE the name you pick b/c you'll be saying it all day every day for the rest of your life. :) Good luck!

Not knowing the middle name makes it a little harder....you have great suggestions, I however, love boy names for girls. And I love to name my children after something of meaning to my husband and I. For boy names for girls I love: Mason, Cooper, Riley, Avery, Sloan and Parker. Girl names I like are Hadley and Aubrey. My daughter is Logan Kay (after the town of Logansport where we met and were married and Kay for my and my mom's middle names) and my son is Foster James named after the subdivision we moved into when I was pregnant with him (Foster's Run and James is my dad and brother's middle names). Kind of hippy-ish on the first names but it works for us and both kids fit their names perfectly! Best wishes on finding the perfect name - don't stress about it - it will come to you!

i love classical but edgy names, i wanted to name my daughter aryanna, but people told me it sounded like an african american name, but i didnt care i loved that name, my husband didnt, and when she was born she didnt look like a aryanna, she looked like a sarah nycole to me and that name fits her perfectly!!!!!!!!! good luck on ur pregnancy and bby!!!

finding a name is tourcher! good luck. I had mine picked out forever after my bff that was killed, I just needed to talk the hubbie into it. and we used his grandma's name for a middle name (she goes by another name long story but i love it) my DD is : Sara Michelina (Mick-a-lean-a). My next one I like Tessa Eden (Eden kinda like Edna my most loved relative) but the hubbie does not like it so who knows. Go w/ what is in your heart, what you love and dont let others tell you differently. you have to live w/ it...so does she. chances are she will wish her name was something else anyways (why do we do that LOL) just make sure to think of all possiable nicknames bc kids can be mean so you dont want one that leads to easy pickins...if you know what I mean. I suggest that you decide on a few names and say them aloud and as often as you can to see if you like how it feels/sounds/goes w/ other family members names. for example I liked a name but it sounded too close to my neices name which I did not even realize till I said it aloud a lot. It is not a big deal if you wait till you hold her to name her (I did not know I was havign a girl so we had two names picked out waiting to hold the baby LOL). my best advise really is to say/use the names you like as much as you can and yes when you hold and stare into her eyes you will just know! good luck! xo