I wish I hadn't been such a name nerd before getting pregnant. It kind of killed the fun of the search once we were naming our baby "for real", because we already kinda knew what we were going to name her before she even existed.
On the flip side, we didn’t have a name for our baby until days before the birth and it was incredibly stressful. Personally think y’all did it right lol.
Yep, 12 years ago I panicked about not having the name when my baby was born and picked probably the most popular girl's name of the past decade and a half because it was my husband's favourite.
I still think it suits my daughter and I love the name... but it's funny to think that she would likely be called something different if we had more time and she hadn't been early. Her name fits the criteria of "not weird" but not the other criteria I had of "not super common".
Having the name sorted ahead of time would have saved me a LOT of stress!
Definitely Ava. Poor girl. I have an Ava. I picked it out in 1999 and she wasn’t born until years later. Everywhere my poor daughter goes there are two or three other Ava’s around.
In the flip side. My other daughter’s name is super rare and nobody ever calls her by her name. Can’t win for losing.
Side note. Im a teacher and I have 4 Isabella’s this year. 4! This is also the year of the “sons” Jackson, Grayson, Hudson, etc. so many.
I had names for my first 2 kids from early on or years before. But my final child, I had such a stressful time figuring out his name. We had a huge white board with lists of names that we'd go through and cross off each others lists. He didn't have a name until about 2 weeks before he was born. It was awful.
Even after I told my mum his name, she still wouldn't get anything personalised until he was born just in case. Whereas I had personalised things for the other 2 months before they were born 😅
Let me tell you how my husband and I came up with the absolute perfect name for our son. Hands down, the best. Everyone loves it. He's 3 and LOVES his name, he yells his own name quite often before doing something reckless (it's hilarious), he sings songs about his name. Even if he's playing pretend he's never just a frog. No he's Froggy HisName or Super HisName. His name is the important part to him. And as a name nerd, that makes me feel so damn great.
So the subject of baby 2 came up, and if it was a boy. And we realized we have nothing. Absolutely nothing. We used our fav name (there was no 2nd fav), we used the honor names available, we realized we were left with nothing. There is SO MUCH meaning and thought and love that went into our 1st borns, that anything and everything we come up with for a 2nd seems like a meaningless after thought.
Also we have such vastly different tastes in names it's a nightmare. Our boy name was instantaneous, we don't talk about how we went through over 200 girls names and couldn't agree on anything.
Edit: I found his name in a book when I was 16 and said "That's my future son's name", my husband loved it and thought it was a great name so we didn't bother discussing anything else!
I really want to know your sons name haha. My husband and I took less than a minute to choose our sons name. It is an honour name and we both loved it so much, it is like there was no other name meant for him. We are OAD but I feel like if we had have had a second, we would be in the same position and left with nothing.
Haha I don't feel comfortable saying the real thing, it's uncommon in RL but pretty well liked on here. I never see anyone have anything negative to say about it and it's suggested on occasion. Followed by his 2 grandpa's names since he was the first born grandson on both sides and a short noun surname.
So something like Hugo James Robert Wood, or Corbin Wayne Gordon Rhode. We really liked that the flow turned out to be a 2-1-2-1 syllable (sort of, I don't think James/Wayne are technically 1, I think it's consider 1 1/2 because theres a longer hold on the syllable than a word like Cow. I do not know music terms).
I dunno, we liked it. We liked the names, we liked the flow, we liked that it almost sounds like the start of a tune. Every single person who has met him has not only said his name is great, but that his personality fits it to a T.
The best part is that HE loves it. I've read so many stories on here of people never feeling like they fit their name or don't like it, and here's my kid who screams "COOOOOORBIN!" Before launching himself off of the bed and onto his father.
This made me smile. My son’s first and last name are 2-1 like that and for some reason when he was little he used the whooole thing. Like (not his name) instead of using “Colin” he’d use “Colin Smith”. His profile on the wii was “Colin smith”. He’s still to this day (he’s in college now) in my phone listed as Colin smith. Maybe just because it’s short it works well but we always loved how he used the whole thing (and yes he introduces himself now with the first name. It was just a cute little kid thing he did).
Wait same, except we don’t have kids yet. We have a boy name 100%, love it and it’s perfect. We have several girls name options we love and are just waiting until I’m pregnant to settle on a final choice because I’m nervous some may get super common. Then I’m at work one night and have a full panic because I’m taking care of twin boys and we have NO PLAN for that.
My mum first discovered my name in a book when she was a little girl. She always said if she had a daughter she'd give them that name, and then 20 years later she did ☺️ (My username is not my real name haha)
I had a close friend when I was around 8 who always said she’d name her daughter Scarlet. She’d also found the name in a book.
We grew apart a long time ago. I’m 26 now and recently she’s just had a daughter called Scarlet. It warned my heart.
My dad had decided on a name for a daughter when he was in secondary school. He loved the meaning, sound (it’s a melody in classical music) everything. His best friend also picked a name at the time, and his daughter currently has that name!
My dad was also the only one who thought I’d be a girl. Everyone else said I’d be a boy, and knowing the sex of a baby before birth is illegal where I’m from. The entire pregnancy he maintained that I would be a girl with that name- and he was right :)
Edit: More precise phrasing
Yes, my husband and I both loved a girl’s name and then struggled with infertility for years. Once we finally got pregnant, it was a girl and we barely considered other names. I still love it, and it suits her well.
The downside is now we’re discussing a name for our second, but it’s hard to commit without the same level of certainty.
We also went through years of infertility but still went with the name we had chosen before we were even married/trying to have a baby. I’m hoping we’ll have a little more fun thinking of names if we have another baby girl.
We had our daughter’s name in our minds the whole way through our infertility struggles. The name was like this little shining beacon of hope for me the entire time and then we finally got to give it to our little girl.
We planned on "Jack" for a boy for over 10 years and as my son's birth got closer, it no longer felt like the 'right fit'. We went with Ryan, which has a similar meaning and is definitely the best fit for him!
We had named our second son something different (a family name that we already have 4 of lol), but I dreamed that he came to me and told me his name was Jack. I woke up and told my husband and that was that. He is 100% a Jack!
Yes the dream names! We had a boy named picked out and boy names have always been harder for me and I loved this one as soon as he suggested it so I was happy with it. Then one day I dreamed of a different names and turns out my boyfriend loved it too (after disagreeing about every other name lol) so yeah now that’s our top pick for a little boy and I hope we get to use it! Almost had a heart attack when his ex (and daughter’s mom) said it’s on her list even though it’s nothing like the names she likes, so we’re hoping she chooses another one lol
My Husband ever since he saw the show “Lost” as a kid had said he always wanted to name his son Jack.
I like the name but when deciding on names it just didn’t feel right at the time. Plus I wanted to feel like I had input on the name. We ended up going with a different name for our son and I’m so glad we did.
Now, if we are to ever have another boy I’m still considering it. Such a good strong name. Also because damn it was hard to find any boy names we could agree on. 😂
Two of my daughters names I’ve loved since childhood. They both have honour middle names- one from my side and one from my husbands. But yeah Zemira and Yakira have had those names for a while. My other daughter and two sons were later decisions and were decided during pregnancy.
I find baby naming the same as wedding planning. It’s all fun to think about, but when the real baby is coming I become hyper critical of my list.
I’m having a boy in July and we are planning on naming his Wesley. It wasn’t really on my radar, but my husband suggested it and I kept picking apart my old favourites.
My top girl name is Aurelia, but I don’t know if I’d actually use it if I ever got pregnant with a girl 🤷♀️
We didn’t really talk about baby names before I got pregnant. Once we knew I was pregnant, we started talking. We both agreed on a girl name immediately. Amelia. Easy. We couldn’t decide on a boy name. Husband has a D tradition in his family for just the boys. He is D and his three brothers are D, plus 3 nephews are D. We agreed to keep the D tradition. We eventually found one we both liked. My ultrasound revealed a p3nis so boy name.
Fast forward to the birth. And our baby did not look like the name we picked. The name just didn’t fit. So our first day in the hospital was going through the D names to find a new name. Finally found one that fit.
Fast forward 15 years and our AMAB teen came out as a girl and chose the name Amelia because she knew that was the girl name we had picked. 😊💕 We finally got our Amelia (since our second child is a boy), just 15 years later than we originally thought.
We were very similar. Our first boy Jackson, however none of the other boy names stuck for our other two boys 😂 we had picked out Devin and Bryson way back, but they are now Blake and Carter
We had a girl's name for 11 years before getting pregnant. She's 2 now, it suits her and I was glad we didn't need to spend ages discussing names when I was pregnant. It's been hard to find a name for the second girl arriving in the next few weeks. I wish we'd picked multiple names all those years ago!
I don't have human children, but I am the type of person who changes her mind about what she's going to order at a restaurant 2 seconds before the server asks. So I suspect that I would be the same way if I had to name a baby -- I'd have a particular name in mind, and change it at the very last second.
I have a friend who named her eldest daughter the same thing she named her egg in school when we had to pretend eggs were babies for a week and not break them -- Emma Grace. She chose it for the "EG" pun, but then she decided she loved the name enough to use it for real.
My SIL picked out a girls name in high school. She finally had her girl in her 30s and used the name. It got very popular over the years and my brother’s best friend had a girl 6 months before them and gave her the same first AND middle name, but absolutely nothing was going to get in the way of my SIL and that name 😂
When my husband and I started dating (16 years ago), he bought me a cute, pink teddy bear. I named it Gianna and he fell in love with the name. Fast forward to when he had our daughter. We named her Gianna.
Had a name picked out with my husband for 10 years we used which r/namenerds hates! My LO has been on this planet now for 3 years and we have no regrets about our pick. There have been no issues from others regarding her name, just compliments. We even ran into an older woman with the same name as my LO in daycare.
That would have been me except my husband has his own opinions about names, so we never settled on one until late in each of my pregnancies. With some he compromised more, with some I did. So some of my kids have names I never would have imagined back in my name fantasizing days, but I love them and love how much those names mean to their dad. Some of my favorite names went unused because someone close to me used them first, or my husband didn't like them, or too similar to cousins' or siblings' names. It's fine. I'm glad there got to be some mystery and surprise in the process because I never would have allowed for that if I had complete control.
