So much!! Especially when you have no idea what or how to name your daughter! I posted here that I had a short list of names choosen but now I'm not sure any of them seem right...back then I was sure that one of the 5 names would be my daughter's...now I'm not so sure...I've thought of new names...I've revisited old names I'd already discarded...I just have no idea!
Why can't babies come out with their name stamped on the bottom of their foot? Remember Cabbage Patch Kids? They would come with their birth certificate & they had their name...oh sure, you could change it if you wanted but at least you had a starting point!!
I know I should be glad if this is my only worry right now (if only it were my only worry!) but it is forefront...with every day & week that passes by I get a little more stressed that I'll never be able to pick a name...part of me feels that The Perfect Name is out there & it will miraculously come to me & I'll just know, "that's The One". I'm hoping that when I see her for the 1st time a name will just fit & seem right.
For now, I am open to suggestions...so hit me Ladies!! Does anyone have any advice on how to choose a name? Or even just name suggestions?
I don't envy you! It seems like when I was a little girl dreaming about babies I had a list of names. I think I wanted a dozen kids just so I could use all my names. I have a boy name (it's a family name) my co-workers will often refer to my as of yet unconceived child by this name. But girl names? Not a clue! When I watch TV or movies I find myself watching the credits just to see the names and see if one of them jumps out at me as something I like. It would be so much easier if they came stamped with their name on their foot.
ReplyDeleteI have never named a child, so my advice comes with no experience (unless a furbaby counts?), but I think that the moment you look at your daughter's perfect little face you will know her name. If you have a short-list prepared of names you think you may like, just decide on the final one once she's here in front of you...or maybe a totally different name will strike you when you look into her eyes? Don't stress, it's hard to name someone you haven't yet met! Good luck :)
ReplyDeleteGood question. But as the previous commenter said I think many people just know when they see their child. A name fits or it doesn't. I have everything set so let me tell you some of my criteria.
ReplyDelete1. I don't like female names that are simply derivative of male names. Mine is and I don't like that aspect.
2. I wanted to find something ethnic but honestly there aren't a lot of really nice German names out there. Hello? Bertha? Gunhilda? lol No thanks. Next best thing is something Old Norse/Scandinavian since I spent a year living in DK and I now have 'family' there, i.e. host family.
3. I also want to avoid names that are heavy on the Catholic connotation. As an ex-Catholic, that's kind of important but really hard to avoid.
4. Something not too common (more so for a girl).
5. If I weren't doing this alone my last name would be one of my child's middle names. Done in DK and I loved the idea. My niece has our last name as one of her middle names. No go so I'll be using 2 middle names.
For a girl the first name is set: my maternal grandmother's name. It is an old Greek name, not derivative of a male name, adopted by Germans as a traditional name, and isn't common these days. Think the main female character on The Vampire Diaries with an 'H' at the beginning. Pronounceable here and in DK.
First middle name: Ingrid. An old northern name that is not derivative of a male name, goes with my last name, and is not common in Canada but is pronounceable in DK.
Second middle name: Well, I was at a loss on this one until I did a little digging. The first 2 names are actually royal names and I remembered something about the mother of the last czar of Russia. She was the Danish Princess Dagmar. My sister used to tease my mom saying she would name her daughter this because, at the time, my mom hated the name.
I love it because it is old, German, definitely not common anymore, not Catholic, and most definitely not male-derived. And it goes with the other 2. And you don't get any weird acronyms out of the initials, either.
I'm not one for made up names, nor crazy names for first names, nor names with made up spellings. Both my sister and I have odd middle names and that is where I think they should go if a parent feels the need. I saw your list of 5 and none of them are odd. ;-)
Boys? I have a first name picked out and want to use my dad's name as a mn but the second mn? I'm at a loss on that one.
LOL! Sorry for the novel. I see a blog posting in my future ... if things go well enough. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI would select three names, and when your daughter is born.. you will just know. Once you meet her, just select one of the names from your three choices.
ReplyDeleteI would be in the same boat as you are if this one had turned out to be a girl! I have no good suggestions - I just KNEW that the name I've chosen was the name I wanted for a boy. I have no idea what I would have done if I had to come up with a girl's name instead.
ReplyDeleteAnd if I had to come up with two middle names, like Andrea posted, I'd be sunk, boy or girl! LOL
The good news is, she'll love whatever name you chose, because it's HER name. :)