@shellperry I love Aurora! The only name on your list that I know personally is a 2 yr old names Aria.
I get the concern about popular names, but I think there are so many more names in rotation now it is not likely that there will be two or three kids with the same name in one class (like when I was a kid in the 80s with all the Jennifers/Jessicas/Michaels/Johns/etc).
And also, there are a ton of names out there. Sure, Isabella is the 4th most popular between 2010-2017, but there were still only 142k out of nearly 15.5 MILLION births.
My biggest concern is the safety of there name because of how normal are last name is it’s Perry. And my husband who’s name is James Perry has problems all the time because of how popular his name is. But Aurora is my top pic Aurora Ann.
@shellperry .. I also don’t think Perry is that super common of a last name, honestly. I know two Perry families personally, and one of them only because we are related (my aunt married a Perry).
Point being, name your kid what you want. I don’t really get the ‘safety’ concern, but you do you.
@shellperry- What's your safety concern? I'm intrigued. Also, it's funny how the way we interact globally now has changed this. I regularly get emails to my gmail for people who have my first and last name in the U.K., in Australia, and in Atlanta. But I have never met or heard of someone with my name in all my 42 years otherwise.
My husbands name is James Perry Which is very common name he has had his identity taxes drivers license electric bills you name it mixed up with other james Perry. He even was receiving the wrong pay through the military for four months due to the mixing up his name with a Another james Perry. It’s a constant thing for us with taxes with everything because of how common his name Is
Yeah, about security concerns, I have a friend with very common first and last names who’s had a problem where other people with the same name as him commit felonies and then those convictions have repeatedly been erroneously attached to his social security number. That’s caused him no end of legal and professional trouble. It’s a real problem where people with common names are more often the victim of identity theft, both accidental and intentional. That said, I also have a friend with a very very uncommon name who once pled guilty to a misdemeanor as a teenager. That event ended up in a local paper, and now when you google him it’s all you see. If he had a more common name maybe he’d have been more able to leave that behind him? I’m not sure. So it seems like maybe it goes both ways.
@wrensnest DD's first/last initials are BJ - I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you live in an area where monograms are must haves. Even then, BJ wouldn't bother me. I grew up with a few kids that went by BJ.
I actually do have a question - We've settled on a first name. DH wants to give DS2 the same MNs as DS1. Is that weird? I like how the names sound, but wasn't sure if it would be weird that our boys have the same middle names.
I don’t think that’s weird @kayjay44. H has the same middle name as all his cousins and some of their kids. If he had any siblings, chances are they’d have the same mn too.
DS born 2/18/2019 DD born 4/1/2023 Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
@kayjay44 a bit weird in my books but I'd just assume it's a hugely significant name to your family. I've got tons of family names to chose from so I wouldn't personally repeat a name.
@kayjay44 my brother and I have the same middle name (it’s also my dad’s middle name). No one outside our family knows or has offered an opinion, not that we care 😂
@kayjay44 I know of families that have a strong family name that they keep as middle names for multiple children in families. I don’t think it’s that uncommon!
@kayjay44 I just realized my sister and two female cousins have the same middle names (all same side of family). They are all middle name Marie...and they all have N names! My two cousins are BOTH Nicole Marie lol. My sister is Noelle Marie and here I am, Danielle Patricia.
I want to fall in love with a name but every time I think I really like a name I talk myself out of it. 18 months later and I still feel slightly meh on DS’s name. Carson is a current favorite for a boy so I really hope I continue to like it. Girl names are so much harder. We like Maren and Eleanor currently. Both of which I like but don’t feel like I can commit. I want to be team green but I also know the name decision would at least be narrowed if we knew boy or girl.
Okay, so now that we know it's a boy, we've actually managed to come up with a couple potential names. There's no way we'll name him Eilev sadly, because H really hates the name. But, we've made progress! Most likely our lil guy will be named Iver or Henry.