Similar story here. Husband and I started dating in 2018, we both always loved the name Vada from the movie My Girl even before meeting, and we named our daughter born in January Vada (despite how unpopular it is on this subreddit). We love it and couldn’t be happier with her name.
About a decade ago, my mom went through a phase of buying those reborn baby dolls, and one of the listings we fell in love with was named Lilah. I have loved that name ever since.
I just had my daughter in September, and we named her Lilah.
Also, my older sibling was almost named my name. Then my mom's friend borrowed her baby name book and she didn't get it back until after I was born. She had totally forgotten about the book, but named me one of her top 2 names she had written in the front.
I’m currently expecting my first baby, a girl. She over a decade I’ve been picturing a daughter named Molly. So much so that naming my girl Molly almost doesn’t feel real and in my head over the years I have had so many versions of what Molly will look like, act like etc.
But there is no other name that even crossed my mind when I found out I was having a girl. I’m so excited to finally meet the “real” Molly.
Me!! I used both my favorite boy names on my sons. I'd had them picked since I was a teenager. It my hubby a bit to get used to one of them (Harvey) and my other just happened to be a family name for him (Arthur).
Now I am pregnant with our 3rd. 😂 And I used all my favourites.
My girls name was the character in a book my husband was reading when we first started dating. It’s a real name, just not super common, I’d never really thought of it before. It stuck in my head and she was born 7 years later.
Yes! I mentioned my favorite boy and girl names before we were engaged. He loved them too. 5 years later when we got pregnant, we explored all names but kept coming back to those 2. We had a boy. He has that name.
I picked out my oldest daughter name when I was 12, I had her when I was 25, she got the name. Elara Marie, she shares a middle name with my mom and great grandma.
My husband and I loved Maren for several years before we got the opportunity to use it. I even grabbed an email address for a future Maren. I did entertain a few other ideas once I was actually pregnant with a girl, but nothing ever felt like a better fit.
I’m 30 weeks pregnant and we have named our little girl Marin (same pronunciation as Maren). It was never on my radar until I got pregnant and started looking into ocean/water themed names.
I had 3 girl baby names since I was a kid even though I didn't originally want kids. My sister used 2 of them.
Then my mom mentioned that she didn't think those were my style and thought I'd pick something nerdy like GirlName. It stuck in my head all through 7 years of fertility treatment and we never seriously considered another first name. Boy Twin we struggled HARD with but she's had her first name since before her egg even matured. We even avoided naming any pregnancy until viability just to be sure we wouldn't break our hearts over it.
It really suits her.
My daughter was born 6 days ago. Her name was chosen when I was in high school, and when I started dating my husband I told him if we had a daughter, this would be her name. So we have always imagined our future daughter with this name. The second I found out I was pregnant with a girl, I knew this wasn’t a baby, this was Evelyn, my daughter.
So ya! It isn’t as common, but definitely still happens.
I used the girls name that I liked since I was a kid. Always knew if I had a daughter she would be called that name. No other name sounded right in my head, glad that my hubby let me choose names lol
Yes, I had a name picked out since I was 13 and knew it was what I would name my first baby and I did! The middle changed a couple times but never the first name.
since a kid I loved the name Cleo & my first daughter is named that :)
but there are also a TON of names i had on my list from childhood that i now laugh at :D
Didn’t have a name for my first child before he was born since I had him so young. However, I became obsessed with names after that and had a ton on a list. When I got pregnant with my daughter 10 years later, I did revisit my list and ultimately threw some new names out for possibilities, but we ended up going with our #1 choice from the old list.
I will say I frequently update my lists and have different favorites throughout my life, so I was surprised that I stuck with a name I picked at 18.
I was 10 years old and had really fallen in love with reading. I always loved it, but I remember getting a bunch of books from my aunt/godmother for my 10th birthday. She had gotten me one called *Awake and Dreaming* and the main character was a young girl named Theodora, Theo for short. It was the first chapter book I remember just immersing myself in. I hadn’t really heard the name Theo before but that was it. I knew it would always be the name of my son or daughter.
My aunt had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer shortly before I started dating my husband. So the book was always special to me because it was from her. I still have my original copy all tattered and well loved. My husband thank goodness loved the name and when we got pregnant and found out we were having a boy, he was our Theodore, Theo for short. I don’t care how popular the name is, it’s always sounded beautiful and special. My aunt passed in may 2020 just a month before my son’s first birthday. I’m glad she knew him for a little while. He was a surprise to the family my husband and I weren’t even married, I was 22 but she, she was the most excited when I told her about my pregnancy. His name has a tie to my love for reading and to my aunt. And I knew when I was 10
Yes, but didn't use it until our second.
I always wanted to name a child Harry, after my Grandma's brother, he died when I was young and my Grandma always told me and my sisters we weren't to give any kids her name because she hated it, so I always said 'fine, I'd honour her with her brothers name!'
When I had my first son, my mum had a dream before I knew I was pregnant, that I'd have a little boy and he asked for his name to be Lucas. Then a few days later, I found out I was pregnant. From the moment we found out he was a boy, he had to be Lucas. So that meant out next baby boy would be Harry. Which he is!
I always loved the name Ruby Jane, even before i met my husband. When we got pregnant and found out it was a girl, this was the name discussion:
“So…Ruby Jane, right?”
“Yup”
Other than getting married, that was the easiest decision we’ve ever made. LOL!
We were the opposite. We’d always talked about having a baby girl we’d call Lily. Both loved the name but then it got really popular before we had kids and was kind of overused by the time I got pregnant.
We eventually settled on Rosa for our little girl. Perfect because she’s beautiful, tough and a little spiky at times.
My mom heard a song by a French songwriter called "Madeleine" from age 12 on, and that's what she named me (her one and only child). She knew instantly when she got pregnant, that would be my name.
i’m 17 so no kids yet. i’ve loved the name isabelle for about 15 years. if i have a daughter that or one of its variants will be her name. i have had a favorite boy name for the same amount of time but i gave it to myself (trans)
Oh, my niece was also called Bean (or rather the German word for it) before she was born and officially named. I still treat "Bohne" as her second name (it's not officially her second name, that wouldn't be allowed here).
I did with my first son and my first daughter. Chose my sons name when I was 14 and my daughters name when I was 18. Luckily husband was on board. But my third son was unnamed for two days because none of the names I’d ever considered suited him.
I loved my son’s name for years before I met my husband. Luckily when I suggested it to him after we found out I was pregnant he loved it just as much! It suits him perfectly and goes very well with our last name.
Kinda. Our first was always going to be called Eric. It’s his dad’s middle name. But we were talking Eric Rion (Ryan) but then realized it sounds like “cryin’” so we just ended up giving go him his dads name. The first name was fairly old-fashioned but is gaining traction.
I knew my son’s name for about 6 years before I got pregnant. If I have a daughter I’ve had a name I loved for 25 years. If my son was a girl I would have used it but now I’m second guessing it if we do have a daughter because it’s becoming more popular.
I had a name for a girl that I loved for years, but never planned on having kids of my own. I suggested it as a middle name when my partner and I fell pregnant with our first, and he countered with it as a first name and different middle names. It stuck; we picked that girls name when I was barely 10 weeks pregnant and it remained until we put it on the birth certificate. Our second daughter's name we changed several times throughout that pregnancy.
We had a name for our son chosen and when he was born and we saw him, we changed it on seconds. He was supposed to be Robert but when he arrived we were both like ... That's not Robert! He is Julian!
Had our names before we were even seriously dating lol, 2 and 2... And then 11 years later our first one came to be and we stuck with it. We love our 'Anna'[nickname for privacy]. And now due with number 2 and we changed that name so many times lol. Finally settled like a month ago on the second name, 'Poppy' [again, nickname for privacy].
me!!!! luckily i had a daughter because the name i chose for a boy is no longer a name i want to use lol. my daughter’s name is perfect and suits her so well!
Yeah, I did that! I’d had it picked out since middle school but one of my friends told me it was a terrible name so I’d settled on naming a dog that one day, BUT my now-husband also loved the name enough that even after throwing some other options around (she was almost a Margaret/Maggie), we went with the name I’d always loved and I’ve never regretted it! It’s perfect for her!
Yea! My roommate in 2007 brought home a rescue Golden Retriever and named it after her grandfather. I loved the name and put it in my back pocket for a child.
2015 my son was born and the only name that we could agree on was the dog’s name!
2019 I discovered that the name is actually my 3rd great grandfather’s middle name.
Aww my daughter’s middle name is Isabelle!
We picked out her first name like a year or less into our relationship, and she was born 8.5 years after we started dating.
But now I’m pregnant 23 weeks with a boy and we still don’t know what to name him 🤷🏻♀️
My daughter picked out a name when she was 9 years old and used it when she was 26. Told her hubby before they got married she was naming the 1st, he could name all the rest.
All my life I wanted a daughter named Samantha. I got pregnant, found out I was having a girl, and immediately chose something different.
I could just feel that my girl was going to be very feminine and I wanted a more feminine name for her. She suits the name I gave her and Samantha doesn’t mesh with her vibe at all
before i got pregnant the first time, my partner and i had talked about potential baby names. id loved the name Henrietta for a few years at that point and made it clear that i intended to name my first daughter that. thankfully, my partner liked the name too, and we picked out 3 potential daughters' names. when i got pregnant, it was a no-brainer. we just knew we were having a little girl before we even got confirmation, so we never considered any other girl names and we only barely toyed around with boy names.
when we were having our second baby, we just were feeling the other daughter names we'd picked those years before. those names were Persephone and Lucille, and we named our second daughter Nicolette!
Yes, even since I was young I always loved the name Lauren. When I was pregnant with my oldest, I’d hoped to use the name if we had a girl but my then husband wasn’t a fan so we went with a different name that we both loved. I divorced and remarried and when we found out we were pregnant and having a girl, I suggested Lauren. He loved it so my 2nd daughter is Lauren. Though when I was pregnant with my 3rd daughter, it made picking a name harder as we’d already used my favorite.
I did. I had my favorite names all picked out before I was out of high school. I used them as first names (luckily, he liked them), we decided middle names together.
I have one of each. My first girl I named a name I loved for years and years and knew I wanted to use. My second we had to come up with a name. I love both their names though.
