S/O Baby Names

calindi

From the "grind my gears" post about the couple who asked for opinions on naming their baby from Facebook (or a market research poll), I wanted to see...

If any of you have names picked out? Have these been serious convos with BF/FI/DH? Or just your dream names?

Know any crazy real life names? What's the name that annoys you the most?

Is there any common name you'll never use for some personal reason or experience with someone that name?

calindi

FI has known since we started dating that I am not going to make our child a IV by giving him his father and grandfather and great-grandfather's name (FI is a 3rd). I have several major reasons for this, but this is one point I won't bend on and FI knows it. So we've talked about hybridizing his middle name with my Dad's middle name for a boy. The boy's name would be James Henry. Very, very traditional and I wouldn't do it except that it means so much to FI, FFIL (who is a Jr, sharing his name with FI) and my Dad. So I find it an acceptible compromise, and FI doesn't care that much. Not to mention FI's best friend from OCS (his best man) is also named James. But I do like the name, it just feels a bit bland. For a girl, we liked Julianna. My FSIL had a baby in March and named her Juliana, so there goes that! We haven't talked about it since, but I personally like the name Evelyn Rose. I really want a first name with 'lyn' at the end since it was my Mom's middle name before she got married and dropped it to keep her maiden as a middle. That said, I hate the being named after a city trend. "Brooklyn" is not an option for my future child's name! Or a food. Gwyneth Paltrow's "Apple" was literally born a joke. I know this might be flameworthy, but I hate "black" names. Not the more standard ones, but the crazy jumbled messes. Like my high school classmate has a little boy named DeLijah. And I've met a little girl named La-a (pronounced "Ladasha - the dash is pronounced", says her Mom). More than anything else, I think those names mark kids as lower class regardless of whether that is true and before the child even has the chance to be their own person. It is also a huge point in the book "Freakanomics" that children with "black" names are less likely to be called into an interview, get into college, and more likely to be sent to jail if they mess up, compared to a child with the same background and qualifications but a different name. Who saddles their child with that much hardship willingly??! One name I can never name my child is Katherine. Childhood bully, bad memories.

LetsHikeToday

I have names that I won't name our kids because I'm a teacher. Literally, every year another name gets ruined for me!

I have my favorites. H says "ehh". He keeps saying he needs a book to look at names. I like Alexa and he said "Well I need to see it written in a book." Wtf! I don't get that but whatever, get a book. :-)

I also have stopped talking names with him once we started to try to get pregnant. I don't want to jinx it.

calindi

I like the name Alexa!  Very pretty.  FI has a friend named Annalisa, which I think is also pretty.  I want the name Rose as a middle name!

Irishcurls

Calindi, a coworker of mine just named her baby Evelyn Rose! I think it's so pretty! They call her Eva Diva though. hehe.

Every name I like FI is like, meh....so I've given up even thinking about it until we need to. I love 'just enough' offbeat names to be interesting but not weird--Elliot for a girl for instance. He's not buying that one.....

LetsHikeToday

Love Elliot for a girl (and boy).

I like interesting, different names. My name is really popular right now but I was the only McKenzie I knew growing up. I like that I had a different name so I would hope we would kind of go off beat.

I love love love Miles for a boy but H has said no!

Irishcurls

Hike, I have to ask--does anyone call you "Kenzie??" Friends of ours are due in a few weeks and that's the name they picked but refer to her as Kenzie. 

Love Miles!! My girlfriend is big into old school almost-blue haired names like Maeve, Beatrix (Trixie! hehe!) and Louisa. Her husband hasn't gone for any of them yet. 

Irishcurls

ETA: My sibs and I all have slightly unique names, so I agree with wanting to be just a touch different. We're Ian, Alexandra and Reid. I think my parents did so well! Names can really jack a kid.....

