@youngedtjupiter I love both of those names. Iona is actually one of my top choices if I have a girl. Beautiful.
Girl names: Iona Artemis Amara
Boy names: Derek Everett Ramsay
These are my favorites so far, but knowing my SO, he’ll veto. If we have a boy, he wants to name the baby after his dad. I love the name, but there’s a rough family history and I feel like some of his family members would be upset by this. Not sure how to handle the situation. I don’t want his mom to be upset and hurt by our name choice.
So for a boy I’ve always loved Liam Neal, namdd after my father and grandfather. But Liam is SOOOOO popular right now. I’m trying to decide if I would regret picking such a popular name. I don’t know the sex yet though.
@HGRich I don’t think I would regret choosing a name I’ve always loved, even if it is suddenly popular. I mean, I currently have an Ellie, who is not even the only Ellie OurLastName in the under-5 reading program at our small town library. And if it’s a family name, you are definitely not jumping on any bandwagon.
@thatbaintforbetty I love it. The hard part is convincing my SO that he should love it too. We’re total opposites, so i’m sure picking a name is going to be a giant debate.
As a side note, having a popular name myself (Kaity) I never felt less than or frustrated by sharing a name. One summer there were 5 of us on staff at a 60 staff summer camp. It was fun and I’ve always enjoyed finding others with my name.
As an aside, isn’t it funny how some perfectly good names get ‘ruined’ for you from knowing some kid with it who was a jerk or a crummy adult or whatever? DH and I have a list of no-gos based off of this kind of thing
@distraction Henry is really cute! I think it got popular (at least around here), but it’s such a solid name. So many of those boys’ names have good childhood nicknames, but sound like responsible adult names when they get older.
@lin0442, there are definitely names I've vetoed because I knew (and disliked) people with those names! Funny how things stick with you.
Now that we know it's a boy, DH decides to throw out that we could explore other name options when I thought we had it picked. Sigh.
I just thought of Ari tonight, but wondering if it's extremely common/popular in Hebrew communities? We aren't religious, I just like the sound and meaning (and Google tells me it's a common Jewish name). We had Kai as our top choice.
DH is also trying to get me to allow Wolfgang... yes, it's a cool name, but I strongly dislike it for our own child .
@professormama, see, I don't even mind that as much. And here as a compromise I tried looking up names that mean wolf, but I don't like any of them either .
My husband and I have an 8-month old daughter named Nora - it was the first name my husband suggested (before we were even talking baby names) and we just knew it was right for her and couldn't move beyond it (even though we threw other options around). It fit all of the criteria I valued in a name: it's common enough to be recognizable (some of my students have names that simply are. not. names.), but not outrageously popular. It is timeless. It has no negative associations in my mind. It has no nicknames - which mattered to me, I didn't want her to be someone who could be made smaller in any way, shape or form.
Now we're naming this LO, and my gut is 975% set on a name that fits NONE of those criteria. From the minute we found out I was pregnant, I thought, "If it's a girl, she'll be named ______." It's one of the names my husband and I both liked when we were naming N, and something tells me it is just RIGHT for this baby. My husband agrees. I just feel like a hypocrite for disregarding everything I valued while naming N! I explained this all to my husband last night, and his response was, "Yeah, but I like it." We're the worst.
I haven't been commenting because we are heavily leaning towards "hippie" names, that I won't list here as I think they'd all be an u/o. So mostly been lurking to see what others are interested in.
But @professormama it's funny that you brought up Wolf, as Coyote is on our list
@sheepshepherdess I think we'd all be curious to know! I haven't posted my names either because we're struggling to come up with names that work in both Swedish and English and a lot of the pretty Swedish names just sound awful and get butchered in English lol.
Thanks all, I may post some as we get further along. The list is huge! We're also aiming for gender neutral, but have some picked out for each sex too so who knows.
Okay so my new favorite boy name is Ezra. But my husband doesn’t want to use it because our 4year olds name starts with an E, and we often call him by his initials or even just E.
@batmama31 just wanted to comment that I empathize with the multilingual name struggles. Thankfully, my parents did give me a Chinese name and I actually went by it for years as an adult (which I never expected when I was younger). I have no idea whether my kids will care, but I’m still planning to give them something that they can choose to use. Or not.
Anyone have any favorite gender neutral names? I’ve really liked seeing everyone’s suggestions — some of you really have great ideas for names that I hadn’t thought of.
@chrissdee That's funny, I am named Madeline and my daughter is Eloise! I loved having a literature themed name growing up and Eloise already has a little Eloise at the Plaza collection started.
I have a Jack & an Eloise. No ideas for babe #3 yet.
Married 11.12.11 JB 08.02.13 EC 12.11.15 GE 04.04.19 #4 & #5 due 05.05.22
I am stuck on Caroline for a girl name, not sure on mn, we've been tossing around Giulia & Siena.