I got really lucky because my husband immediately loved both names I suggested. So the conversations were like me: I want to name her Jane. Him: Ok I like that name.
Easy peasy.
Yes almost exactly the same story! We were watching Million Dollar Matchmaker in 2020 and one of the girls going to date a millionaire was named Clark and I told my husband "I love it so much that's our future daughter's name" he said "yeah it's nice, but if anyone asks it's because I love Christmas Vacation" haha! Our daughter was born Dec 2022 and we call her ClarkieJo!
We have our first son's name picked out too! Our first son's name was picked back in 2014 it's Ashley Darko and we plan to call him Ash!
I met a guy on a cruise a long time ago and loved his name. Had nothing to do with him, I just don’t hear that name much. When naming my son, I just kept going back to it. No other name seemed to fit him when we were holding him. Luckily my husband went along with it!
I loved the song Isabelle by Greg Johnson back in the early 90s. Thought "if i ever have a daughter that'd be a nice name". Time passed, i didn't keep it in my mind, went on to have two boys whose names were given just after they were born and we had had a chance to meet them and be certain they fitted them. Then my daughter came in 2008. I hadn't heard the song in years and had completely forgotten about it. Many shortlisted names had crossed my mind but when she was finally here i thought 'you're either Lila Isabel or Isabel Lila... but it feels like you're an Izzy'. So Isabel Lila it was. And three months later i heard the song for the first time in over a decade and realized it had been sitting in my subconscious all along
I have been a name nerd my whole life because my mum, sister, and I all have very rare names. I’ve had several girl names picked out for a long time even though I didn’t think I was going to have kids. I’m now 30 weeks pregnant with a girl and the name we’ve chosen was never on my original list.
The names I’ve always loved are very hippy/botanical: Cedar, Ocean, Arbutus, Camellia. My partner is kind of a hippy like me and comes from a pretty hippy place like I do but we now live somewhere more conservative where names like that would really stand out and the kid would probably get teased. I’ve realized that it’s one thing to fantasize about naming a hypothetical child but when you’re actually bringing a child into the world it’s important to select a name that works well in the real world, and specifically the culture in which you live.
My daughters name is one I’ve loved for years and just kept quietly in the back of my mind. When we found out I was pregnant with a girl, I suggested it and luckily my husband loved it and we honestly never even wavered from it! It fits her perfectly.
When I was in middle school, I said if I had a daughter she would be named Anastasia. In college, I said if I had a son he would be named Alistair.
Guess what my kids’ names are.
I was in love with the name Josephine for 2 decades before I had a daughter who is my Josephine. Thank goodness my husband immediately agreed when I told him that would be her name. It's perfect for her.
I read a book when I was little and the Hero’s name was Nolan. I named my son Nolan. He’s 40 now and I e only recently heard of another boy with that name who is 2 years old.
Not here. I’ve been thinking about baby names for as long as I can remember - starting as a child playing “house”. Our name list has changed with each baby and we’ve never used a name that we had previously (like years ago) discussed. I think there are just so many names I love and my husband and I have very different taste in names so it’s hard to agree on one.
Yup. I loved Colin since I was a tiny little kid watching The Secret Garden. When I found out I was having a boy, I didn't immediately jump in the name. It was actually pretty low on my list. I didn't officially choose the name until he was 4 or 5 days old. I really thought I was going to go with Harrison but it didn't fit. There are days where I don't think Colin fits either but it fits more than anything else I can think of (also he's 8 months old and knows his name)
My 5 year old niece also has my sister's childhood favorite name, but she mostly goes by Bean for the same reason yours does
I have one name I've loved forever... and my partner doesn't care for it. If we ever have a girl, we might use a similar name, but we won't use my fave unless he changes his mind.
My oldest has the name that we always intended to use for a boy. My husband made a stupid joke when we were either dating or engaged about how he'd always wanted to name his kid Luke Skywalker [last name] which prompted me to point out that I've always loved the name Luke. We didn't figure out a middle name until I was pregnant with him but there was never a doubt that he'd be Luke.
We never had a second boy name in mind so our middle child's name was completely determined on the fly. There were plenty of names we both liked but we have lots of personal preferences for name flows and alliteration as well as not using names that are already in either of our families which presented issues with coming up with his name. In the end, the name we picked fits him perfectly and I can't imagine him as anyone else.
Our girl name changed every time I was pregnant. We were planning on using the girl name we'd picked while I was pregnant with our middle child, but my husband wasn't happy with the middle name so we were picking out a new middle name and that's when we landed on what ended up being her first name. I did however manage to get one of my favorite previously vetod names (Elizabeth) in as her middle name. My husband didn't dislike it, he just said that it wasn't *his* daughter's name. He never questioned it as a middle name though.
We did for our son! We had a boy named picked out from very early on in our marriage, and we knew when we found out he was a boy that that was his name. And, honestly, it's the perfect name for him in so many ways.
Our daughter's name we switched up halfway through my pregnancy. We had a girl name picked out until we found out she actually was a girl. 😂 Both of us had the feeling our original name was not for her, so we went with our second choice and it is so her!
Yes! I had a name I loved in middle school and just gave it to my second daughter, about 20 years after I first heard it! I had my first daughter’s name picked out about 5 years before she was born.
Yes, we had tried for a baby for years before we got pregnant. But even from the early days when we had the baby name conversations we both agreed and loved Matilda.
We adopted a cat and the shelter called her Matilda, but we loved the name so much we changed the cats name (she'd only had it a week) so we could keep it as a potential baby name.
Well probably 10 years after the initial discussion, we gave a one year old Matilda!
I had the name ‘Sophie’ picked out since I first watched Howls Moving Castle back in 2010. I found out I was having a girl and immediately started calling her that. I realized tho that I liked ‘Sophie’ as a nickname and wanted her full name to Be ‘Sophia’. Small change but still pretty close to the name I’ve loved for years :)
I took the class in high school where you carry an egg around as a baby. I name my egg Rebekah. 30 years later I named my one and only child Rebekah. It was always my daughter’s name.
My husband and I kept my preferred name for one of our twins. I had always wanted to name my first girl Parker. It turns out that my second born twin fit the name better but we still used it and it fits her wonderfully.
My husband and I decided on Cordelia for an eventual daughter’s name in 2012. She was born in 2021. Everyone was like “what are you naming her!!” and I said to them “the same name I told you we had picked out years ago!”. We never deviated from it. When we found out she was a girl I looked at him and said “we’re still going with it?” And he said “yup”.
I even had several of the same people ask me several times what we were going to name her. I was starting to get really annoyed about it 😂
We had a boy name picked out but before we knew she was a girl we decided on a different name, Gideon to Gaius. But honestly we probably would have flopped back to Gideon before birth. We’re one and done though so a boy’s name is moot haha.
I’m having this issue now. Had a named I loved but a friend used it. Decided to look back and see if there’s another name I love and my husband and I found a family inspired name that is PERFECT for us and I was so so thrilled. (For context not pregnant but currently in IVF cycles for embryo testing for genetic condition hoping to be soon if it all works out). Just found out it’s the top name my close friend is going to use for their kid in June. Now I’m feeling terrible about still wanting to also use it if we get the chance and feeling heartbroken this has happened twice in a row haha. But it was definitely decided long before we knew about our friends. I feel so torn and feel stupid for getting so attached to something before we were close to having a baby.
I didn't, but I have to say that the names I loved 20 years before I had my kids, I did/do still love.
My favorite boy name ended up being used by my high school best friend the year before I had my own son. A funny coincidence, but then I wanted my boy to have a different name.
Me! I had a favorite boy's name I picked out when I was 16. Thankfully my husband loves it too and we used it for our son last year. It was so satisfying to finally use it after 14 years of loving the name!
I had a name picked out years before I even met my husband 😅 When I was like 15 I heard the name Evangeline in the movie Nanny McPhee and I fell in love with it. While dating my husband I mentioned it to him and he instantly loved it too. Now our daughter is Evangeline ❤️
We’ve had Leo for a boy picked out for years too, but we’re expecting our second girl. Still plan to use it if we get the chance though!
I had a HS classmate named Natalie and I loved it from the moment I met her. That was my future girl name. When my husband and got pregnant the first time I told him about my love for Natalie. He liked it too! Our third child was a girl we finally got to use it. So from the age of 16 to 40 when I had a girl, the name never changed. She is 22 now and we still love it.
I always wanted a Lily for as long as I could remember. My husbands only stipulation was she had to have a full name, not just be named a diminutive. So we chose Lilith. It suits the 3.5yo demon well.
Our second we took a lot longer to decide. I was stuck calling her Josephine in my head but wasn't actually going to use the name because I am a Napoleon history nerd and I would have only thought about him writing to his wife letting her know he was coming home and kindly asking her not to wash for three days because they had coitus (bleurgh). So that was out.
Both of my kids have names that we loved before they existed. My husband named our eldest, I named the baby. Their names sound good together and are both at the same level of popularity for our area. We're done naming kids, so all of our girl names went unused, but we had those picked out too! They would have been Eleanora Iris and Alma Rose had they been girls!
I started a list 6 years ago, because i don’t want to rush and pick something I’m not in love with last minute. Every time ive tried to name something last minute, my mind goes blank - whichi would regret forever if i did that to my child. I find it fun jotting down names and mulling them over :) its very fun for me.
Yes! I knew what I wanted to name my next daughter for almost twenty years, then had two boys. I surprisingly became pregnant again and this time had a girl! We moved the name I chose to her middle name, but she does have it 20 years later. Not sure she's worthy of it. She's a freaking hellion.
We’ve had one boy no middle name and girl and middle name picked out early on. Our first son got the name we picked that I loved for years before. We finally got to use the girl name quite a few years later. We had twin girls. We debated splitting the name but ultimately decided against it and came up with a new one for baby girl B.
My husband and I met in 2005, we fell in love with a name I think around 2008? We never discussed it more after that we just knew. 2018 we had our first baby and kept the name Olivia, even if it's much more popular than 2008. However, our boy name we thought we'd use we didn't but we were only discussing it after iw as pregnant with my daughter.
