Argh. Any tips for going back to the drawing board?

pblge

We have rejected all of our favorite names at this point. X(  I was so sure this was a boy that I think I'm also having trouble switching to the girls' names, although I may reconsider some of the names on our boys list that have been appropriated by girls, like Morgan.

I feel like we did all the stuff you're supposed to do--we looked at lists, both came up with names we liked, compiled them together, then rejected every damn one of them. Has anyone ever had to go back to the drawing board? Did anything work for you?

Girls names are just so...girly!!

LadyXaverian

While more unisex/gender neutral aren't my personal style, if you don't like super feminine names, I think you still have plenty of great options. 

Maybe going back to the drawing board for you means searching specifically for those types of names.

For example, when I typed "Morgan" into Nymbler as a girl name and requested more girl names, I got back this list (I'm picking and choosing here):

Tegan

Riley

Jordan

Harper

Bailey

Shannon

Kendall

Kennedy

Fallon

Arden

Quinn

Kelly

Kerry 

Bronwyn

Naming people is really tough business. Good luck to you!

Dr.Loretta

Can you give us some background on what was on the list before? If we know your naming style/preferences, we can throw some names out there to consider.

DH and I had a naming style, but revisited names several times before DD came along.

pblge

Dr.Loretta said:

Can you give us some background on what was on the list before? If we know your naming style/preferences, we can throw some names out there to consider.

DH and I had a naming style, but revisited names several times before DD came along.

My hubby would like to name the kid something like Lake, but I want a name that will look respectable on a resume. My favorite name was Maya, but he hates it because of someone he knew in middle school (!!! Although I know some people whose associations I could never see past). We had Cora, but DH preferred Kora, which is a musical instrument. Someone here pointed out how Kardashian that was (ick), and now I'm worried that Cora is too trendy. Most recently we had Jane, because of the historical significance, which is still a mn option, but we've decided against it as a fn as it's just a little too plain and religious (and there's the Plain Jane thing).

Not many names have made it to the short list in the two plus years we've been talking about this--the above is a pretty complete list for girls. Unfortunately the best family names have been claimed, as we're both late to the game of child bearing (Eleanor, Clara, Alice).

pblge

@LadyXaverian - I like that site! It's new to me, although I knew of similar algorithms on other sites.

Dr.Loretta

Definitely try Nymbler. It may give you some new options.

Look for some nature names that may "look better" on a resume (plant/ocean names like Rose, Lily, Calla, Rosemary, Willow, Bay, Marina, Fern, Ivy, Iris, Magnolia, Wren).

Or variants on family names: Elena, Claudia, Alicia, Allison

You could also try variants on Cora, like Coraline or Coralie

Some other ideas: Anne, Audrey, Elizabeth/Eliza, Lydia, Charlotte, Diana, Eve, Francesca, Grace, Hope, Joy, Julia, Irene, Barbara, Cecilia, Cecily, Jocelyn, Kendall, Meredith, Marjorie, Pauline, Paula, Roxanne, Tabitha, Vivian, June, Elsie

Helenahhandbasket

If neither of you are into "girly" there are loads of names that are female, but not overly femme.

Instead of Cora-- there's Cara, Coral, Corinne, Colette

Instead of Jane-- there's Janna, Jeanette, Janine, Janelle, Jenna, Jeanne

You could also do a double FN-- so something like Anna Jane, Ella Jane, Ruby Jane etc.

 

 

 

DaisyZH

It's tough but I'm sure you'll find something you both like.  FWIW I like Morgan for a girl and I love Jane.

Ideas:

Sloane

Laurel

Winter

Dorothy

Ruth

Bridget

emmy236

DH isn't a fan of overly girly names so I found some that had either simple or unisex NN and that seemed to help.

Johanna - Joey
Lorelei - Rory
Elizabeth - Birdie (no idea why but out of all the NNs he liked that one the best)
Leona - Lee/leah
Juliet - Jules
Samantha - Sam
Theodora - Teddy
Genevieve - Gen/ Eva/ Evie

pblge

pavlovcat said:

It sounds to me like you like no-nonsense girl names rather than masculine/unisex.  A no-nonsense name = sounds like a girl who would climb trees and catch frogs and kick a boy in the balls if he gave her any shit and would grow into a woman who is confident, intelligent, and still willing to kick a boy in the balls if he gives her any shit.

HA!!! You nailed it! One of the criteria that we'd really like, however, is for something without excessive nicknames. Both of us have names that people routinely and horrifyingly abbreviate without our permission, so we're trying to avoid names like that. :-/

Dr.Loretta

pblge said:

pavlovcat said:

It sounds to me like you like no-nonsense girl names rather than masculine/unisex.  A no-nonsense name = sounds like a girl who would climb trees and catch frogs and kick a boy in the balls if he gave her any shit and would grow into a woman who is confident, intelligent, and still willing to kick a boy in the balls if he gives her any shit.

HA!!! You nailed it! One of the criteria that we'd really like, however, is for something without excessive nicknames. Both of us have names that people routinely and horrifyingly abbreviate without our permission, so we're trying to avoid names like that. :-/

Good luck with that. People will find a NN for almost anything.

oliversbear

I'd suggest:

Lorraine
Christine/Kristin
Blythe
Michelle
Joanne
Dianne
Deirdre
Julie
Maxine

danascullyx

pavlovcat said:


There are also some good, strong one-syllable names like Zoe and Liv.  And a couple non-traditional names that, from what I can tell, are actual names (unlike Lake): Lore, Lyra.

Umm, Zoe is NOT a one-syllable name.

pblge

Dr.Loretta said:

pblge said:

pavlovcat said:

It sounds to me like you like no-nonsense girl names rather than masculine/unisex.  A no-nonsense name = sounds like a girl who would climb trees and catch frogs and kick a boy in the balls if he gave her any shit and would grow into a woman who is confident, intelligent, and still willing to kick a boy in the balls if he gives her any shit.

HA!!! You nailed it! One of the criteria that we'd really like, however, is for something without excessive nicknames. Both of us have names that people routinely and horrifyingly abbreviate without our permission, so we're trying to avoid names like that. :-/

Good luck with that. People will find a NN for almost anything.

*************
It's true, but some are more challenging. Like Zoe--no obvious nicknames, no matter how many syllables it has. ;-)

I'm currently grooving on Kyra (I like the Greek spelling), which doesn't seem like it has many obvious nicknames. It's also close to Cora/Kora, which several of you recommended exploring. These are great suggestions!!!! Thanks so much!!!

ETA: Kyra Jane??? :-/

ladyteach0505

I like Kyra... But get ready for many misspellings!

Who knew the name game would be this tough?

Can I also say that I wish I could go back and have my dog and cat names back? Honest to god, I worry they will have better names than my baby!!!

4N6s

I like Morgan. Taylor. Riley. Tiffany. Vanessa. Jessica. Indie. Violet. Genevieve. Clara. Penelope (nn penny). Olivia. Emilia. Liliana. Stephanie. Jaime. Willa. Willow. Emily. Eden. Jane.