Boys seem to be harder! I like Henry, Thomas, William, Luke, Dominic, Preston & Bradley.... DH thinks they all sound stuck up...... >.<
So name wise, fingers crossed for a girl, haha!
I love Caroline, nn Carly. My favorite mn for Caroline is Elizabeth, but you could also do Marie, Rose, Grace, Michelle.
I am in the same boat with boys names, my favorites are Thomas, Dylan, and Noah, and DH thinks that they all sound stuck up. His real issue is that it's not his name (he desperately wants to name this little boy after him and have a III- I don't. I would use his mn for all of my favorites though).
So I was half asleep this morning and thought of the name Malakai, using Kai as the nickname. It's definitely growing on me. Any opinions? Middle name would be Logan.
@kangstadt I guess my thought would be - are you religious? Strikes me as a very religious name and I think that's what most people will think about when they hear it. As long as that's good with you, I don't see any major downsides to the name.
@sheepshepherdess: Give us ALLLLL the hippie names! I love living vicariously through people who make bolder name choices than I am fixing to make.
@kangstadt: IMHO Malakai doesn't strike me as religious because of the different spelling and the recent popularity of other Old Testament names. But I do like the original spelling better and think you could still use Kai with it (in a world where "Peg" is a nickname for Margaret, anything is possible.) However, I am kind of a fuddy-duddy, see above...
We just found out that we are most likely having a girl and have spontaneously dropped all other names in favor of Lucy, which just "seems right." Funny how that happens! Still casting about for a middle name: I suggested Catherine, but the world is our oyster. We're probably looking for something elegant to tone down the possible cutesy.
It sounds like @aqualicious nailed the real issue with her boy names, and @distraction, you need to figure out whether there’s something your DH has his heart set on or it’s a matter of liking a different style or hating his overly common name or something else. As for Caroline, love it. Caroline Elizabeth sounds lovely and elegant, with a ton of nns from either name. I wouldn’t shy away from other multisyllabic names, either, though it you’ve got a really long last name you may want something like a Caroline Ann/Anne, Caroline Mae/May or Caroline Lee/Leigh. I also really like Siena as an option. (We’d go with Caroline Campbell, nn Carrie or Caro, because we use family names as mns.)
@kangstadt I first thought it sounded Hawaiian (Molokai being an island). Agree with @TheSouffleGirl that Kai can be a nn for Malachi.
@TheSouffleGirl a friend has a Lucy Aurelia (Aurelia nn Rae is a family name). I like the elegant contrast, and think you could go even more formal than Catherine.
@professormama, we aren't religious, which is why I was steering away from the original spelling. Although we aren't Norse either and our first son has a Norse name .
@Bringmemylongswordho , I'm with you when it comes to kids with names like "Tiphaniee," (pronounced Tiffany apparently...), but I don't think Malakai is too out there. I'm honestly not a fan of Malachi because every time I see it I try to read it phonetically as "mala-chee."
@lyse01, we had Kai chosen as our name, and I love the Hawaiian feel (even though, again... no special connection to us). There is also an Irish version of Malachi but it is pronounced differently. I do have an Irish background and like that it is kinda related to my heritage.
I'm going to be that person that says there's a difference between picking a Norse name without having Norwegian or Scandinavian roots and picking a name that's Hawaiian/vaguely Hawaiian without Hawaiian roots, but it's your choice in the end.
@lyse01: Thanks for the suggestion! I have a tendency towards stuffiness so I'm always trying to counteract it... probably too hard, so I appreciate the input. Lucy Aurelia is really pretty!
@kangstadt, malachy! (pronounced mal-a-kee, I think?) I think it was a character in angela's ashes.
and I kinda cringe along w/ @Bringmemylongswordho. I'd be careful to choose a name that may lean towards or suggest cultural appropriation although, what the difference is between giving a non-scandinavian kid a skandinavian name versus a non-hawaiian kid a hawaiian name is a very valid question.
I gave my son a hebrew name and we aren't jewish. we aren't even religious.
@Bringmemylongswordho, I'm kind of confused why you say there's a difference. Every name has an origin, or culture, or language background. Most people don't even think of the history or etymology of a name before giving it to their kid. My family isn't religious, but we have Josephs and Davids in our family. I wouldn't name my kid a strictly cultural name such as an African name or Gaelic name (like Siobhan or something that isn't seen very often outside of that culture) without having a background myself in that country. But a name that has been "normalized," or popularized by today's society, I don't see the harm in not personally being Scandinavian or Hawaiian to use a name with those roots.
Edited to add: Malachi itself isn't Hawaiian, it has a Hebrew background...