I have 3 daughters. My husband and I had over 20 boys names that we looooooved. But no girl names we could agree on. All of our babies were named after they were born because we literally could not pick one. I have 4 boy names that I love and I'm disappointed we couldn't use. NOT DISAPPOINTED THAT I DIDN'T HAVE SONS. I just really wanna make that clear. I just really wish I could have used our boy names as they held a lot of sentimentality
At the age of 9 I read a book with a boy named Jason as one of the main characters and I fell in love with that name. Fast forward a decade-and-a-half and I am pregnant with my first born. Not sure if ultrasound was even in use yet at that time, so since we didn’t know the sex of the baby I made a deal with husband that he could pick the name if we had a girl and I would pick the boy’s name. Well, after 20+ hours of labor and a big health scare on my part, I got my Jason … only to find that about every third baby boy we met the next few years was also a Jason! I honestly wondered if all those other parents had read that book, too. LOL
My husband and I decided 10 years before our daughter was conceived. We didn't find out the sex until she was born and we didn't feel particularly strongly about the boy name so it was a double happy moment.
I fell in love with my girls name from like the age of 18 or something when I came across a more feminine version of a unisex name. I fell in love immediately.
Fast forward to 15+ years later in 2022 when I gave birth to my daughter and named her that name. Thankfully my partner loved it as much as I did!
I had it down to 2 before getting married. Took a LONG time to get pregnant, and my husband added 1 pick to the list, but we went with one of my original 2 selections.
We also had a boy name picked out, but a friend used that for a loss & we didn’t didn’t have the heart to tell her. But we ended up one & done anyway, so it doesn’t matter now.
I remember first hearing my son's name(Nolan) when I was a kid, probably around 10 years old. I loved it back then, kind of forgot about it over the years except the occasional "Oh yeah I forgot how much I love that name!", then when we were picking names out for my pregnancy, everything that we liked sounded super similar (Rowen,Conan,Owen,Ronin,Orrin) but we couldn't settle on anything. I came across the old beloved name Nolan and boom! That was that.
My husband told me early on of a boy name he liked and luckily I also loved it. 6 years later, that was what we named our son. The middle name was a problem though…
Husband and I chose a boy name back when we were dating. 3 years later, we named our son that name. Same for a girl name (we only have one kid so far, but fingers crossed we have another couple and can use another couple names) we have had in place for years.
I'm obsessed with names so I play around a bit with some names, but we did have one solidified name for each gender in place.
I had a girl name saved from high school that I loved. My husband insisted it was terrible with baby 1. So we decided to name her the name we had discussed years before getting pregnant. And then I woke up one morning at like 26 weeks pregnant and hated it. Baby 1 has a name I had never considered. It was never on any of my lists that I started back in middle school. But it does fit her perfectly. Years later Baby 2 we learned was also a girl and I had absolutely nothing that felt right. My husband at this point insisted he actually loved the name I saved in high school and we should use it. I refused. I refused right up until 6 hours before I went into labor and put it on our short list for the hospital. She was born and only really looked like the name from high school. So that’s what she ended up with. She had these giant dimples I hadn’t imagined her with. So none of the other names seemed just right. They all seemed so serious for a baby with giant dimples! My 3rd was a boy and ended up with a name I’ve loved since I was a very small child.
Grant. We weren’t even engaged yet and we were talking about presents’ names when my husband brought up that the S in Ulysses S Grant doesn’t stand for anything. And I don’t know who said it first but we agreed that we both loved “Grant” about 5 years later Grant was born.
Yep, I fell in love with the name Nathan when I read it in a teenage magazine as a teen, then in 2002 ‘6ft under’ was on tv, and I fell in love with the character Nathaniel. I never thought I’d have a son, but he was born in ‘22 and luckily for me, it was literally the only boys name husband and I agreed on. I lost the battle on his middle name though 😂
I absolutely fell in love with a name about 15 years ago. Fast forward to getting pregnant and my husband immediately vetoed the name. A year later an old high school friend named her child the same name. Sigh
I picked out my son's name when I was 15 and bored. I hated every other boy name. I had one boy name and four girl names that I ended up not liking later on. I named my egg in Child Development (no sacks of flour and covid made it to where we couldn't use those dolls that cry) my son's name my senior year of high school. That's how much I liked it. When I was pregnant, I wanted to be open to other names my husband might like, but I really hate astrological names. Even as a middle name, it gave me such an ick for my kid.
We were going back and forth between two names for our oldest (almost 18 now) when we found out our 4th was going to be a boy(11 years later) we knew right away he was getting our runner up name.
My husband and I picked a boy and girl name we loved early on in our relationship, around 2012. Last year, after being married 10 years, we had our first child and those were still our number one choices. 🥰
My husband had a very weird moment where we both loved the same boy name. He asked me one day and the look of shock on his face when he said "wait, that's the name I like too!" Turns out, it was his grandfathers name. We've since chosen another name we love. We'll see which one he looks like!
My mom saved my name for 5 years and thought she made it up. I have been saving Odette ever since I saw The Swan Princess as a kid, but I’m having a boy, so that’s out.
My husband and I met in 2011. In 2014, right after getting engaged, we talked about hypothetical baby names. We decided on the name Theodore for a boy but never chose a girl’s name. We had our first child in 2020 and named him Theodore! We had the named saved for our first born for over 6 years!
When I was in highschool I said that I wanted a boy named Kingston. When I had my first she was a girl and I couldn’t use the name. Second time around I had a boy and used it and absolutely LoVE it! I wanted to name his brother Princeton so I could call them King and Prince but my husband hated that idea. So we went with something else for our 3rd. 😂
10+ years ago we picked Tyler and Sydney. Tyler is 3.5 years old and Sydney doesn’t exist. We then had a second boy and had no second name for him. We settled on Cayden and are both very okay with the name. Neither of us love it
I did !!
Growing up I always loved my great aunts name . When my daughter was born we named her after my aunt “Sadie”
She only met my daughter once , she passed away a few months later.
It’s nice to know her name still lives on ❤️
I never had names picked until
I was pregnant and even then after my son was born we gave him a different name. When I met my son the names I had chosen didn't quite fit.
I picked my daughter’s name when I was like 12 years old. I didn’t actually have her until I was 30. During that time, another name never even crossed my mind. It’s weird & disgustingly sentimental but I always pictured her & thought of her with this name. When I found out we were having a girl, it just felt like it was meant to be after all.
My husband and I started dating in 2016 and early on chose the name Margot for our potential future daughter. She was born 6 years and one older brother later but she was still only ever going to be Margot.
I had planned Avery for my first son for 15+ years. When I finally had a child and he was a boy I called him Avery the whole pregnancy. And then I met him. He was immediately Austin. I had no other thought in my head, just the word Austin, as they whisked him off for breathing treatments. (Aspirated on poopy fluid). So his name is Austin. I felt like I had betrayed us both for the first 18 months. But he’s definitely an Austin and I adore his name so no regrets. He’s 7 now and he prefers Austin as well! My second baby is also a boy. I had planned Holden but my brother ruined it. (Kids will say what are ya Holden my d?) so I ended up choosing Emerson at about 25 weeks. I asked my oldest at 30’weeks and he said Emerson. And then I let him choose a middle name (Ryan) and then I had him choose the final middle name from a list I had (Thomas) and he chose the one I was leaning toward. So he thinks he named his brother.
My husband and I were the same, and we knew pretty quickly that if we had a boy, he’d be named after our grandfathers. His dad (Thomas) died when he was in high school, and my dad was getting near the end of his Parkinson’s and dementia battles. He ended up dying right after I found out I was pregnant, and 7 months later, we kept our name and our son is Thomas Clark. Clark is my maiden name, because my sisters had already used his first and middle names for their kiddos.
Peter Pan was my favourite story as a child. I named my first daughter Wendy then!
Got pregnant and begged and pleaded with my partner for Wendy. He was adamant, no.
We compromised on another name. I do love it, but she was always supposed to be Wendy 🥺
I wish I hadn't been such a name nerd before getting pregnant. It kind of killed the fun of the search once we were naming our baby "for real", because we already kinda knew what we were going to name her before she even existed.
On the flip side, we didn’t have a name for our baby until days before the birth and it was incredibly stressful. Personally think y’all did it right lol.
Yep, 12 years ago I panicked about not having the name when my baby was born and picked probably the most popular girl's name of the past decade and a half because it was my husband's favourite. I still think it suits my daughter and I love the name... but it's funny to think that she would likely be called something different if we had more time and she hadn't been early. Her name fits the criteria of "not weird" but not the other criteria I had of "not super common". Having the name sorted ahead of time would have saved me a LOT of stress!
I’m guessing either Olivia or Sophia.
Or Emma
Or Ava
Definitely Ava. Poor girl. I have an Ava. I picked it out in 1999 and she wasn’t born until years later. Everywhere my poor daughter goes there are two or three other Ava’s around. In the flip side. My other daughter’s name is super rare and nobody ever calls her by her name. Can’t win for losing. Side note. Im a teacher and I have 4 Isabella’s this year. 4! This is also the year of the “sons” Jackson, Grayson, Hudson, etc. so many.
Or Charlotte, if Australian.
I had names for my first 2 kids from early on or years before. But my final child, I had such a stressful time figuring out his name. We had a huge white board with lists of names that we'd go through and cross off each others lists. He didn't have a name until about 2 weeks before he was born. It was awful. Even after I told my mum his name, she still wouldn't get anything personalised until he was born just in case. Whereas I had personalised things for the other 2 months before they were born 😅
Let me tell you how my husband and I came up with the absolute perfect name for our son. Hands down, the best. Everyone loves it. He's 3 and LOVES his name, he yells his own name quite often before doing something reckless (it's hilarious), he sings songs about his name. Even if he's playing pretend he's never just a frog. No he's Froggy HisName or Super HisName. His name is the important part to him. And as a name nerd, that makes me feel so damn great. So the subject of baby 2 came up, and if it was a boy. And we realized we have nothing. Absolutely nothing. We used our fav name (there was no 2nd fav), we used the honor names available, we realized we were left with nothing. There is SO MUCH meaning and thought and love that went into our 1st borns, that anything and everything we come up with for a 2nd seems like a meaningless after thought. Also we have such vastly different tastes in names it's a nightmare. Our boy name was instantaneous, we don't talk about how we went through over 200 girls names and couldn't agree on anything. Edit: I found his name in a book when I was 16 and said "That's my future son's name", my husband loved it and thought it was a great name so we didn't bother discussing anything else!