Iver- The good: We both like it! It's short and concise, and it has four letters which will make him the fourth boy in a direct line of four letter boy names on H's side (John, Paul, Eric, Iver), which is pretty fun. It's also a traditional family name from my mom's family, but no currently living relatives have that name, so that's pretty perfect in my book. The bad: He'll have to correct people's pronunciation a lot. It's pronounced "Ee-ver", and English speakers will default to "Eye-ver". There's also a local fish restaurant chain here called Ivar's (named after a Norwegian, of course), so he might get some flak for that maybe? Also H's best friend's son is named Ivan, which I don't think matters but H thinks it does.
Henry - The good: It's a solid name we both like, and it's well known and used in both the US and Norway. Pronunciation is the same in both languages, which is rare! He'll never have any issues with people spelling or pronouncing his first name, and his last name is very uncommon so his full name won't be shared with anyone else in the world. The bad: It's common, and predicted to become even more common. That said, common names now aren't as common as common names in the past, so while we might bump into another Henry or two it's unlikely that every other kid in school will be named Henry, like how every other kid was named John 60 years ago or so.
So, I guess the bad things about both names are basically trying to find a balance between too uncommon and difficult to pronounce/spell, or too common and will blend in too well. I don't necessarily think the other bad things about Iver (restaurant chain and friend's kid's name) matter. But it's hard! At least we have it narrowed down to two names that we actually agree on, which is a relief since I hate most of H's suggestions and he hates most of mine. A girl would have been so much easier to name! Anyway, thanks for reading this whole goddang essay, and feel free to add opinions if you wish.
DS born 2/18/2019 DD born 4/1/2023 Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
@grebretso I like them both but would personally choose Henry because you’re very right about mispronounciation of Iver. I pronounced it wrong in my head at first too
Pronunciation is a tricky bastard. Adalina is my daughter’s name. Sort of a Spanish play on Adeline. We say it ah-da-leena. Pretty much anyone that doesn’t speak Spanish says add-a-leena. I’m curious to see if she going to want to go by a nickname and/or correct people or not.
Oh no @BourbonBiscuits I didn't even think of Bon Iver! Eep. Really don't like that band and H hates it. I hope people wouldn't think we named our kid after a twee pop band, lol. Do they still even exist though? Maybe people will forget about them, especially when kiddo is older.
DS born 2/18/2019 DD born 4/1/2023 Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
People will definitely forget about them because they sucked lol @grebretso. I say name him whatever you want, people spell my kids name wrong alllllll the time and it bugs me but what can you do? His name is Elliott and all I hear is “oh like in ET?” Yeah we totally named our kid after the kid in ET
That's hilarious @BourbonBiscuits! And yeah, we'll just have to explain to people that Bon Iver is by no means connected to our son. I'm not going to remind H of their existence though, if he realizes he might veto the name. Yikes!
DS born 2/18/2019 DD born 4/1/2023 Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
@madreofdragons I don't speak Spanish, and I pronounced your daughter's name ah-da-leena in my head. Maybe it's because I'm not a native English speaker? Either way, it's a lovely name!
DS born 2/18/2019 DD born 4/1/2023 Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
I thought of bon iver and we also have Ivars here, so I don’t think it would get too messed up.
I also like Henry (since we’re going with Henrik).
Maybe keep an an open mind and name him when he gets here? We had two boy names (and no girl names - team green) for DS and named him on the spot when he was born.
@kayjay44 The impatient control freak in me is against waiting till he's here, but that's essentially what we were going to do if it was a girl anyway since we had two names we both loved and couldn't decide between. I just have to remind myself there's no rush, we still have four-five months left! It's nice to know we have options though.
DS born 2/18/2019 DD born 4/1/2023 Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
I do really like Iver but as someone with a name that people struggle to pronounce (and it's also only 4 letters - EYEROLL people!), I tend to gravitate to names that are easily recognizable/ easy to pronounce.
Henry is such a classic name! Would Iver be a possibility for a middle or are there other contenders for that?
@okayestmom12 Middle name will be my last name! I didn’t change my name when we got married, so I want there to be a little bit of my identity in the mix too. Especially now that we know it’s a boy, and if history repeats itself he won’t look anything like me either...
