Baby Names
DawnLilly
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Flame my name away...
DawnLilly
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in Baby Names
let me start off by saying that we've had a boys name forever which is henry lloyd after dh's grandfather and my father's middle name. we disliked every girls name or just felt okay about the ones we kept bringing up. the girl's mn has always been decided on, mae, which is my mn and my aunts and my grandmothers mn.
okay, now for the first name. i was reading an article "what kids who grew up in the 90's" will have to explain to their children". i said the name outloud and both dh and i looked at each other and were "that's it"! we have to decided to name the baby topanga mae. i am not kidding.
sorry, i'm on my bb and it wont allow me to capitalize letters.
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Re: Flame my name away...
I don't hate it.
I've never heard it outside of Boy Meets World, so I have an automatic association with it. And for some reason Tapioca pudding which I am now craving...
Will anyone our kids age even know? Probably not most.
I can't think of any hideous nicknames associated with it either.
I LOVED Boy Meets World
I read that article, too, so I knew exactly where you were going with this...
Topanga is NMS, but I don't think it's the worst thing you can do. It reminds me of Tallulah a little bit.
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BFP #3 5/13/12 (Mother's Day!) | EDD 1/23/13 | Natural M/C 6/9/12 (blighted ovum discovered 6/7/12 at 7w1d)
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It made me think of Topanga Canyon in California, then Boy Meets World, (the canyon is probably the explanation for the character's name on the show)
Considering the history of Topanga Canyon, it's a pretty crunchy hippie name, which isn't bad exactly but I wouldn't use it.
I don't hate it.
Very different. But dont hate it. MN sounds good with it. I think of Boy Meets World but who doesn't.
I'm not really familiar with Topanga or the show. The flow is fine, it's just nms.
I love Henry Lloyd, though. We originally wanted to use Lloyd as the mn for DS2, but DH changed his mind mid way through the pregnancy.
Dont like it at all.
Even though it was the name of a character on a show (where the inspiration probably came from the canyon) its in the Dallas, Denver, Austin, Dakota, etc. group for me. Its mostly a place. Not a name. Sounds like a completely made up word a 3 year old would come up with.
It was weird on B.M.W and is still weird now.
It's definitely NMS, but I don't hate it. I don't think people making Boy Meets World references are going to be that big of a deal either.
I don't think Topanga and Henry would make a cute sibset though. Just something to consider if you want to use one or the other in the future.
And I wouldnt be able to get past the Boy Meets World association. However I wanted to name a baby Toganga when I was a youngin' because of that show. I actually picked the name Gabriel for my first son when I was very young because of the show, and I still loved it when I was pregnant.
ETA: The youngest Matthew's child was named Joshua Gabriel, and they explained why the chose the name and my like 10 year old self loved it.
P.S. I just googled that article and read it to DH. We were both literally laughing so hard, we were crying. Even though we're both technically children of the 80's, all of it definitely applies.
I love Henry! So cute. I love that Lloyd is a family name, which is my favorite kind of middle name!
But honestly, Topanga is horrible. The fact that you had to say "I am not kidding" after telling us your choice tells me that you realize it might be horrible too. It is not a pretty sounding name at all, in my opinion. I don't usually speak so harshly on here but 1) you did say "flame my name away" and 2) it really is a terrible choice. Keep looking. Mae is lovely, and I think you'll find an equally lovely first name to go with it.
BFP 1/18/11, EDD 10/1/11. Born at 37w5d on 9/15/11.
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This. Topanga Canyon.
I don't think the name is too horrible though, & Mae flows nicely with it.
EDD 07/29/2017
Haha. This is kind of what I was thinking, but not in a mean way. When I was pg, I thought for sure we would name our DD Reese. It was the only name that felt right.....for a while. As time passed, I started having second thoughts, and it didn't feel so "right" afterall. Keep an open mind because there's still a lot of time and a lot of names out there. While I still like the name Reese, it wasn't right for our DD once she was born. We ended up naming her Renee and I'm really glad we chose it.
It may remind a lot of people of B.M.W. but for all the kids in her age group they will have no idea who Topanga is.
Topanga was to the 90's what Tatum is to the 21st century. Don't be afraid to use it because of ONE character on an old tv show. It's a good name!
I agree with all of this! Great name and she was an empowering female character. I love Topanga.
Ditto.
BFP: 10/26/11 EDD: 6/28/12
Honestly, the need to clarify that you aren't kidding is not a good sign.
Sorry, I really dislike this name. It's awkward, the sounds are not attractive, and it doesn't even have a cute redeeming nickname.
I was a huge Boy Meets World fan. In the show it was presented as an off-the-wall name that demonstrated how weird Topanga's parents were.
same
I loved the show, and the character but as a pp stated it was an off the wall name to show how crazy her parents were. Remember the early episodes? She was a crazy liberal, hippie feminist?
OMG, I just realize that I am her. DH and I met in high school where I was much like that and then we got married in college, just like them. Weird. And weird that I didn't really connect it until now.
Anyway, I think it's pretty awful. You'll probably come around. I originally loved the name Shenandoah (a local place name- but also a real name) for a girl and now I'd only use as a middle name, and probably not even then. Maybe try looking at names not on a 90s sitcom list and you'll find something else you're looking for. And try nymbler.com- I punched in Topanga, Henry and Lloyd and got a lot of nice options.
I completely agree. I loved the show and her character, but it would be so odd to meet a person IRL with this name.
That being said, DD's two fish are named Corey and Topanga
Eh. I like different names, but I'm not a fan of this one.
It doesn't feel feminine to me.
Topanga is far from my usual style, but in the five minutes it took me to read this thread and ponder on it a bit, it's grown on me. If the name hit both you and your husband at the same time, and you both love it, I'm sure your daughter will rock it. If you forget about BMW, it's a name with a pretty sound and a lovely meaning.
Don't let one TV show character that hardly anyone her age will have ever heard of impact your choice.
My name is Juliet and have been hearing about "Romeo and Juliet" and been asked 'Where's Romeo' my entire life. Starting before kindergarden. It definitely got annoying, but it was/is okay because it is a beautiful and classic name, and they were referring to Shakespeare. A reference to Boy Meets World, is another story. It's just setting her up for some humiliation down the road. People will think she is joking about her name all the time, and she will hate it.
I just can't think it's okay. My whole family would joke about how Topanga was an awful name when we watched that show... I never even thought it was considered an actual name.
Exactly!!! Weird, not cool. Her parents were very weird!! haha