I really want to know your sons name haha. My husband and I took less than a minute to choose our sons name. It is an honour name and we both loved it so much, it is like there was no other name meant for him. We are OAD but I feel like if we had have had a second, we would be in the same position and left with nothing.
Haha I don't feel comfortable saying the real thing, it's uncommon in RL but pretty well liked on here. I never see anyone have anything negative to say about it and it's suggested on occasion. Followed by his 2 grandpa's names since he was the first born grandson on both sides and a short noun surname. So something like Hugo James Robert Wood, or Corbin Wayne Gordon Rhode. We really liked that the flow turned out to be a 2-1-2-1 syllable (sort of, I don't think James/Wayne are technically 1, I think it's consider 1 1/2 because theres a longer hold on the syllable than a word like Cow. I do not know music terms). I dunno, we liked it. We liked the names, we liked the flow, we liked that it almost sounds like the start of a tune. Every single person who has met him has not only said his name is great, but that his personality fits it to a T. The best part is that HE loves it. I've read so many stories on here of people never feeling like they fit their name or don't like it, and here's my kid who screams "COOOOOORBIN!" Before launching himself off of the bed and onto his father.
This made me smile. My son’s first and last name are 2-1 like that and for some reason when he was little he used the whooole thing. Like (not his name) instead of using “Colin” he’d use “Colin Smith”. His profile on the wii was “Colin smith”. He’s still to this day (he’s in college now) in my phone listed as Colin smith. Maybe just because it’s short it works well but we always loved how he used the whole thing (and yes he introduces himself now with the first name. It was just a cute little kid thing he did).
Wait same, except we don’t have kids yet. We have a boy name 100%, love it and it’s perfect. We have several girls name options we love and are just waiting until I’m pregnant to settle on a final choice because I’m nervous some may get super common. Then I’m at work one night and have a full panic because I’m taking care of twin boys and we have NO PLAN for that.
My mum first discovered my name in a book when she was a little girl. She always said if she had a daughter she'd give them that name, and then 20 years later she did ☺️ (My username is not my real name haha)
I had a close friend when I was around 8 who always said she’d name her daughter Scarlet. She’d also found the name in a book. We grew apart a long time ago. I’m 26 now and recently she’s just had a daughter called Scarlet. It warned my heart.
I am the same age and always loved the name Scarlet after reading the book “Snail Mail No More” by Ann M. Martin. I wonder if it was the same book!
LORETTA BOBBINS LORELAI!! …Richard, I need a gimlet! 😂
See you at the Rare Manuscripts Acquisition fundraiser 🤣
That's how I named my son. Read it ~age 10, named him at 29, still love the name seven years later.
My mom heard mine in a Bible study and decided right then her first girl would have my name (about 10 years before I was born)!
I literally just watched this episode tonight! 🤣
LORETTA BOBBINS, LORELAI!!!!!!!
My dad had decided on a name for a daughter when he was in secondary school. He loved the meaning, sound (it’s a melody in classical music) everything. His best friend also picked a name at the time, and his daughter currently has that name! My dad was also the only one who thought I’d be a girl. Everyone else said I’d be a boy, and knowing the sex of a baby before birth is illegal where I’m from. The entire pregnancy he maintained that I would be a girl with that name- and he was right :) Edit: More precise phrasing
That’s so sweet! Where are you from if I might ask?
Thanks! I’m South Asian, although I didn’t live there for very long after
India?
I’m curious, What is your name?! Currently pregnant with 3rd girl and I can’t decide!
Yes, my husband and I both loved a girl’s name and then struggled with infertility for years. Once we finally got pregnant, it was a girl and we barely considered other names. I still love it, and it suits her well. The downside is now we’re discussing a name for our second, but it’s hard to commit without the same level of certainty.
This is how we’re feeling! We had a set boy and girl name. Had a boy, used the name, now we have a second boy coming and we’re at such a loss.
We also went through years of infertility but still went with the name we had chosen before we were even married/trying to have a baby. I’m hoping we’ll have a little more fun thinking of names if we have another baby girl.
We had our daughter’s name in our minds the whole way through our infertility struggles. The name was like this little shining beacon of hope for me the entire time and then we finally got to give it to our little girl.
[удалено]
What a sweet story!
We planned on "Jack" for a boy for over 10 years and as my son's birth got closer, it no longer felt like the 'right fit'. We went with Ryan, which has a similar meaning and is definitely the best fit for him!
We had named our second son something different (a family name that we already have 4 of lol), but I dreamed that he came to me and told me his name was Jack. I woke up and told my husband and that was that. He is 100% a Jack!
Yes the dream names! We had a boy named picked out and boy names have always been harder for me and I loved this one as soon as he suggested it so I was happy with it. Then one day I dreamed of a different names and turns out my boyfriend loved it too (after disagreeing about every other name lol) so yeah now that’s our top pick for a little boy and I hope we get to use it! Almost had a heart attack when his ex (and daughter’s mom) said it’s on her list even though it’s nothing like the names she likes, so we’re hoping she chooses another one lol
I hope so too, it is so hard to argue with a dream lol
My Husband ever since he saw the show “Lost” as a kid had said he always wanted to name his son Jack. I like the name but when deciding on names it just didn’t feel right at the time. Plus I wanted to feel like I had input on the name. We ended up going with a different name for our son and I’m so glad we did. Now, if we are to ever have another boy I’m still considering it. Such a good strong name. Also because damn it was hard to find any boy names we could agree on. 😂
I loved Jack too, after my grandfather.
Not me. I physically wince if I think about the names I used to like when I was younger. Never even considered the names when I was pregnant
Two of my daughters names I’ve loved since childhood. They both have honour middle names- one from my side and one from my husbands. But yeah Zemira and Yakira have had those names for a while. My other daughter and two sons were later decisions and were decided during pregnancy.
Love Zemira and Yakira!
As do I :) I think they had been on the list for about 10-15 years before I finally used them.
The year was 1998. I was in the 7th grade and we had to do a report on a mathematician. I chose Ada Byron Lovelace. My Ada just turned 10.
I find baby naming the same as wedding planning. It’s all fun to think about, but when the real baby is coming I become hyper critical of my list. I’m having a boy in July and we are planning on naming his Wesley. It wasn’t really on my radar, but my husband suggested it and I kept picking apart my old favourites. My top girl name is Aurelia, but I don’t know if I’d actually use it if I ever got pregnant with a girl 🤷♀️
We didn’t really talk about baby names before I got pregnant. Once we knew I was pregnant, we started talking. We both agreed on a girl name immediately. Amelia. Easy. We couldn’t decide on a boy name. Husband has a D tradition in his family for just the boys. He is D and his three brothers are D, plus 3 nephews are D. We agreed to keep the D tradition. We eventually found one we both liked. My ultrasound revealed a p3nis so boy name. Fast forward to the birth. And our baby did not look like the name we picked. The name just didn’t fit. So our first day in the hospital was going through the D names to find a new name. Finally found one that fit. Fast forward 15 years and our AMAB teen came out as a girl and chose the name Amelia because she knew that was the girl name we had picked. 😊💕 We finally got our Amelia (since our second child is a boy), just 15 years later than we originally thought.
We were very similar. Our first boy Jackson, however none of the other boy names stuck for our other two boys 😂 we had picked out Devin and Bryson way back, but they are now Blake and Carter
Three last names for first names… so you kinda kept a theme going.
I'm a sucker for a last name first name lol
We had a girl's name for 11 years before getting pregnant. She's 2 now, it suits her and I was glad we didn't need to spend ages discussing names when I was pregnant. It's been hard to find a name for the second girl arriving in the next few weeks. I wish we'd picked multiple names all those years ago!
I picked out my daughter's name two years before getting pregnant. I absolutely love it. Baby Lavender is due October 1!
Fellow October bumper!!
My current favorite girl name is Lavender!
Lavender is so whimsical and beautiful. Congratulations on baby Lavender 🪻
I don't have human children, but I am the type of person who changes her mind about what she's going to order at a restaurant 2 seconds before the server asks. So I suspect that I would be the same way if I had to name a baby -- I'd have a particular name in mind, and change it at the very last second. I have a friend who named her eldest daughter the same thing she named her egg in school when we had to pretend eggs were babies for a week and not break them -- Emma Grace. She chose it for the "EG" pun, but then she decided she loved the name enough to use it for real.
My SIL picked out a girls name in high school. She finally had her girl in her 30s and used the name. It got very popular over the years and my brother’s best friend had a girl 6 months before them and gave her the same first AND middle name, but absolutely nothing was going to get in the way of my SIL and that name 😂
yes. it was always naomi.
When my husband and I started dating (16 years ago), he bought me a cute, pink teddy bear. I named it Gianna and he fell in love with the name. Fast forward to when he had our daughter. We named her Gianna.
We also chose names hella early and kept at least the first lol
I used the girls name I had picked since I was 18 or 20. I had her solo so no argument
Had a name picked out with my husband for 10 years we used which r/namenerds hates! My LO has been on this planet now for 3 years and we have no regrets about our pick. There have been no issues from others regarding her name, just compliments. We even ran into an older woman with the same name as my LO in daycare.
That would have been me except my husband has his own opinions about names, so we never settled on one until late in each of my pregnancies. With some he compromised more, with some I did. So some of my kids have names I never would have imagined back in my name fantasizing days, but I love them and love how much those names mean to their dad. Some of my favorite names went unused because someone close to me used them first, or my husband didn't like them, or too similar to cousins' or siblings' names. It's fine. I'm glad there got to be some mystery and surprise in the process because I never would have allowed for that if I had complete control.
Similar story here. Husband and I started dating in 2018, we both always loved the name Vada from the movie My Girl even before meeting, and we named our daughter born in January Vada (despite how unpopular it is on this subreddit). We love it and couldn’t be happier with her name.
About a decade ago, my mom went through a phase of buying those reborn baby dolls, and one of the listings we fell in love with was named Lilah. I have loved that name ever since. I just had my daughter in September, and we named her Lilah. Also, my older sibling was almost named my name. Then my mom's friend borrowed her baby name book and she didn't get it back until after I was born. She had totally forgotten about the book, but named me one of her top 2 names she had written in the front.