Both of our last names are three syllables each and they’re both pretty uncommon, so I don’t know if it’s best to go full-on Norwegian/difficult to pronounce (he’ll have to spell his last name a lot anyway), or if we should keep the first name simple to spare him. At least both names we’re choosing between are only two syllables each!
DS born 2/18/2019 DD born 4/1/2023 Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
@grebretso I really like both of your options, but understand your qualms about each. I tend to gravitate toward less common names, so I LOVE Iver. I also completely understand not wanting to wait! Gotta have those ducks lined up! Lol.
Great options @grebretso! I don't think you can go wrong. I lean slightly towards Henry because I like simpler names but Iver isn't all that out there.
Re: The Great Name Thread!
I get the concern about popular names, but I think there are so many more names in rotation now it is not likely that there will be two or three kids with the same name in one class (like when I was a kid in the 80s with all the Jennifers/Jessicas/Michaels/Johns/etc).
Point being, name your kid what you want. I don’t really get the ‘safety’ concern, but you do you.
Also, it's funny how the way we interact globally now has changed this. I regularly get emails to my gmail for people who have my first and last name in the U.K., in Australia, and in Atlanta. But I have never met or heard of someone with my name in all my 42 years otherwise.
BFP 6.8.2018 EDD 02.18.2019
BFP 6.8.2018 EDD 02.18.2019
DD born 4/1/2023
Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
@disneybaby84 - Great name!
MMC 2.12.11 @ 8w
PVM 5.8.12
GWM 3.17.15
RPM 2.21.19
Iver - The good: We both like it! It's short and concise, and it has four letters which will make him the fourth boy in a direct line of four letter boy names on H's side (John, Paul, Eric, Iver), which is pretty fun. It's also a traditional family name from my mom's family, but no currently living relatives have that name, so that's pretty perfect in my book. The bad: He'll have to correct people's pronunciation a lot. It's pronounced "Ee-ver", and English speakers will default to "Eye-ver". There's also a local fish restaurant chain here called Ivar's (named after a Norwegian, of course), so he might get some flak for that maybe? Also H's best friend's son is named Ivan, which I don't think matters but H thinks it does.
Henry - The good: It's a solid name we both like, and it's well known and used in both the US and Norway. Pronunciation is the same in both languages, which is rare! He'll never have any issues with people spelling or pronouncing his first name, and his last name is very uncommon so his full name won't be shared with anyone else in the world. The bad: It's common, and predicted to become even more common. That said, common names now aren't as common as common names in the past, so while we might bump into another Henry or two it's unlikely that every other kid in school will be named Henry, like how every other kid was named John 60 years ago or so.
So, I guess the bad things about both names are basically trying to find a balance between too uncommon and difficult to pronounce/spell, or too common and will blend in too well. I don't necessarily think the other bad things about Iver (restaurant chain and friend's kid's name) matter. But it's hard! At least we have it narrowed down to two names that we actually agree on, which is a relief since I hate most of H's suggestions and he hates most of mine. A girl would have been so much easier to name! Anyway, thanks for reading this whole goddang essay, and feel free to add opinions if you wish.
DD born 4/1/2023
Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
DD born 4/1/2023
Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
DD born 4/1/2023
Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
DD born 4/1/2023
Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
I also like Henry (since we’re going with Henrik).
Maybe keep an an open mind and name him when he gets here? We had two boy names (and no girl names - team green) for DS and named him on the spot when he was born.
BFP 6.8.2018 EDD 02.18.2019
DD born 4/1/2023
Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
Henry is such a classic name! Would Iver be a possibility for a middle or are there other contenders for that?
MMC 2.12.11 @ 8w
PVM 5.8.12
GWM 3.17.15
RPM 2.21.19
Both of our last names are three syllables each and they’re both pretty uncommon, so I don’t know if it’s best to go full-on Norwegian/difficult to pronounce (he’ll have to spell his last name a lot anyway), or if we should keep the first name simple to spare him. At least both names we’re choosing between are only two syllables each!
DD born 4/1/2023
Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024