Monday, February 1, 2010

Baby naming


Tell me, what are your "rules" for baby naming.  Do you believe that a baby's name should be
Traditional (only family names for you!)
Modern (all the celebs are doing it or my baby will NOT have the same name as anyone else in his class)
Trendy (yup, love all the names on the top 10 list of 2009)
Classic (if the name didn't exist 90 years ago, it shouldn't be around now)
Androgynous (doesn't matter what the sex of my child is, the name is ______ regardless) (okay, usually this is more true of naming girls than boys)
Simple (everyone can spell it, everyone can say it)
or
Creative (lots of extra y's, named after your favorite artist/author/musician, some people ask how you made up the name)

As for B and I, we definitely fall in the traditional, classic, simple category.  A few of our personal rules include
1.  It cannot have punctuation in it.
2.  It cannot be in the top 10 list for the last 7 years (alas, poor Emily).
3.  A substitute teacher must be able to pronounce and spell it.
4.  The middle names will be family names only (first names may be as well, but it is a MUST for a middle)
5.  It cannot have a heavy slant towards a country to which we have no ties (ie- B says we can't name our child Maeve, Colin, Ian, or Shannon as they are too Irish)

Can I tell you that he is WAY pickier than I am??  He has a few names he likes, and he is sticking with them.  There's very little budging going on.  It's funny because he is so easy going in real life and isn't insistent on much.  Totally opposite when it comes to naming puddin' though!!  I also have to say that since I work with children, I also have a lot of names that I can't/won't use because they remind me of a patient or because it's waaaayyyy too popular in the nursery.  It's been an interesting process.  We still haven't even plucked through a naming book.  We've just thrown out names as they've come up in real life and either said "love it", "hmmmmm", "like it but for this couple", "like it but not with our last name", or "he$# to the no".  There haven't been a lot of "love its", btw!

Would you like to know a few of the names that I love that have been vetoed?  Mkay, thought so....
Evelyn (oh so pretty and classic, still trying to squeeze this one in)
Elyse (my cousin's name- B likes it however we've decided that's like playing favorites)
Eleanor or Ellen (Smelly Ellie- bad nickname, B always says "Eleanor, gee I think you're Swellinore)
Jane (it's been "called" by one of the besties if she has a girl.  We both love it and hope she gets to use it!)
Margo (B has some weird Royal Tennebaum's reference about a boy being in love with his sister???  I've never seen the movie)

Bowen (B's friend's last name, he can't do it, and it's probably too trendy for us anyway but cute, huh?)
Ben (luckily, bestie already used it)
Emerson (B says it's too androgynous, I love it for a boy- Emmers would be the nn)
Tate (doesn't go well with our last name at all, plus no "formal" name to go with)

I do have to say we are set on our boy's name.  We both love it.  In fact, if we were to have a second boy, we've got that one's name picked out too!  For whatever reason, those were both easy.  We think we are set on a girl's name as well.  I still go back and forth due to the fact that we are not set on a nickname yet.  (And I still really want Evelyn). We're working on it!!

So, since we're all friends here, but we'll never be neighbors (so we don't have to worry about "copying" each other), tell me your favorite "type" of name, your favorite name for a boy and a girl, and any names that have popped into your head that you think we need to name puddin'!  Remember, classic, simple, traditional!!










20 comments:

  1. This is such a cool post Miss Up North, it is always fun to read others' thoughts on the topic, and it seems like you two have a great perspective on it. We love the "teacher must be able to pronounce" rule along with the ban on trendy.

    I was almost a Jane or a Margaret, but also happen to like Emerson!

    Sending you a smile,
    tp

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  2. I don't like trendy names but my favorite name, Jack, is top 10 I think (not sure but I think I saw it on there). Hopefully by the time I have kids it won't be top 10 ;)

    I love the name Margot. I used to nanny for a Margot. When she was born everyone thought it would not fit her but the name has grown on me!

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  3. same camp as you all, it's gotta be a name that is from the fam and was around at the turn of the century! recently found out that Henry is a fam name, which made me super happy; it's my fav' name for a boy of all time!

    xoox

    kHm

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  4. So many too choose from...I have always loved traditional names. (except for a brief period in middle school when I wanted my name to be Ryan or Tracy)
    I am partial to Annie, Elizabeth, MaryKate...

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  5. Classic and simple!

    I kind of like Hadley for a girl but I don't know.

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  6. Love your choices - we've picked out Avery and Madeline for a girl and Jackson for a boy. I also love Noah, but our last names ends with an "A", so a little awkward. Can't wait to hear your choice!

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  7. Let's see... Claire, Charlotte, Caroline, and Eleanor for girls and Colin, Owen, Henry, and William for boys.