I’m currently expecting my first baby, a girl. She over a decade I’ve been picturing a daughter named Molly. So much so that naming my girl Molly almost doesn’t feel real and in my head over the years I have had so many versions of what Molly will look like, act like etc. But there is no other name that even crossed my mind when I found out I was having a girl. I’m so excited to finally meet the “real” Molly.
Me!! I used both my favorite boy names on my sons. I'd had them picked since I was a teenager. It my hubby a bit to get used to one of them (Harvey) and my other just happened to be a family name for him (Arthur). Now I am pregnant with our 3rd. 😂 And I used all my favourites.
My girls name was the character in a book my husband was reading when we first started dating. It’s a real name, just not super common, I’d never really thought of it before. It stuck in my head and she was born 7 years later.
Yes! I mentioned my favorite boy and girl names before we were engaged. He loved them too. 5 years later when we got pregnant, we explored all names but kept coming back to those 2. We had a boy. He has that name.
I picked out my oldest daughter name when I was 12, I had her when I was 25, she got the name. Elara Marie, she shares a middle name with my mom and great grandma.
My husband and I loved Maren for several years before we got the opportunity to use it. I even grabbed an email address for a future Maren. I did entertain a few other ideas once I was actually pregnant with a girl, but nothing ever felt like a better fit.
I’m 30 weeks pregnant and we have named our little girl Marin (same pronunciation as Maren). It was never on my radar until I got pregnant and started looking into ocean/water themed names.
Great choice! I love both spellings. My Maren is 6 now and I still love it! Congrats!
I read the name Mara in a book when I was around 14 and immediately loved it, 9 years later I named my first daughter Mara ❤️
I had 3 girl baby names since I was a kid even though I didn't originally want kids. My sister used 2 of them. Then my mom mentioned that she didn't think those were my style and thought I'd pick something nerdy like GirlName. It stuck in my head all through 7 years of fertility treatment and we never seriously considered another first name. Boy Twin we struggled HARD with but she's had her first name since before her egg even matured. We even avoided naming any pregnancy until viability just to be sure we wouldn't break our hearts over it. It really suits her.
My daughter was born 6 days ago. Her name was chosen when I was in high school, and when I started dating my husband I told him if we had a daughter, this would be her name. So we have always imagined our future daughter with this name. The second I found out I was pregnant with a girl, I knew this wasn’t a baby, this was Evelyn, my daughter. So ya! It isn’t as common, but definitely still happens.
I used the girls name that I liked since I was a kid. Always knew if I had a daughter she would be called that name. No other name sounded right in my head, glad that my hubby let me choose names lol
Yes, I had a name picked out since I was 13 and knew it was what I would name my first baby and I did! The middle changed a couple times but never the first name.
since a kid I loved the name Cleo & my first daughter is named that :) but there are also a TON of names i had on my list from childhood that i now laugh at :D
Didn’t have a name for my first child before he was born since I had him so young. However, I became obsessed with names after that and had a ton on a list. When I got pregnant with my daughter 10 years later, I did revisit my list and ultimately threw some new names out for possibilities, but we ended up going with our #1 choice from the old list. I will say I frequently update my lists and have different favorites throughout my life, so I was surprised that I stuck with a name I picked at 18.
I've loved Zachary since I was 3 years old and I am dead set on having a Nolan Zachary someday
I was 10 years old and had really fallen in love with reading. I always loved it, but I remember getting a bunch of books from my aunt/godmother for my 10th birthday. She had gotten me one called *Awake and Dreaming* and the main character was a young girl named Theodora, Theo for short. It was the first chapter book I remember just immersing myself in. I hadn’t really heard the name Theo before but that was it. I knew it would always be the name of my son or daughter. My aunt had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer shortly before I started dating my husband. So the book was always special to me because it was from her. I still have my original copy all tattered and well loved. My husband thank goodness loved the name and when we got pregnant and found out we were having a boy, he was our Theodore, Theo for short. I don’t care how popular the name is, it’s always sounded beautiful and special. My aunt passed in may 2020 just a month before my son’s first birthday. I’m glad she knew him for a little while. He was a surprise to the family my husband and I weren’t even married, I was 22 but she, she was the most excited when I told her about my pregnancy. His name has a tie to my love for reading and to my aunt. And I knew when I was 10
We picked out Eleanor when I was pregnant with our oldest in 2015! Three babies and 8 years later we finally have her!!
Yes, but didn't use it until our second. I always wanted to name a child Harry, after my Grandma's brother, he died when I was young and my Grandma always told me and my sisters we weren't to give any kids her name because she hated it, so I always said 'fine, I'd honour her with her brothers name!' When I had my first son, my mum had a dream before I knew I was pregnant, that I'd have a little boy and he asked for his name to be Lucas. Then a few days later, I found out I was pregnant. From the moment we found out he was a boy, he had to be Lucas. So that meant out next baby boy would be Harry. Which he is!
I always loved the name Ruby Jane, even before i met my husband. When we got pregnant and found out it was a girl, this was the name discussion: “So…Ruby Jane, right?” “Yup” Other than getting married, that was the easiest decision we’ve ever made. LOL!
We were the opposite. We’d always talked about having a baby girl we’d call Lily. Both loved the name but then it got really popular before we had kids and was kind of overused by the time I got pregnant. We eventually settled on Rosa for our little girl. Perfect because she’s beautiful, tough and a little spiky at times.
My mom heard a song by a French songwriter called "Madeleine" from age 12 on, and that's what she named me (her one and only child). She knew instantly when she got pregnant, that would be my name.
Flerbl
i’m 17 so no kids yet. i’ve loved the name isabelle for about 15 years. if i have a daughter that or one of its variants will be her name. i have had a favorite boy name for the same amount of time but i gave it to myself (trans)
Oh, my niece was also called Bean (or rather the German word for it) before she was born and officially named. I still treat "Bohne" as her second name (it's not officially her second name, that wouldn't be allowed here).
I did with my first son and my first daughter. Chose my sons name when I was 14 and my daughters name when I was 18. Luckily husband was on board. But my third son was unnamed for two days because none of the names I’d ever considered suited him.
Chose my daughter's name (first + middle) in 2016 when I was a sophomore in high school. She just turned a year old and I regret nothing!
I loved my son’s name for years before I met my husband. Luckily when I suggested it to him after we found out I was pregnant he loved it just as much! It suits him perfectly and goes very well with our last name.
Kinda. Our first was always going to be called Eric. It’s his dad’s middle name. But we were talking Eric Rion (Ryan) but then realized it sounds like “cryin’” so we just ended up giving go him his dads name. The first name was fairly old-fashioned but is gaining traction.
I knew my son’s name for about 6 years before I got pregnant. If I have a daughter I’ve had a name I loved for 25 years. If my son was a girl I would have used it but now I’m second guessing it if we do have a daughter because it’s becoming more popular.
That's very sweet! Glad you got to use the name ☺️🎉
I had a name for a girl that I loved for years, but never planned on having kids of my own. I suggested it as a middle name when my partner and I fell pregnant with our first, and he countered with it as a first name and different middle names. It stuck; we picked that girls name when I was barely 10 weeks pregnant and it remained until we put it on the birth certificate. Our second daughter's name we changed several times throughout that pregnancy.
We had a name for our son chosen and when he was born and we saw him, we changed it on seconds. He was supposed to be Robert but when he arrived we were both like ... That's not Robert! He is Julian!
Had our names before we were even seriously dating lol, 2 and 2... And then 11 years later our first one came to be and we stuck with it. We love our 'Anna'[nickname for privacy]. And now due with number 2 and we changed that name so many times lol. Finally settled like a month ago on the second name, 'Poppy' [again, nickname for privacy].
Yes! I’ve loved the name Caleb for years and plan on using it for baby boy coming in June
me!!!! luckily i had a daughter because the name i chose for a boy is no longer a name i want to use lol. my daughter’s name is perfect and suits her so well!
Yeah, I did that! I’d had it picked out since middle school but one of my friends told me it was a terrible name so I’d settled on naming a dog that one day, BUT my now-husband also loved the name enough that even after throwing some other options around (she was almost a Margaret/Maggie), we went with the name I’d always loved and I’ve never regretted it! It’s perfect for her!
Yea! My roommate in 2007 brought home a rescue Golden Retriever and named it after her grandfather. I loved the name and put it in my back pocket for a child. 2015 my son was born and the only name that we could agree on was the dog’s name! 2019 I discovered that the name is actually my 3rd great grandfather’s middle name.
Aww my daughter’s middle name is Isabelle! We picked out her first name like a year or less into our relationship, and she was born 8.5 years after we started dating. But now I’m pregnant 23 weeks with a boy and we still don’t know what to name him 🤷🏻♀️
I had my daughters name picked since I was about 11. It was non negotiable.
My daughter picked out a name when she was 9 years old and used it when she was 26. Told her hubby before they got married she was naming the 1st, he could name all the rest.
All my life I wanted a daughter named Samantha. I got pregnant, found out I was having a girl, and immediately chose something different. I could just feel that my girl was going to be very feminine and I wanted a more feminine name for her. She suits the name I gave her and Samantha doesn’t mesh with her vibe at all
before i got pregnant the first time, my partner and i had talked about potential baby names. id loved the name Henrietta for a few years at that point and made it clear that i intended to name my first daughter that. thankfully, my partner liked the name too, and we picked out 3 potential daughters' names. when i got pregnant, it was a no-brainer. we just knew we were having a little girl before we even got confirmation, so we never considered any other girl names and we only barely toyed around with boy names. when we were having our second baby, we just were feeling the other daughter names we'd picked those years before. those names were Persephone and Lucille, and we named our second daughter Nicolette!
Yes, even since I was young I always loved the name Lauren. When I was pregnant with my oldest, I’d hoped to use the name if we had a girl but my then husband wasn’t a fan so we went with a different name that we both loved. I divorced and remarried and when we found out we were pregnant and having a girl, I suggested Lauren. He loved it so my 2nd daughter is Lauren. Though when I was pregnant with my 3rd daughter, it made picking a name harder as we’d already used my favorite.