LetsHikeToday

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_baby-names?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:ad2fc393-30af-4a15-9de3-707d4401fd6fPost:24d7f2a2-2b28-44f1-aa85-ee30079222fe">Re: S/O Baby Names</a>:
[QUOTE]Hike, I have to ask--does anyone call you "Kenzie??" Friends of ours are due in a few weeks and that's the name they picked but refer to her as Kenzie.  Love Miles!! My girlfriend is big into old school almost-blue haired names like Maeve, Beatrix (Trixie! hehe!) and Louisa. Her husband hasn't gone for any of them yet. 
Posted by Irishcurls[/QUOTE]

This is going to sound weird but I love Kenzie for other girls but never felt like a Kenzie. I was always called McKenz. I think Kenzie sounds more girly and I was always more into sports so never felt super girly. Make sense? I actually love the name Kenzie. Like not going with McKenzie but using the name Kenzie.

I also really like Harper and Kennedy for girls but they are getting more and more popular.

amh04

We kind of talk about it, but FI hasn't really liked any of the names I've picked out. But last time we talked about it was a good 7 months ago if not more. We've stopped talking about it for now, but its a good topic to bring up for those bored sunday morning conversations. 

I really like the names you don't hear so often but still have some traditional value to them. I can't stand Brooklyn (no offense) and the other fad names out there. I want to give my child a good, sturdy, pretty name - not something that someone is going to look at them and be like 'man, your parents must of hated you'.  

Irishcurls

Hike, makes total sense. I think it's girly too, which suits that couple. Love Harper but didnt whats her name Spice Girl just name their kid that--it's going to be soooo trendy. I sort of hate when pop culture "ruins" good names, kwim? 

Amh, too funny--seriously some of these parents. What were you thinking? How about the Adam Adams of the world--went to middle school with him. Ugh. 

LuluP82

We are bad at picking names We just argue about it and then stop talking about it. This child will be nameless forever. Or we'll pick it out of a hat. Seriously.

We used to talk about baby names all the time before we had to, and we used to agree a lot,but now that it's an actual child...it feels like more high stakes, or something, I guess!

We're also not finding out the gender, so we have double the work to do! One day, we'll agree on a name, and then the next day, one of us will find SOMETHING wrong with it.

crownsuperstar

We have both names picked out.  Haaa funny we are not even TTC...haa!!! I think we had names picked for both a boy and a girl very early.  I will say that we are falling back on our southern roots and using family names.  For a girl first name is going to be my maiden name (not something crazy) and middle name is my mother's middle name.  The reason for my maiden name being used is because there are no boys in my family and I was the last child born with that name.  For a boy first name after H's great great grandfather and middle name will be H's first name. 

KendallR10

For names I like for a girl Kira (Key-are-uh) Abigail. and for a boy I like Dayton or Kellen and middle name is Michael. 

I will never name my kid Courtney. 

SamiJoeB

I have such a typical "Southern" Name.. But I'm named after my dad's parents.  My Grandma's maiden name was Sampson, and my Grandpa always called her Sammy, and his name was Joe, so I'm Samantha JoeAnne.  I really want the Jo(e) as a middle name since it's kind of like a family name. It's mine, my dad's, both my grandfathers, & great grandfathers (on my dad's side) way back before they even immigrated to the US. 

H gets frustrated because I like "weird" names.  I really don't think Harper is that odd (and To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all time favorite books).  I like names like Grayson & Jackson, but since our last name ends with son, it would sound funny.  Brie and Barrett Jane (after Elizabeth Barrett Browning the poet & and Jane Eyre & Jane Austen) are my favorites for a girl.  H and I Loooovve Alexander & Alexandria. I can come up with a million names for girls, but not that many for boys, especially after H said No to Scout and Atticus

SamiJoeB

Abby, Alyssa, Kendyl, Meghan, MaryHope-All girl names that I HATE now... Thank you HS b!!tches!! haha.. No offense if anyone is named these though..

John, Jordan, Brett, Doyle- All ex BF's names so they are out as well!!

