@sunshinesea22 we were thinking about Jackson and are now leaning towards not using it for the same reason, after seeing how high up in popularity it's been the last year.
@heyybritt Yeah Jackson and Jaxon are pretty popular, I prefer plain old Jack. Even though it’s fairly common, it just goes the best with our last name vs. my less common name options. Sawyer and Wyatt just don’t flow as well
MH and I both think our favorite name right now is Jack Francis. I feel like I can’t commit to anything just yet. It seems so premature to decide that’s the best name for our baby 5 months before we even meet him. I’m also not 1000% in love with it. I think I’m having a hard time totally embracing it because it’s a fairly common name and part of me wants something different but not too different.
**Lurker here** We named our youngest DS Jack Edward. I get so many compliments on his name. Everyone comments what a strong name it is. And surprisingly it's not super common where we are. Most are Jackson or Jaxon. FWIW I think Jack Frances is great!!
@sunshinesea22 We are keeping my family’s tradition of using a family name as a middle name (did it for DD and will for baby). Nice way to remember / honor people while still giving baby an original name.
What do folks think of Siobhan? We named DD something we didn’t think was overly hard to spell or pronounce, but it has been, so H has been joking we should “lean into it” for this baby.
I also like (thoughts on these?)
Imogen (not Imogene)
Genevieve
Estelle
Marian
Deirdre
Teagan Eliza - most likely since H likes it, too, unlike many.
@adventuresawait2 of your list I think my favorites are Genevieve, though I feel it would be disappointing a bit if she just ends up being Gen someday, Estelle, and Teagan.
And my husband is not into Ivy, but we did bust out the two baby name books last night and have a good laugh. I seriously almost peed my pants and had tears running down my face. It's so much easier to come up with bad names than good names, but at least it was entertaining. It also made us realize that the baby's name is probably already on our short list because we rarely add to the list as much as we look at the books and talk about names. We sometimes find things we both kinda like, but never anything we like any better than some of our top choices.
From last time, Lincoln (nickname Link) was on our list of boy names. It is on our list this time too, I still like it, but not as much as before and I want to explore other options as well. So far DH has pretty much shot down everything I've suggested except for Odin (or Oden), I think he thinks we are for sure going with Lincoln. Middle name will be James. I will not officially name the kid until I see him. With DD we had her name basically picked out and just had to see her to confirm, middle name was a harder decision for her, which left her unnamed for 2 days.
@m6agua I actually asked my midwife what the time frame is for naming a child, legally, like how quickly do you need to file official paperwork... apparently they don't like you leaving the hospital without putting down a name first, but you don't technically have to (at least in my state) you have some time to decide and/or change your mind.
I know a lot of people arent fans of super non-traditional names with weird spellings but I actually got DH to agree to a girls name. We think we have decided on Elowyn. Thoughts?
Also for a middle name we are torn between Rose and Lee as they are both family names.
@randic22 Elowyn sounds very Welsh/King Arthur. Pretty! I like it with Rose.
@adventuresawait2 I love Imogen, it's on my short list too. Siobhan I think is well known enough now that most people should know how to say it (although I have an Esme, so).
@adventuresawait2 I have to admit I wouldn’t know how to pronounce Siobhan. Is the B silent or is the H silent? Do you pronounce every letter? I do try to be good at names but I think if you want to avoid a lifetime of “no, it’s pronounced ...” followed by “S-I-O- B as in Boy- H as in Henry...” maybe stick to different but more recognizable. Any of the others are really cute/good for an adult too. But what do I know, she’s your kid!
@randic22 Love Elowyn! Never heard of it before but I’m guessing it’s pronounced just as spelled. I think Rose goes quite well with that name, very romantic and old Hollywood sounding.
@pirateduck appreciate the thoughts! I really like Estelle, but H has vetoed it. Glad you are having fun with your H considering names that are definite no’s!
@allie456 I really like Esme! I had it on our list for DD but H is opposed. I think Imogen is fun, but we’ll see...
@sunshinesea22 helpful to hear. Yeah, I think you’re right - it’s a lot for a kid to take on. It’s pronounced like “Shivonne” but given Irish spelling, it’s definitely not intuitive.
@adventuresawait2 Ahhh thank you for the pronunciation. We also like the Gaelic names but man are they hard to spell/pronounce! Maybe if we lived in Ireland where people were used to the names it would be a different story.
@adventuresawait2 I'm with sunshine that I wouldn't even have the first clue how to pronounce Siobhan, but maybe where you are located it is more common and wouldn't be an issue
@adventuresawait2 I have never heard of the name Siobhan so idk who said it’s more common 🤣 I had to google the pronunciation. However, I’m very pro do whatever you want! I have a normal name that’s just spelled with 1 letter difference and people fudge it up all the time.
@sunshinesea22@mokay19 I've seen Siobhan also spelled more phonetically in English. There was a brief show with Sarah Michelle Gellar (10 years ago?) where that was her character name too. But I've never personally met somebody with that name.
@adventuresawait2 I’ve definitely heard of the name Siobhan I guess it depends where you live. I also knew an Eion which is pronounced like Owen in Gaelic. I’m not Irish, but these are fairly common names from what I understand.