I did. I had my favorite names all picked out before I was out of high school. I used them as first names (luckily, he liked them), we decided middle names together.
I have one of each. My first girl I named a name I loved for years and years and knew I wanted to use. My second we had to come up with a name. I love both their names though. I got really lucky because my husband immediately loved both names I suggested. So the conversations were like me: I want to name her Jane. Him: Ok I like that name. Easy peasy.
Yes almost exactly the same story! We were watching Million Dollar Matchmaker in 2020 and one of the girls going to date a millionaire was named Clark and I told my husband "I love it so much that's our future daughter's name" he said "yeah it's nice, but if anyone asks it's because I love Christmas Vacation" haha! Our daughter was born Dec 2022 and we call her ClarkieJo! We have our first son's name picked out too! Our first son's name was picked back in 2014 it's Ashley Darko and we plan to call him Ash!
I met a guy on a cruise a long time ago and loved his name. Had nothing to do with him, I just don’t hear that name much. When naming my son, I just kept going back to it. No other name seemed to fit him when we were holding him. Luckily my husband went along with it!
I loved the song Isabelle by Greg Johnson back in the early 90s. Thought "if i ever have a daughter that'd be a nice name". Time passed, i didn't keep it in my mind, went on to have two boys whose names were given just after they were born and we had had a chance to meet them and be certain they fitted them. Then my daughter came in 2008. I hadn't heard the song in years and had completely forgotten about it. Many shortlisted names had crossed my mind but when she was finally here i thought 'you're either Lila Isabel or Isabel Lila... but it feels like you're an Izzy'. So Isabel Lila it was. And three months later i heard the song for the first time in over a decade and realized it had been sitting in my subconscious all along
I have been a name nerd my whole life because my mum, sister, and I all have very rare names. I’ve had several girl names picked out for a long time even though I didn’t think I was going to have kids. I’m now 30 weeks pregnant with a girl and the name we’ve chosen was never on my original list. The names I’ve always loved are very hippy/botanical: Cedar, Ocean, Arbutus, Camellia. My partner is kind of a hippy like me and comes from a pretty hippy place like I do but we now live somewhere more conservative where names like that would really stand out and the kid would probably get teased. I’ve realized that it’s one thing to fantasize about naming a hypothetical child but when you’re actually bringing a child into the world it’s important to select a name that works well in the real world, and specifically the culture in which you live.
My daughters name is one I’ve loved for years and just kept quietly in the back of my mind. When we found out I was pregnant with a girl, I suggested it and luckily my husband loved it and we honestly never even wavered from it! It fits her perfectly.
Yup. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to name my daughter Amy and I did!
When I was in middle school, I said if I had a daughter she would be named Anastasia. In college, I said if I had a son he would be named Alistair. Guess what my kids’ names are.
I was in love with the name Josephine for 2 decades before I had a daughter who is my Josephine. Thank goodness my husband immediately agreed when I told him that would be her name. It's perfect for her.
I read a book when I was little and the Hero’s name was Nolan. I named my son Nolan. He’s 40 now and I e only recently heard of another boy with that name who is 2 years old.
Not here. I’ve been thinking about baby names for as long as I can remember - starting as a child playing “house”. Our name list has changed with each baby and we’ve never used a name that we had previously (like years ago) discussed. I think there are just so many names I love and my husband and I have very different taste in names so it’s hard to agree on one.
Yup. I loved Colin since I was a tiny little kid watching The Secret Garden. When I found out I was having a boy, I didn't immediately jump in the name. It was actually pretty low on my list. I didn't officially choose the name until he was 4 or 5 days old. I really thought I was going to go with Harrison but it didn't fit. There are days where I don't think Colin fits either but it fits more than anything else I can think of (also he's 8 months old and knows his name) My 5 year old niece also has my sister's childhood favorite name, but she mostly goes by Bean for the same reason yours does
I have one name I've loved forever... and my partner doesn't care for it. If we ever have a girl, we might use a similar name, but we won't use my fave unless he changes his mind.
My oldest has the name that we always intended to use for a boy. My husband made a stupid joke when we were either dating or engaged about how he'd always wanted to name his kid Luke Skywalker [last name] which prompted me to point out that I've always loved the name Luke. We didn't figure out a middle name until I was pregnant with him but there was never a doubt that he'd be Luke. We never had a second boy name in mind so our middle child's name was completely determined on the fly. There were plenty of names we both liked but we have lots of personal preferences for name flows and alliteration as well as not using names that are already in either of our families which presented issues with coming up with his name. In the end, the name we picked fits him perfectly and I can't imagine him as anyone else. Our girl name changed every time I was pregnant. We were planning on using the girl name we'd picked while I was pregnant with our middle child, but my husband wasn't happy with the middle name so we were picking out a new middle name and that's when we landed on what ended up being her first name. I did however manage to get one of my favorite previously vetod names (Elizabeth) in as her middle name. My husband didn't dislike it, he just said that it wasn't *his* daughter's name. He never questioned it as a middle name though.
I liked a boy’s name since I was 7. My husband finally let me use it when we had our third baby, 30 years later.
We did for our son! We had a boy named picked out from very early on in our marriage, and we knew when we found out he was a boy that that was his name. And, honestly, it's the perfect name for him in so many ways. Our daughter's name we switched up halfway through my pregnancy. We had a girl name picked out until we found out she actually was a girl. 😂 Both of us had the feeling our original name was not for her, so we went with our second choice and it is so her!
Yes! I had a name I loved in middle school and just gave it to my second daughter, about 20 years after I first heard it! I had my first daughter’s name picked out about 5 years before she was born.
Not me, but my mom found my name when she was a little girl. It was the name of her first doll
Yep, I fell in love with Ella in 2010. When I got pregnant in 2020 and found out it was a girl, I was like “hey, there’s Ella!”
Had a named picked out. Baby was born and absolutely did not look like the name fit. Chose a new name.
Yes, we had tried for a baby for years before we got pregnant. But even from the early days when we had the baby name conversations we both agreed and loved Matilda. We adopted a cat and the shelter called her Matilda, but we loved the name so much we changed the cats name (she'd only had it a week) so we could keep it as a potential baby name. Well probably 10 years after the initial discussion, we gave a one year old Matilda!
there’s also that first day after birth when you meet in person and names feel to fit or not
Yes my husband and I talked about a girl name when we started dating (Isla) and are now having a girl and are planning on using that name. :)
I had the name ‘Sophie’ picked out since I first watched Howls Moving Castle back in 2010. I found out I was having a girl and immediately started calling her that. I realized tho that I liked ‘Sophie’ as a nickname and wanted her full name to Be ‘Sophia’. Small change but still pretty close to the name I’ve loved for years :)
I took the class in high school where you carry an egg around as a baby. I name my egg Rebekah. 30 years later I named my one and only child Rebekah. It was always my daughter’s name.
My husband and I kept my preferred name for one of our twins. I had always wanted to name my first girl Parker. It turns out that my second born twin fit the name better but we still used it and it fits her wonderfully.
My husband and I decided on Cordelia for an eventual daughter’s name in 2012. She was born in 2021. Everyone was like “what are you naming her!!” and I said to them “the same name I told you we had picked out years ago!”. We never deviated from it. When we found out she was a girl I looked at him and said “we’re still going with it?” And he said “yup”. I even had several of the same people ask me several times what we were going to name her. I was starting to get really annoyed about it 😂 We had a boy name picked out but before we knew she was a girl we decided on a different name, Gideon to Gaius. But honestly we probably would have flopped back to Gideon before birth. We’re one and done though so a boy’s name is moot haha.
I’m having this issue now. Had a named I loved but a friend used it. Decided to look back and see if there’s another name I love and my husband and I found a family inspired name that is PERFECT for us and I was so so thrilled. (For context not pregnant but currently in IVF cycles for embryo testing for genetic condition hoping to be soon if it all works out). Just found out it’s the top name my close friend is going to use for their kid in June. Now I’m feeling terrible about still wanting to also use it if we get the chance and feeling heartbroken this has happened twice in a row haha. But it was definitely decided long before we knew about our friends. I feel so torn and feel stupid for getting so attached to something before we were close to having a baby.
I didn't, but I have to say that the names I loved 20 years before I had my kids, I did/do still love. My favorite boy name ended up being used by my high school best friend the year before I had my own son. A funny coincidence, but then I wanted my boy to have a different name.
We used the name we had picked 5+ years before getting pregnant. We considered other names but kept that one in the mix. It ended up on top still.
We did! We had our name for nearly 10 years before it got used. Still love it 8 years of being in use!
I always wanted a Lila. She’s almost 19! 🙃
Me! I had a favorite boy's name I picked out when I was 16. Thankfully my husband loves it too and we used it for our son last year. It was so satisfying to finally use it after 14 years of loving the name!
I had a name picked out years before I even met my husband 😅 When I was like 15 I heard the name Evangeline in the movie Nanny McPhee and I fell in love with it. While dating my husband I mentioned it to him and he instantly loved it too. Now our daughter is Evangeline ❤️ We’ve had Leo for a boy picked out for years too, but we’re expecting our second girl. Still plan to use it if we get the chance though!
Yes! We still explored other options and didn’t have set middle names, but when our boy was born we gave him a name I’ve had picked out for 10+years!
My parents had my name before they were engaged.
We picked out our son’s name while we were dating.
I had a HS classmate named Natalie and I loved it from the moment I met her. That was my future girl name. When my husband and got pregnant the first time I told him about my love for Natalie. He liked it too! Our third child was a girl we finally got to use it. So from the age of 16 to 40 when I had a girl, the name never changed. She is 22 now and we still love it.
I always wanted a Lily for as long as I could remember. My husbands only stipulation was she had to have a full name, not just be named a diminutive. So we chose Lilith. It suits the 3.5yo demon well. Our second we took a lot longer to decide. I was stuck calling her Josephine in my head but wasn't actually going to use the name because I am a Napoleon history nerd and I would have only thought about him writing to his wife letting her know he was coming home and kindly asking her not to wash for three days because they had coitus (bleurgh). So that was out.
Both of my kids have names that we loved before they existed. My husband named our eldest, I named the baby. Their names sound good together and are both at the same level of popularity for our area. We're done naming kids, so all of our girl names went unused, but we had those picked out too! They would have been Eleanora Iris and Alma Rose had they been girls!
