2nd Trimester

Baby Girl Name Dilemma... Any Advice?

So, we know our little jellybean is going to be a girl... and that's great, cause we have had our little girl name pinned down since not long after we got married... Kaylynn Marie. That's after both mine & DH's mothers... Brenda Kay and Carrie Lynn... along with my own middle name.

So, for almost 4 years we've been pretty much certain about this name. Once we confirmed she was a girl, we started telling close family the name and DH's mother loves it! She has been using it on Facebook (despite our requests against it - we are still calling her jellybean, and probably will until she gets here).

However, now my husband's cousin is engaged to a guy named Calen (pronounced the same). So now DH is having 2nd thoughts. For one, he says we'll already have a "Kaylynn/Calen" in the family and now he thinks it sounds like a boy's name.

Personally, I think Calen's name sounds feminine, but the spelling does seem more masculine than our baby girl name (Kaylynn). I love the name Kaylynn, but do admit it will be a little weird having 2 names pronounced the same at family gatherings... still I don't know what to do!!!

I'm named after my grandmothers and I love that! I wanted to keep the tradition going and this name seemed so perfect to me, that is until Calen came along. And I'm afraid I'm beginning to harbor a grudge against Calen, because this guy seems to have suddenly messed up all our perfect plans. I'm really not dead set on the name, especially if DH doesn't like it, and she doesn't have to have my name at all.

I've approached DH with other name options like Brenlyn Marie and Brenna Lynn, but he doesn't like those. I don't know how else to honor our mothers with her name... no other combinations sound good to me. I need help!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Baby Girl Name Dilemma... Any Advice?

  • It is really up to you since this is your ideal name but my suggestion, first name Kay and middle name Lynn.  Drop the Marie.  This way you still have both names, just not as one.

    Other suggestion:  Lynn Marie or Kay Marie

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  • I say stick with your originial plan and name her Kaylynn. You can always call her Kay for short (or some other nickname). Don't change it just because of that! If she had already been born before the marriage announcement, you wouldn't bother changing it so why bother now!
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  • klvklv member

    Are you uncertain of your name because it is unisex and there will be an opposite sex member of the family with that name, or are you in doubt for another reason?

    If you were having a boy and planning to name it William, and your cousin became engaged to a William would you still question your name?

    If you love the name, use it.  The engagement or marriage might end for whatever reason and you would have been stuck not using a name you loved. 

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  • Thanks everybody! I still really love the name and want to honor both mine & DH's mothers with her name, the same way my name honors my grandmothers.

    I think the problem is mostly that DH now thinks it sounds like a boy's name, because Calen is a guy. If Calen had been a female, I'm not sure it would be as much of an issue.

    I've thought about nicknames, but I'm not sure what to call her. I'm not a huge fan of Kay by itself (strangely, my mom doesn't even like her middle name all that much, but loves the idea that her first grandchild would be named after her). Any ideas on nicknames for Kaylynn?

  • How about Katelynn Marie? 
  • I think Katelynn Marie is a good compromise.

    Honestly, I like the name you picked originally and would stick with it. Calen or Kaylynn (no matter how you spell it) is a feminine name. If anything, I would think the fiance would be the one who would think his name sounded kinna funny, not you or your husband.

    Kaylynn could have a lot of nicknames. Maybe Kay, Kaylie, Lynn, Lynnie, Kale, KayKay, et cetera. You guys will come up with something- I'm sure!

    If you don't like any of the nn's, maybe try to blend your mom and MILs names to create a new one. It sounds like your family is on board with Kaylynn and so are you and DH. Keep it!

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  • I honestly wouldn't care about a cousin's wife having the same name. I have a huge family (20+ aunts/uncles, 35+ cousins, plus their kids) It's amazing that we don't have any repeats, until recently, 2 of my cousins named their boys Jacob. But, I really don't see the need to change a beautiful name just because one is coming into the family by marriage...
  • I love the idea of honoring each of your mother's.  It sounds like your husband is no longer on board with the name Kaylynn, so you may have to consider a different way of doing this.

    In looking at their names, the name Carys (a Welsh name, pronounced Kay-riss, and which means "love") Brenda comes to mind.  It's pretty, it's different, and uses a part or all of each Mom's name.  Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have a daughter named Carys.

    Or, you could do a little research and get creative with how you honor the grandmothers.  What months were they born in?  What are their birth stones and birth month flowers?  Those could be great inspiration for a name. 

    I don't know what's up with my siggy and I am too lazy to figure it out.
  • imagemkd00:

    Honestly, I like the name you picked originally and would stick with it. Calen or Kaylynn (no matter how you spell it) is a feminine name. If anything, I would think the fiance would be the one who would think his name sounded kinna funny, not you or your husband.

    for what it's worth- caelan has been around MUCH longer as a boys name.  it is scottish and did not start  as a "girls" name until modern society made it that way.  (just like the name avery.) 

    on another note- i really don't think it is a big deal if your daughter and cousin's boyfriend/husband etc. have the same name.

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  • First name Kay middle name Lynn is adorable! And if you really want her to have part of your name, she can always have two middle names.
  • Kayly is a cute nickname for Kaylynn I think
  • Its up to you and your DH but I would still chose the name I had planned on and loved for the past 4 years.  I would be worried about looking back in 5 years and wishing you had used the name you liked and that had meaning.  I think people look too much into knowing someone with the same name, I mean family is a little different, but you can't help that DH's cousin met a guy with that name (and I agree, it does sound feminine) but how often would you even see this person?  IMO, its not that big of a deal to have the same sounding name at a few family functions every year.  DH wanted to name DD#1 Kaelyn Marie, but we went with Leah Marie instead, and our boy name (if we ever have one) has always been Hayden..that is MIL's maiden name, so really we would have other family members with that as their last name and no one thought anything weird about it.
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  • If you love the name, go with it! In my family, we have SEVERAL people with the same name (some blood relatives, some married into the family relatives). It's never been an issue at all. Kaylynn Marie all the way!
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  • imageleb2be:
    imagemkd00:

    Honestly, I like the name you picked originally and would stick with it. Calen or Kaylynn (no matter how you spell it) is a feminine name. If anything, I would think the fiance would be the one who would think his name sounded kinna funny, not you or your husband.

    for what it's worth- caelan has been around MUCH longer as a boys name.  it is scottish and did not start  as a "girls" name until modern society made it that way.  (just like the name avery.) 

    on another note- i really don't think it is a big deal if your daughter and cousin's boyfriend/husband etc. have the same name.

    Phonetically, it's a boy's name.  I would find another way to honor your mothers.  In the first place, there are a few too many Ys in the FN you've chosen...

    I really like Katelynn Marie, or even the PP who said Carys.  BEAUTIFUL names!! 

    Prudence
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