Then there's H's ex's names.. It gets so confusing.  My IL's named H after the main character on the show "The Rifleman", and his brother after Dustin Hoffman, but both their middle names are FIL's name (first and middle).. does that make sense?  My parents were told they'd never be able to have kids so they adopted my sister and she has a million names (Seriously.. she has 6 names..)

This was a good QOTD post C!!! Yay for you!!

crownsuperstar

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_baby-names?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:ad2fc393-30af-4a15-9de3-707d4401fd6fPost:1212a8dd-7129-4041-bcfc-91d36316a819">Re: S/O Baby Names</a>:
[QUOTE]I have such a typical "Southern" Name.. But I'm named after my dad's parents.  My Grandma's maiden name was Sampson, and my Grandpa always called her Sammy, and his name was Joe, so I'm Samantha JoeAnne.  I really want the Jo(e) as a middle name since it's kind of like a family name. It's mine, my dad's, both my grandfathers, & great grandfathers (on my dad's side) way back before they even immigrated to the US.  H gets frustrated because I like "weird" names.  I really don't think Harper is that odd (and To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all time favorite books).  I like names like Grayson & Jackson, but since our last name ends with son, it would sound funny.  Brie and Barrett Jane (after Elizabeth Barrett Browning the poet & and Jane Eyre & Jane Austen) are my favorites for a girl.  H and I Loooovve Alexander & Alexandria. I can come up with a million names for girls, but not that many for boys, especially after H said No to Scout and <strong>Atticus
</strong>Posted by SamiJoeB[/QUOTE]

My cousin's husband felt the same way so they got a jack russell and named him Atticus!!! <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif" border="0" alt="Laughing" title="Laughing" />

shan87

Well H is a second, but he has given me the green light to pick the middle name because it already is a pain in the ass when I say David and both him and his dad answer. WTH will I call our boy? david 1,2,3? nope I'll call him by his middle name.

My Mom's side has a cool thing where my Grandparent's inadvertently named their boys first and middle name with the same letter... think Mark Melvin - Jeffrey James - Paul Peter etc....

so for boys I have David Devin for the 1st and if we have 2 then Hunter Hayden.

I have a really hard time with girls names. The only one I like for my child so far is Isabelle no idea on a middle name.


As for my pet peeve with names -- I really don't care for unisex names and it really bugs me when people use the girl spelling for a boy or vis versa... ie. Kris for a boy.. or Aaron for a girl

ETA: to fix grammar

LetsHikeToday

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_baby-names?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:ad2fc393-30af-4a15-9de3-707d4401fd6fPost:bb7e4d40-fef5-4f59-8f17-a768811dd11b">Re: S/O Baby Names</a>:
[QUOTE]For names I like for a girl Kira (Key-are-uh) Abigail. and for a boy I like Dayton or Kellen and middle name is Michael.  I will never name my kid Courtney. 
Posted by KendallR10[/QUOTE]

I grew up with a Kira and it was definitely not pronounced that way. Teachers might mispronounce her name. :-)

firsttimersluck

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_baby-names?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:ad2fc393-30af-4a15-9de3-707d4401fd6fPost:bb7e4d40-fef5-4f59-8f17-a768811dd11b">Re: S/O Baby Names</a>:
[QUOTE]  I will never name my kid Courtney. 
Posted by KendallR10[/QUOTE]

Same. Here. Good riddance on that name.

All we know is that the boys middles names have to be Lee because it's in the family... Other than that we actually haven't thought about names at all.. Fi likes girls names that sound like they should be in porn so.. yeeeahh.. lol. like Aurora.=pornstar.
oi.

LetsHikeToday

I am obsessed with the book The Catcher in the Rye and would love love love to name a boy Holden.

Shan- haha. I love when girls are named with typical boy names. I'd name my daughter Kyle in a heart beat!