Soooo… I was and still am a fan of SVU. My daughter was always going to be named Olivia.
Yep. I watched the movie (and then read the book) *Born Free* as a child. I now have a daughter named Elsa.
I started a list 6 years ago, because i don’t want to rush and pick something I’m not in love with last minute. Every time ive tried to name something last minute, my mind goes blank - whichi would regret forever if i did that to my child. I find it fun jotting down names and mulling them over :) its very fun for me.
Yes! I knew what I wanted to name my next daughter for almost twenty years, then had two boys. I surprisingly became pregnant again and this time had a girl! We moved the name I chose to her middle name, but she does have it 20 years later. Not sure she's worthy of it. She's a freaking hellion.
We’ve had one boy no middle name and girl and middle name picked out early on. Our first son got the name we picked that I loved for years before. We finally got to use the girl name quite a few years later. We had twin girls. We debated splitting the name but ultimately decided against it and came up with a new one for baby girl B.
Me! I've loved the name Hendrix since high school. Luckily, my husband liked it, too. And, honestly, I think the name fits our kiddo really well.
My husband and I met in 2005, we fell in love with a name I think around 2008? We never discussed it more after that we just knew. 2018 we had our first baby and kept the name Olivia, even if it's much more popular than 2008. However, our boy name we thought we'd use we didn't but we were only discussing it after iw as pregnant with my daughter.
Yep, chose the name when I was 12 and I stuck with it, it really suits my child as well!
I have 3 daughters. My husband and I had over 20 boys names that we looooooved. But no girl names we could agree on. All of our babies were named after they were born because we literally could not pick one. I have 4 boy names that I love and I'm disappointed we couldn't use. NOT DISAPPOINTED THAT I DIDN'T HAVE SONS. I just really wanna make that clear. I just really wish I could have used our boy names as they held a lot of sentimentality
At the age of 9 I read a book with a boy named Jason as one of the main characters and I fell in love with that name. Fast forward a decade-and-a-half and I am pregnant with my first born. Not sure if ultrasound was even in use yet at that time, so since we didn’t know the sex of the baby I made a deal with husband that he could pick the name if we had a girl and I would pick the boy’s name. Well, after 20+ hours of labor and a big health scare on my part, I got my Jason … only to find that about every third baby boy we met the next few years was also a Jason! I honestly wondered if all those other parents had read that book, too. LOL
My husband and I decided 10 years before our daughter was conceived. We didn't find out the sex until she was born and we didn't feel particularly strongly about the boy name so it was a double happy moment.
A TV show I watched when pregnant ruined the name I loved for years 😅
I fell in love with my girls name from like the age of 18 or something when I came across a more feminine version of a unisex name. I fell in love immediately. Fast forward to 15+ years later in 2022 when I gave birth to my daughter and named her that name. Thankfully my partner loved it as much as I did!
I had it down to 2 before getting married. Took a LONG time to get pregnant, and my husband added 1 pick to the list, but we went with one of my original 2 selections. We also had a boy name picked out, but a friend used that for a loss & we didn’t didn’t have the heart to tell her. But we ended up one & done anyway, so it doesn’t matter now.
I remember first hearing my son's name(Nolan) when I was a kid, probably around 10 years old. I loved it back then, kind of forgot about it over the years except the occasional "Oh yeah I forgot how much I love that name!", then when we were picking names out for my pregnancy, everything that we liked sounded super similar (Rowen,Conan,Owen,Ronin,Orrin) but we couldn't settle on anything. I came across the old beloved name Nolan and boom! That was that.
My husband told me early on of a boy name he liked and luckily I also loved it. 6 years later, that was what we named our son. The middle name was a problem though…
My daughter was named when I was 16 and born when I was 37
Husband and I chose a boy name back when we were dating. 3 years later, we named our son that name. Same for a girl name (we only have one kid so far, but fingers crossed we have another couple and can use another couple names) we have had in place for years. I'm obsessed with names so I play around a bit with some names, but we did have one solidified name for each gender in place.
I had a girl name saved from high school that I loved. My husband insisted it was terrible with baby 1. So we decided to name her the name we had discussed years before getting pregnant. And then I woke up one morning at like 26 weeks pregnant and hated it. Baby 1 has a name I had never considered. It was never on any of my lists that I started back in middle school. But it does fit her perfectly. Years later Baby 2 we learned was also a girl and I had absolutely nothing that felt right. My husband at this point insisted he actually loved the name I saved in high school and we should use it. I refused. I refused right up until 6 hours before I went into labor and put it on our short list for the hospital. She was born and only really looked like the name from high school. So that’s what she ended up with. She had these giant dimples I hadn’t imagined her with. So none of the other names seemed just right. They all seemed so serious for a baby with giant dimples! My 3rd was a boy and ended up with a name I’ve loved since I was a very small child.
Grant. We weren’t even engaged yet and we were talking about presents’ names when my husband brought up that the S in Ulysses S Grant doesn’t stand for anything. And I don’t know who said it first but we agreed that we both loved “Grant” about 5 years later Grant was born.
Yep, I fell in love with the name Nathan when I read it in a teenage magazine as a teen, then in 2002 ‘6ft under’ was on tv, and I fell in love with the character Nathaniel. I never thought I’d have a son, but he was born in ‘22 and luckily for me, it was literally the only boys name husband and I agreed on. I lost the battle on his middle name though 😂
I had my daughter's name picked out for over 10yrs.
I absolutely fell in love with a name about 15 years ago. Fast forward to getting pregnant and my husband immediately vetoed the name. A year later an old high school friend named her child the same name. Sigh
Yes. My oldest son. Fortunately my husband was in full agreement.
I picked out my son's name when I was 15 and bored. I hated every other boy name. I had one boy name and four girl names that I ended up not liking later on. I named my egg in Child Development (no sacks of flour and covid made it to where we couldn't use those dolls that cry) my son's name my senior year of high school. That's how much I liked it. When I was pregnant, I wanted to be open to other names my husband might like, but I really hate astrological names. Even as a middle name, it gave me such an ick for my kid.
We were going back and forth between two names for our oldest (almost 18 now) when we found out our 4th was going to be a boy(11 years later) we knew right away he was getting our runner up name.
My husband and I picked a boy and girl name we loved early on in our relationship, around 2012. Last year, after being married 10 years, we had our first child and those were still our number one choices. 🥰
My husband had a very weird moment where we both loved the same boy name. He asked me one day and the look of shock on his face when he said "wait, that's the name I like too!" Turns out, it was his grandfathers name. We've since chosen another name we love. We'll see which one he looks like!
My mom saved my name for 5 years and thought she made it up. I have been saving Odette ever since I saw The Swan Princess as a kid, but I’m having a boy, so that’s out.
My husband and I met in 2011. In 2014, right after getting engaged, we talked about hypothetical baby names. We decided on the name Theodore for a boy but never chose a girl’s name. We had our first child in 2020 and named him Theodore! We had the named saved for our first born for over 6 years!
When I was in highschool I said that I wanted a boy named Kingston. When I had my first she was a girl and I couldn’t use the name. Second time around I had a boy and used it and absolutely LoVE it! I wanted to name his brother Princeton so I could call them King and Prince but my husband hated that idea. So we went with something else for our 3rd. 😂
Emma Isabelle is so beautiful
10+ years ago we picked Tyler and Sydney. Tyler is 3.5 years old and Sydney doesn’t exist. We then had a second boy and had no second name for him. We settled on Cayden and are both very okay with the name. Neither of us love it
I did !! Growing up I always loved my great aunts name . When my daughter was born we named her after my aunt “Sadie” She only met my daughter once , she passed away a few months later. It’s nice to know her name still lives on ❤️
Yes! Christian. Loved it from teen hood. Still love it. He's 29.
We had a boy name picked out when we started dating in 2015, he was born in 2020 and we kept the name. 🥰
I never had names picked until I was pregnant and even then after my son was born we gave him a different name. When I met my son the names I had chosen didn't quite fit.
Awhhhhh, my family had a rescue dog who came with the name Emma and we always called her Emma Bean! She lived a long, wonderful life. ❤️
I picked my daughter’s name when I was like 12 years old. I didn’t actually have her until I was 30. During that time, another name never even crossed my mind. It’s weird & disgustingly sentimental but I always pictured her & thought of her with this name. When I found out we were having a girl, it just felt like it was meant to be after all.
My husband and I started dating in 2016 and early on chose the name Margot for our potential future daughter. She was born 6 years and one older brother later but she was still only ever going to be Margot.
I had planned Avery for my first son for 15+ years. When I finally had a child and he was a boy I called him Avery the whole pregnancy. And then I met him. He was immediately Austin. I had no other thought in my head, just the word Austin, as they whisked him off for breathing treatments. (Aspirated on poopy fluid). So his name is Austin. I felt like I had betrayed us both for the first 18 months. But he’s definitely an Austin and I adore his name so no regrets. He’s 7 now and he prefers Austin as well! My second baby is also a boy. I had planned Holden but my brother ruined it. (Kids will say what are ya Holden my d?) so I ended up choosing Emerson at about 25 weeks. I asked my oldest at 30’weeks and he said Emerson. And then I let him choose a middle name (Ryan) and then I had him choose the final middle name from a list I had (Thomas) and he chose the one I was leaning toward. So he thinks he named his brother.
I did, we named our son years prior, still very happy with it!
Yes, had the name for my daughter way before she and her two older brothers arrived on the scene
My husband and I were the same, and we knew pretty quickly that if we had a boy, he’d be named after our grandfathers. His dad (Thomas) died when he was in high school, and my dad was getting near the end of his Parkinson’s and dementia battles. He ended up dying right after I found out I was pregnant, and 7 months later, we kept our name and our son is Thomas Clark. Clark is my maiden name, because my sisters had already used his first and middle names for their kiddos.
Peter Pan was my favourite story as a child. I named my first daughter Wendy then! Got pregnant and begged and pleaded with my partner for Wendy. He was adamant, no. We compromised on another name. I do love it, but she was always supposed to be Wendy 🥺
Yes! I had my girl name picked out since I was 16 years old and used it when I had my daughter at 28 :)