@kangstadt I think that what @Bringmemylongswordho and @batmama31 are getting at is the nebulous zone of "what is cultural appropriation". My understanding is that it has a lot to do with power dynamics and history. So yes, if you're a white American, there is an important difference between borrowing something from Norse culture (not historically oppressed by white America) and Hawaiian culture (very recently and harshly oppressed by white America). That said, it's far from a clear boundary, as you point out by bringing up the "normalization" of stuff in both English as a language and the US as a culture.
I'd personally say that Malakai (or however you choose to spell it) is on the "ok" side of the line, because, as you say it's Hebrew in origin and we're supposedly a "Judeo-Christian country" or something like that, so it is pretty common for non-religious people to have those types of religious names. Also, it's a pretty cool name.
@sheepshepherdess I have a pretty hippie name and I think I do just fine in the world despite having never met anyone else with this name nor really living up to it's meaning. I went through a short phase when I started school where I was upset that no one else had my name, but that didn't scar me too badly. (My name is Harmony, and while I notice that it's becoming a more common name now, it definitely wasn't one in the 80's/90's.) Anyway, I'm curious what you think of as very hippie names.
@kangstadt@Bringmemylongswordho I don’t think Malachi (however spelled) with Kai as a nickname is remotely cultural appropriation. In fact, I think the cultural appropriation concern is WAY overblown. Yes, dressing up as a Native American or another culture / nationality for Halloween or Burning man is cultural appropriation, and yes, that makes you an insensitive jerk. But naming your child? Just not a concern! It’s cross-cultural influence, sure. But cultures have been blending and influencing each other for all of human history. What’s the alternative? Cultural purity? Gross. Plus I’m not sure I can think of many names that are strictly American. And it’s unreasonable to suggest we should all know our exact heritage and only be allowed to select from corresponding names.
Y’all I’m just STUMPED on names. We’ve been looking every night for weeks. Nothing. No clue what to do. I swear this baby is going to be born and we are just going to put #2 on the birth certificate.
@kangstadt@Bringmemylongswordho I don’t think Malachi (however spelled) with Kai as a nickname is remotely cultural appropriation. In fact, I think the cultural appropriation concern is WAY overblown. Yes, dressing up as a Native American or another culture / nationality for Halloween or Burning man is cultural appropriation, and yes, that makes you an insensitive jerk. But naming your child? Just not a concern! It’s cross-cultural influence, sure. But cultures have been blending and influencing each other for all of human history. What’s the alternative? Cultural purity? Gross. Plus I’m not sure I can think of many names that are strictly American. And it’s unreasonable to suggest we should all know our exact heritage and only be allowed to select from corresponding names.
Preach🙌! Also @professormama I’m stumped on names for #3 too. With the first two I knew right away. I’m hoping after the anatomy scan I’ll have some name clarity.
I'm with @professormama on the name thing. Not sure this is a great moment in history to hold that a respectful exchange of cultures is not possible, especially a linguistic one. Who gives a name to demean or make a joke about someone ELSE, anyway? Isn't it because you love its history and everything it stands for, and want to ensure it's a part of your life and all your descendants' for posterity?
Besides, these concerns are bottomless. Some day the world is going to get "woke" to how bad the Irish have had it at the hands of "white men" since forever, and then God help anyone who named their kid Patrick, Bridget, or Dean back in younger or more innocent times. Or "woke" to how awful it is to actually GIVE your kid the name of an oppressive white male, like Henry (Tudor) or Andrew (Jackson).
Truly, the only safe American names are Khaleesi, Katniss, Clark Kent, and the Artist Formerly Known As. :P
@TheSouffleGirl I’m all about being woke. But lol re naming kids after oppressive white males. It’s actually cracking me up that names like Nixon and Carter are coming back, because all I can think about is Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter! Can’t name my kid after a failed and nearly impeached president, or after an ineffective president either. I think I’ll just stay away from all names that have any presidential associations.
@professormama: Well, and I'm all about not going to a Halloween kegger dressed as a cultural stereotype, so hopefully no one will take these comments to imply more than we mean them to. I hope that second paragraph came off as largely tongue-in-cheek, like it was meant.
After all, don't want to tarnish our spotless, drama-free reputation in front of lurkers from other BMBs, now do we?
Re: Favorite Names Thread
Girl names:
Iona
Artemis
Amara
Boy names:
Derek
Everett
Ramsay
These are my favorites so far, but knowing my SO, he’ll veto. If we have a boy, he wants to name the baby after his dad. I love the name, but there’s a rough family history and I feel like some of his family members would be upset by this. Not sure how to handle the situation. I don’t want his mom to be upset and hurt by our name choice.
We considered it for DD but couldn’t find a nickname we really liked for it.
prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014
BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
Boys seem to be harder! I like Henry, Thomas, William, Luke, Dominic, Preston & Bradley.... DH thinks they all sound stuck up...... >.<
So name wise, fingers crossed for a girl, haha!
