Name limitations

little_bren · December 2015

Just curious what your personal limitations are in naming your child. ie: My LN is very long so long FNs are out. I love Vivienne but not Vivian but can't use it. I read a post where the parents couldn't use a certain ending or sound with their LN.

daystardreams · December 2015

- I dislike names that end in the -ee sound because I feel like most (but not all) of them are childish. (I love Ruby and Sadie!)

-My last name ends in -er so I also eliminated all two syllable names that end in -er. I'm not sure how I feel about three syllable names that end in -er, mostly just because I love Alexander.

-I don't want names that start in M, J or L because my H and I's names start with J and L and last name is M.

-It isn't a requirement but I really prefer a longer name with a short, cute nickname.

-I also try not to use names in the top 100.

-The last weird thing I do is I like to do the different syllables thing. Like last name is two syllables so middle name should be one syllable and first three syllables (or first one and middle three)

little_bren · December 2015

I tend to like two syllable FNs and one syllable MNs for some reason. I LOVE Ruby but DH vetoed last time and now that DD's name ends in an -ee sound, I don't want another one. That would -really- sound childish.

keri0426 · December 2015

I have gone with girls Initials EV. DS initials are OE so if we were to have another boy I want the same initials as DS1. That is about it.

little_bren · December 2015

keri0426 said:
I have gone with girls Initials EV. DS initials are OE so if we were to have another boy I want the same initials as DS1. That is about it.

Huh. That's interesting.

parenthood4 · December 2015

Names that have a long I sounds (like Miles) or end in t (like one of my favorites, Violet) sound odd with our last name.

My kids names start with C and H, so I'd like to avoid those letters, but it's not a deal breaker.

I used to be a teacher, so I have lots of kid associations that rule names out.

Mamabeagle · December 2015

Our last name is common so the only names we looked at were in the 400-500 popularity range. (And surprisingly we didn't like any higher up!)

I have an unusually spelled first name and swore I'd give my child a traditionally spelled name.

I wanted a formal name, not a nickname.

little_bren · December 2015

kh1824 said:
Names that have a long I sounds (like Miles) or end in t (like one of my favorites, Violet) sound odd with our last name.

My kids names start with C and H, so I'd like to avoid those letters, but it's not a deal breaker.

I used to be a teacher, so I have lots of kid associations that rule names out.

I love violet but DH axed that one too

I work at a psych hospital so I hear you on the negative name associations haha

little_bren · December 2015

Mamabeagle said:
Our last name is common so the only names we looked at were in the 400-500 popularity range. (And surprisingly we didn't like any higher up!)

I have an unusually spelled first name and swore I'd give my child a traditionally spelled name.

I wanted a formal name, not a nickname.

The avoiding a common FN with common LN is the opposite problem we have. We want a very 'normal' name bc our LN is very exotic. I tend to like only the top 100 names

TheBorg7of9 · December 2015

I exclude top 100 names.

Also, our last name ends in -ski. So I avoid -ee sounding endings.

holocene · December 2015

First names that end in S. Our surname starts with S and it creates a horrible effect.

Iris is my favourite name. But we just can't use it. Iris Surname quickly becomes Ira Surname when you say it aloud.

mamakculb · December 2015

Our last name is C____son so I try to avoid names that end in a hard C (like Jack or Brock even though I REALLY like those two names!) I also avoid names that end in a sound that rhymes with son.

I also like different syllable lengths between first, middle and last names.

My first name, Krista, ends in "a" and my middle name is Elizabeth, I've always felt like there's an awkward pause between the names and they don't flow smoothly. I try to avoid that in picking names.

I try to avoid super trendy names, and also super unique names. My ds is Troy and I feel like it's a great balance between the two. Still looking for DDs perfect name!

lm45678 · December 2015

My main think is I don't like girls names that end in ee, ie or y because I generally don't think they age well and sound nicknamey.

I want to avoid top 20 names at least- but if this LO is a boy he will be William after my father regardless of popularity.

MamaWren919 · December 2015

Our ln starts with Ar, so names that end in er don't work.

I like shorter names, 1-2 syllables, because in my experience longer names always get shortened anyway.

I don't like nicknames and would never use a name that comes with an automatic nn (ie Benjamin/Ben).

mthoomom · December 2015

-Nothing "made up"

-No unique spellings

-Nothing super trendy that will make people think "oh yeah, 2016 that name was way popular back then"

-Must have some personal or family significance

-No one syllable names (doesn't sound good with our last name)

-Must sound like an adults name, nothing super cutesy

-Bonus if name is from a favorite artist, composer, or historical figure we admire

dramaphile · December 2015

No K or J names, my name is K, DH is J, and our dogs also have K and J names! Same with hard C names or soft G names, they sound too similar. Not a big fan of first/last alliteration, either.

Our last name is one syllable and very common, so we vetoed a lot of common names and one-syllable first names.

My name is a variant spelling, and I am against giving my child a weird spelling. I would rather them have a less common name with the correct spelling than a common name with a made up spelling, as it used to drive me crazy as a kid that I could find personalized stuff spelled Karen, but not Karyn.

Middle names are chosen to honor family.

Cricket99 · December 2015

-Our last name ends in -son so we have eliminated anything that ends in an -on, -an, -en, -in. It just sounds like too much.

-We don't like trendy or top 100 names as I don't want my kid being one of 4 in a class

-Nothing cutesy with an -ee sound at the end

-Classic names that will work for a 30 year old as well as a baby

-I'm also a teacher, so there are a lot of bad associations from former students to be considered

I feel like my naming requirements are long and complicated, but we have managed to find several names that we love

june2016baby · December 2015

Somehow, we ended up naming our kids all E names, despite not intending to be one of "those people." My husband named our older son. Then for our next child, we could only agree on a name that just happened to be the same letter. For our daughter, I had the name picked out since hs. So it was coincidence that it starts with the same letter as our sons'. As for this last baby, I think it would be too awkward to change at this point.

little_bren · December 2015

Interesting to hear everyone's. We can't use a FN that begins or ends with T bc of our LN beginning with T

groovylocks · December 2015

So i spent a chunk of my life as a musician. I have a pretty good ear - i don't enjoy reading music, i enjoy LISTENING TO and PLAYING music. And this "You can't use certain sounds with certain last names" is not a rule per se, it's what people with an ear for cadence will tell you if you try to combine two names that create cacophony. I can't imagine NOT being able to instantly hear it - Like a kid named Casey Eva (pronounced EE-va) clearly just doesn't sound right because it bleeds together. Laurel Leal also has this, plus a host of other problems. That some people can't instantly hear that in their mind's ear is mysterious to me. So no, it's not a "rule" per se. It's more like... it's like nobody wants to hear bad sounds and it's just avoiding bad sounds.

If you're not sure, that's a good use of this board I think. Two names might be beautiful on their own but combined, are just hard on the ear or tongue. I had to jettison the name Juno from my list of girl names because it just didn't work with our last name sadly.

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