:-)

Irishcurls

o0o Hike, Holden is a GREAT name!! And I'm completely on the unisex boat. I even like Kelley for a boy. Blake, love it for both. Tristan, love it for both. 

firsttimersluck

ETA- I have so many names from ex's that I can't use now.. My favorite name of all time used to be Luke, now that's out >_< Same with Taylor. sad.
I LOVE Elliot! sooooo cute!

It sucks when sucky people ruin such great names />_<
All I know is I am sooo tired of everyone pronouncing my name incorrectly (all of it. first, middle AND last) that I'm not going to name my child something that is questionable.

LetsHikeToday

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_baby-names?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:ad2fc393-30af-4a15-9de3-707d4401fd6fPost:dc82f14e-4cf7-4bce-a039-69cc1519cd56">Re: S/O Baby Names</a>:
[QUOTE]o0o Hike, Holden is a GREAT name!! And I'm completely on the unisex boat. I even like Kelley for a boy. Blake, love it for both. Tristan, love it for both. 
Posted by Irishcurls[/QUOTE]

I like Blake for a girl and not a boy!

First- I agree with ruined names. It's hard being a teacher. I lose out on a name every year!

Irishcurls

OH FTL. I won't out you on here but i DOOOOO want to know. Does your first start like 'on' or the more typical way? 

firsttimersluck

yup you got it. (I think it's in my profile silly :P )
And I get people that argue with me "well there's two n's not one so that's wrong"
OOOH ok. You must be right and I must have been wrong my entire life.. idiots..
It's eastern European (Latvian). They don't have that "a" as in "apple " sound.

Irish when you look at my last name on fb it's pronounced EXACTLY how it's spelled, but people think it's with an E to start, or there are like.. random "L"s people add in there.. strange.

Irishcurls

Yeah I know but I don't want to be spilling your personal info all over here! I'll let you do that. My cousin has the same first name so that's why I always question the pronounciation. Hers ends in an 'h' though so i think people get the gist easier.  

firsttimersluck

and H!?! Seriously? Crazyness.
I have had baristas write my name "on-uhhh" when they write on the cups ya know?
Seriously?
That's not a name. That's a sound.. wtf!? lol!

calindi

Oooh, I also really like Maeve and Reid! And Connor - I think that's one of FI's favorite boys names, so maybe I'll talk him out of the namesake yet?  I love Irish names as I'm Irish (my Dad was born there, I'm a citizen and have an EU passport as well as American), but I don't like the weird Gaelic ones.  My cousin just named his daughter Aoife, pronounced like "Ava" but with a bit more of an "f" so "ay-fah".  Weird.

I LOVE gender-neutral names, but I don't want to give my kids names that will get them made fun of later.  So Reid would be spelled that way and not Reed, just in case he's tall like his hypothetical Dad (FI) and would be teased for being a reed blowing in the wind, ya know?  And Kelley for a boy is awesome, but I'd be afraid of him being teased for having a girl's name.  I'm much more likely to give a girl a boy's name.  I think it's more accepted and less likely to be teased, whether or not that's fair.  I like the name Parker for a girl.

I really like Isabelle also, Shan, but I'm so afraid it will be super popular now with Twilight fans.  That's like Justin - it was my favorite name as a kid, and then Justin Timberlake showed up.  No way now!

Kendall, we had a Kira (kee-ar-ah) in school, but it was spelled Quiara.

LetsHikeToday

The Kira I knew was pronounced

lowercase K, ear, ah

calindi

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_baby-names?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:ad2fc393-30af-4a15-9de3-707d4401fd6fPost:c69658d1-f90d-4e46-a0d0-4cb4be61ea62">Re: S/O Baby Names</a>:
[QUOTE]The Kira I knew was pronounced lowercase K, ear, ah
Posted by LetsHikeToday[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I've met a few of those.  Usually when it's spelled "Kira" that's how it's pronounced.  Some people are weird, though.  Like La-a.  I can never get over that one.

Kiara would have gotten that sound across just fine. And is kind of a nice name, but the Quiara I knew was kind of psycho so that's on my no-no name list.