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  8. Simple, classic, tradition and biblical. I love old world names. I had Rebecca's picked out practically before conception! I used family names as well. My youngest has my maiden name as his middle name. Rebecca has my grandmother's maiden name as her middle name. Christopher has my husband's grandfather's first name as his middle name. Luckily this worked for us!

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  9. We are a combination with traditional and I guess trendy. I loved the name Madison when hubby and I were dating back in the 90's. We never strayed. Her middle name is her grandmothers maiden name. And my little man is Thomas very traditional (will never go by Tommy or Tom if we can help it) and his middle name is my maiden name.

    I can't wait to hear what you have picked!

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  10. Such a great post...for us the first boy is simple...He gets hubby's name and will be the IV...but we'll call him by the middle name (Wheeler). Second boy is up in the air. We love William Tate, but our last name starts with F ...get it WTF, not sure we can do that! Girls are much harder...I like Elise, Emerson, Emma (I know its very popular, but my sister's name is Emily and I thought it was a cute way to honor her). Steele will be the middle name (Its a family name and I think will be a cute middle name for a girl).
    Wow - guess you can tell we've been thinking about this (since the first month we were dating) and hoping to have the chance to name a baby soon!
    Good Luck!!

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  11. I adore the name Evelyn! Unique, yet classy.

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  12. you are killing me! I always liked Elyse as well, but obviously cant use that either :) I always wanted to name my daughter Ayla, after my favorite literary character, but with all of the Layla, Eva, Kaylas out there I dont know anymore :( It seemed so special to me for so long but now it is loosing its appeal. Also love Ben, Davy :), Oliver and Henry, but Jewish tradition frowns upon naming children after people that are living, and we have relatives with all of those names! ACK!
    Right now my daughter will have the nickname Bee, but her name will not be Beatrice, something a touch more unique, and I like Leo for a boy. Hope I we dont have a problem here :)

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  13. I agree with all of your rules. I like a name that is charming for a child but, will look nice on a resume when they are adults. I tried to imagine their names on business cards etc---I have a daughter 5 & a son 4.

    It's funny, we thought our daughter would have a nickname but, it turns out she doesn't like them & only wants to be called by her full name. The first thing you will learn with parenthood is the given name & room color are pretty much the only things you get to choose! ;) Good luck & have fun!! You will be a great mom!!

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  14. The great name debate. We did not have our boy name picked out until I was at the hospital, in labor! We had the girl name from very early on. I love using family names, but only if we like it. For me, girl names are easier to pick out. I like traditional, but not too boring.

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  15. My family (other than my parents) did family names either for the first or middle name. Personally, I think that's great, if you love the name. I like your idea of doing that asa middle name.

    I like traditional Italian names, but since my hubby is not Italian, there will be no Antonio in my future unless I get an Italian Greyhound.

    My hisband is also very keen on nicknames. If we ever had a son he'll be names Elijah and called Eli. its a nice Biblical name, and not too "out there".

    If we have a daughter (my dreams of a Jacqueline are shot because hubby doesn't like Jackie as a nickname... this is really sad to me. maybe I'll get another dog?) her name will be Reagan. No nickname for this, but Reagan is our mutual favorite president and because we're political nerds, and its a beautiful, preppy name, I do hope to someday have a little Reagan running around. its starting to get really trndy though. My backup for a girl is Giada. Its a nice Italian name, and though its not very easy to pronounce, people can learn!

    I love Evelyn, btw. I hope you can convince him! :)

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  16. I'm definately in the traditional category. I have a few family names in mind should the need ever arise. I think if you have researched your family's geneology, you can find names that are family names, yet may not be popular thus guarenting(sp?) he or she will be the only one in the class. A generation or two ago on my dad's side of the family, you were expected to run the baby names you were considering past The Aunts for their opinion, and on my mom's side the first and middle names couldn't have the same number of syllables.

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  17. We thought for sure we had our girl & boy names picked out and then after 36 hours of labor, our William didn't look like a William, so my husband convinced everyone (including our ob) he should be a Gray :)

    I'm set on a Millie for a girl (hopefully we'll get one the next go round), but we loved Louise, Ellie (Eleanore), Caroline, Hadley, Henry, Parker, Warner, Easton

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  18. I love the traditional names also. My oldest is Margaret, but has always been called Daisy. My younger daughter is Lydia...not a name often heard these days.

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  19. Opps, I posted my question in the wrong section of the site! apologies! I would like to know if two middle names is considered preppy or overdone? I am considering giving two middle names but I am concered about it being slightly overbearing and less elegant? Here it is:

    Lily Julianne Bethany

    I thought that is is best to ask on this site, as the other websites recommend horrid names, that I will spear your eyes from and so will not type them up here!

    Thank you!

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  20. **spare!

    Sorry for the typos, just landed home from a long flight I am i am exhausted!

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