Guess it probably does depend you live. I looked Siobhan up on Baby Center and it’s in the 3,000s in terms of popularity, so that’s pretty uncommon. We picked an “unpopular” name for DD and it’s in the 300s - way higher! Interesting. I’ll have to sell H on Imogen.
I had 2 or 3 Siobhans in my school/grade growing up, but have not met once since. The one name book I have lists the year a name peaked in popularity so you can see if it's on the rise or on the decline. One of our names, which I said sounded a bit old fashioned, we found peaked around 1930, so it made sense, and is my husband's great aunt's name who is about 100 years old currently and still alive... which brings me to another question...
Is it acceptable to give a child a family name such as that, if the person is still alive and has not passed or is that weird?
@pirateduck people name kids of living relatives all the time... all the juniors and seconds and such are usually of living people. My DD’s middle name is my Nana who is alive. My nephew’s first and middle names are his grandparents (my dad and SIL’s dad) that are both living. Super normal.
Now, there are certain religions/beliefs that don’t I think. But I think you would know if you fall in that category
@pirateduck seconding @mokay19 that people definitely do it and it's more a personal or religious preference. I don't unless they're deceased because of my traditions but so many do. Not sure if you plan on telling people your name ideas but maybe asking if she would be comfortable with it?
@pirateduck it's definitely been done and I think it's a personal preference whether or not it is appropriate. My DH is a Charles (but not a Jr), his dad is a Charles, and his dad's dad is Charlie. My DH doesn't mind it but doesn't want to keep the tradition with baby (that is why baby boy will be named after me). I recently found out that my Mom's cousin, who is about 12 years younger than her, is named after her. They have the same first and middle name. I personally think that's weird since they're so close in age but I think honoring a great aunt is totally appropriate.
@pirateduck my middle name is after my aunt and her daughter's middle name is after my mom so no i dont think it is weird lol also if this baby is a girl she will share a middle name with my mom.
@hayden14 That's funny. Your boy name is one of the top names we're considering. MH even wants to use Thomas for a middle name because it's supposedly a family name on his side, but he can't tell me where it originated, so it doesn't seem particularly special, so I'm trying to get him to think of a more meaningful middle name.
ETA tag
**TW**
Me: 35 | H: 40 Married Sept. 2013 DS1: Nov 11, 2016 MMC: 11/16/18 (9w6d) CP: 2/3/19 (5w3d) BFP! 8/24/19 DS2: May 10, 2020
We are sticking with Jensen middle name is Wayne for DF's dad but I am thinking about adding in my step dads name as well but I go back and forth on the 2 middle names.
@mamaj1220 maybe check your state’s naming regulations. I feel like my friend had problems when she changed her name and had a second middle name or something. She was just following her family naming tradition and when she was not married wanted to retain the family names. I don’t remember it all, but personally like the idea of the two names of you are honoring family members.
So I'm typically the type that doesn't like when names are misspelled just to be different (example I knew someone name Bwraden..why the silent w?!) But, DH wants the name Miya which I love but traditional spelling would be Maya. If we spell it his way it's the first 2 letters of his name and the last 2 letters from my name which is actually kinda cute.
So her name is either Miya Hope or Maya Hope. We still have time to decide I guess
@splashmountain I love the name! Miya is a relatively common spelling and it's meaningful to both of you. No way would I compare that to a "Bwraden" or even a Leighlah (how my niece "Lay-la" name is spelled)
@splashmountain I think it's one thing when throughout time names that have versions in different languages and cultures have developed spelling variations over the years. It has to do with the phonetics of those languages etc. If it's an accepted variation of the name, go for it. I do take issue with people making up new spellings of names that are different just to be different. To me this is like intentionally using poor grammar and rubs me the wrong way.
Re: Hello! Drop your top baby name choices here!
FTM
BFP: 9/5/19 ~ EDD 5/15/20
We named our youngest DS Jack Edward. I get so many compliments on his name. Everyone comments what a strong name it is. And surprisingly it's not super common where we are. Most are Jackson or Jaxon.
FWIW I think Jack Frances is great!!
Eliza - most likely since H likes it, too, unlike many.
- BFP: 3/10/16 — Baby Girl born 11/20/16
TTC#2 April 2019Also for a middle name we are torn between Rose and Lee as they are both family names.
@adventuresawait2 I love Imogen, it's on my short list too. Siobhan I think is well known enough now that most people should know how to say it (although I have an Esme, so).
@m6agua Lincoln is great.
@sunshinesea22 helpful to hear. Yeah, I think you’re right - it’s a lot for a kid to take on. It’s pronounced like “Shivonne” but given Irish spelling, it’s definitely not intuitive.
@randic22 I think Rose flows best!
Is it acceptable to give a child a family name such as that, if the person is still alive and has not passed or is that weird?
FTM
BFP 08/25/19, EDD 05/04/20
Girl: Sadie Elizabeth
ETA tag
Married Sept. 2013
DS1: Nov 11, 2016
MMC: 11/16/18 (9w6d)
CP: 2/3/19 (5w3d)
BFP! 8/24/19
DS2: May 10, 2020
So her name is either Miya Hope or Maya Hope. We still have time to decide I guess
FTM
BFP 08/25/19, EDD 05/04/20
DD #2: May 2020
Baby #3: EDD May 2023; MC October 2022