DD #2: BFP: 8-19-18 EDD: 4-30-19
@distraction Henry is really cute! I think it got popular (at least around here), but it’s such a solid name. So many of those boys’ names have good childhood nicknames, but sound like responsible adult names when they get older.
Now that we know it's a boy, DH decides to throw out that we could explore other name options when I thought we had it picked. Sigh.
I just thought of Ari tonight, but wondering if it's extremely common/popular in Hebrew communities? We aren't religious, I just like the sound and meaning (and Google tells me it's a common Jewish name). We had Kai as our top choice.
DH is also trying to get me to allow Wolfgang... yes, it's a cool name, but I strongly dislike it for our own child
Now we're naming this LO, and my gut is 975% set on a name that fits NONE of those criteria. From the minute we found out I was pregnant, I thought, "If it's a girl, she'll be named ______." It's one of the names my husband and I both liked when we were naming N, and something tells me it is just RIGHT for this baby. My husband agrees. I just feel like a hypocrite for disregarding everything I valued while naming N! I explained this all to my husband last night, and his response was, "Yeah, but I like it." We're the worst.
But @professormama it's funny that you brought up Wolf, as Coyote is on our list
also, I think this thread is pretty flame-free
Anyone have any favorite gender neutral names? I’ve really liked seeing everyone’s suggestions — some of you really have great ideas for names that I hadn’t thought of.
I have a Jack & an Eloise. No ideas for babe #3 yet.
JB 08.02.13
EC 12.11.15
GE 04.04.19
#4 & #5 due 05.05.22
I am in the same boat with boys names, my favorites are Thomas, Dylan, and Noah, and DH thinks that they all sound stuck up. His real issue is that it's not his name (he desperately wants to name this little boy after him and have a III- I don't. I would use his mn for all of my favorites though).
@kangstadt: IMHO Malakai doesn't strike me as religious because of the different spelling and the recent popularity of other Old Testament names. But I do like the original spelling better and think you could still use Kai with it (in a world where "Peg" is a nickname for Margaret, anything is possible.) However, I am kind of a fuddy-duddy, see above...
We just found out that we are most likely having a girl and have spontaneously dropped all other names in favor of Lucy, which just "seems right." Funny how that happens! Still casting about for a middle name: I suggested Catherine, but the world is our oyster. We're probably looking for something elegant to tone down the possible cutesy.
@kangstadt I first thought it sounded Hawaiian (Molokai being an island). Agree with @TheSouffleGirl that Kai can be a nn for Malachi.
@TheSouffleGirl a friend has a Lucy Aurelia (Aurelia nn Rae is a family name). I like the elegant contrast, and think you could go even more formal than Catherine.
@mesweettea I’m mulling gender neutral for you.
@Bringmemylongswordho , I'm with you when it comes to kids with names like "Tiphaniee," (pronounced Tiffany apparently...), but I don't think Malakai is too out there. I'm honestly not a fan of Malachi because every time I see it I try to read it phonetically as "mala-chee."
@lyse01, we had Kai chosen as our name, and I love the Hawaiian feel (even though, again... no special connection to us). There is also an Irish version of Malachi but it is pronounced differently. I do have an Irish background and like that it is kinda related to my heritage.
and I kinda cringe along w/ @Bringmemylongswordho. I'd be careful to choose a name that may lean towards or suggest cultural appropriation
I gave my son a hebrew name and we aren't jewish. we aren't even religious.
Edited to add: Malachi itself isn't Hawaiian, it has a Hebrew background...
That said, it's far from a clear boundary, as you point out by bringing up the "normalization" of stuff in both English as a language and the US as a culture.
I'd personally say that Malakai (or however you choose to spell it) is on the "ok" side of the line, because, as you say it's Hebrew in origin and we're supposedly a "Judeo-Christian country" or something like that, so it is pretty common for non-religious people to have those types of religious names.
Also, it's a pretty cool name.
@sheepshepherdess I have a pretty hippie name and I think I do just fine in the world despite having never met anyone else with this name nor really living up to it's meaning. I went through a short phase when I started school where I was upset that no one else had my name, but that didn't scar me too badly. (My name is Harmony, and while I notice that it's becoming a more common name now, it definitely wasn't one in the 80's/90's.) Anyway, I'm curious what you think of as very hippie names.
Besides, these concerns are bottomless. Some day the world is going to get "woke" to how bad the Irish have had it at the hands of "white men" since forever, and then God help anyone who named their kid Patrick, Bridget, or Dean back in younger or more innocent times. Or "woke" to how awful it is to actually GIVE your kid the name of an oppressive white male, like Henry (Tudor) or Andrew (Jackson).
Truly, the only safe American names are Khaleesi, Katniss, Clark Kent, and the Artist Formerly Known As. :P
After all, don't want to tarnish our spotless, drama-free reputation in front of lurkers from other BMBs, now do we?