How do you pick a name?

How difficult was it for you to pick a name?  For some parents, it takes no time at all.  They already have an idea of what they like or perhaps they are using a family name and there was no need to further discuss the issue.  More often than not, though, that's not what you hear about.  Parents talk about their struggle to pick the right name.  Some spend the entire 9 months looking and still haven't chosen a name by the time they go to the hospital.  There's also the issue of one parent immediately having a set of names that are top picks and the other parents shoots everyone of them down.  I can't tell you how many lists I've made in the past trying to pick a baby name.  Each time, I end up with a couple that Steve would even entertain. 

So, with so many names to choose from and so many factors making it that much more difficult, how do you choose a name?  There are many lists of ideas on what should be considered when choosing a name, but here are some of my favorite things to consider:


1) Make a list of names that have a special meaning to you.  It could be a family name, the name of a hero, or a name with a particular meaning.  If its special to you, its like to be special to your child as well.

2) Does the name sound good with your last name?  Carter is a cool name, but pair it with a last name like Calder and it just sounds silly.

3) Make sure the initials aren't ripe for the teasing.  Are you gonna name a girl Ashley Susanne Smith?  I hope not.  Also, do you want all of your children to have a name that begins with the same letter?

4) Will the name age well?  Princess may work for you now, but it's not going to sounds quite so cute when Princess is 30.

5) How do you feel about gender lines in naming?  There are lots of gender neutral names and plenty of names with a certain gender association that are making the switch, but how do you feel about all of that?

6) How badly do you want your child to have a unique name?  You can pick a less popular name or you can change the spelling of a name, but keep in mind that some obscure names or names spelled differently from the normal might cause your child grief later.  (I know this because there's a lot of different ways that people spell Kristi)

7) Above all else, make sure you AND your partner love the name.  Don't just settle on a name because you're sick of looking or tired of arguing.  The right one is out there and if you start early, you have a lot of time to find it!


To recap, meaning, last name compatibility, initials, name aging, gender association, uniqueness, and, most of all, mutual love of the name!

PS: If you found a name you and your partner love, STOP LOOKING! There's always going to be other names. I find myself having to beat this into my own head.

Wait, how do you spell Aiden?

http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2009/5/checking-in-on-the-age-of-aidans

Alright.  What's the deal with Aidan?  I have always thought it was a cute name, but my word, AIDENs ARE EVERYWHERE!  There's like 10 different ways to spell Aiden.  There's about 10 variations of the name that start with different letters or letter combinations.  Its enough to drive a person crazy.  I'm almost to the point where the name Aiden is just ruined for me because of all of the ridiculous variations and spellings.  There are a good amount of people that this is already the case. 

If you take a look at the link, you can read the different versions of Aiden that are in the top 1000.  There's around 40 names total, 10 of which are different ways to spell Aiden.  Am I just being super judgemental or has this really gotten out of hand? 

C Names: The Boys

C Names: The Boys

Christopher (11) - Greek and Latin; one who carries Christ
Christian (23) - Greek; follower of Christ
Caleb (31) - Hebrew; bold, intrepid
Carter (50) - English occupational name; cart maker or driver
Connor (52) - Irish; lover of hounds
Cameron (59) - Scottish; crooked nose
Chase (61) - French; to hunt
Charles (64) - French; free man
Carlos (79) - Spanish; free man
Cole (82) - English; swarthy, coal black
Cooper (84) - English occupational name; barrel maker
Carson (86) - Irish and Scottish; son of the marsh-dwellers
Colton (93) - English; from the coal or dark town

Camden (194) - Scottish; winding valley
Chance (236) - French; chancellor
Cash (250) - Word name, diminutive of Cassius; hollow
Cohen (323) - Hebrew; priest
Cade (324) - English; barrel
Chandler (469) - French occupational name; candle maker
Cullen (485) - Irish; puppy, cub
Cale (668) - Diminutive of Caleb; bold, intrepid
Cedric (702) - Celtic; model of generosity
Clark (708) - English; clerk
Callum (871) - Scottish; dove
Clinton (922) - English; hilltop town
Cassius (998) - Latin; hollow

My favorites: Caleb, Carter, Camden, Cullen (I know, Twilight, but its kind of a cool name), Cedric, Callum

C Names: The Girls

C Names: The Girls

Chloe (9) - Greek; young green shoot
Claire (53) - French; clear and bright
Charlotte (68) - English; free
Camila (79) - Italian; perfect
Caroline (87) - Latin; beautiful woman

Catherine (177) - Greek; pure
Clara (199) - Latin; illustrious
Cadence (222) - Latin; rhythm
Cecilia (265) - Latin; blind
Cora (303) - Greek; heart, maiden
Celeste (459) - Latin; heavenly
Campbell (727) - Scottish; crooked mouth
Celia (756) - Latin; heaven
Carina (870) - Spanish; dear one
Cambria (993) - Latin; from Wales
My favorite: Charlotte, Catherine, Clara, Cadence, Celia, Carina (Cambria is very close to making my top 5 here!  Its a pretty name you don't hear very often.)

Note: This one was more difficult because they were a lot more cool C names in the top 1000 than I thought!

There's a Draco among us!

It's true!  There is now a Draco in this world, and the name is no longer just attached to a fictional character or a constellation.  Danica McKellar recently had a son and she named him Draco.  Namecandy.com is calling the choice "arguably the best celebrity baby name story of the year".  I think I'd have to agree!  This is such a cool name, I don't care how scummy Draco Malfoy is!  After all, in the end he wasn't a real bad guy, just a victim of his surroundings (but that's not what I'm posting about). 

Just a little info on the name:
-It is a constellation (as I pointed out in the beginning)
-Only famous namesake is Draco Malfoy
-Latin name that means 'dragon'

B Names: The Boys

B Names: The Boys

Benjamin (20) - Hebrew; son of the right hand
Brandon (38) - English; broom-covered hill
Brayden (47) - English; wide valley
Brody (77) - Scottish; muddy place, ditch
Blake (89) - English; fair-haired, dark (weird how contradictory that is)
Bryan (92) - Irish; strong, virtuous, and honorable
Brian (94) - Irish; strong, virtuous, and honorable

Bradley (197) - English; wide meadow
Bennett (309) - English; blessed
Beau (396) - French; handsome
Beckett (413) - English, Irish; dweller near the brook
Bruce (465) - Scottish, English; from the brushwood thicket
Barrett (567) - German; bear strength
Brent (629) - English; dweller near the burnt land
Bailey (941) - English; law enforcer, bailiff

My favorites: Benjamin, Bennett, Beckett

Jude Alexander

So, why Jude?  Why Alexander?  Why the pair together?

1) Jude is one of my favorite names and has been on my boy list for most of both pregnancies.  Once Steve started to really like it, it was a no brainer!  Even though he doesn't really like the fact that Jude is named after a song ;).  But that's OK, we'll sing it to him all the time just to drive Steve mad!

2) Alexander just ended up being Steve's chosen "perfect match".  While looking for middle names, I ended up sticking with classic names in the top 100 that I liked.  I wanted something familiar and classic because those are Steve's favorite names.  I got lucky because Alexander is probably my favorite top 50 boys name, or at least top 3! 

3) We picked the combo because its one of the few Steve agreed to.  It was hard just to get him to pick a first name, then we struggled for another few days over a middle name.  With my favorite names, like Jude, he said he'd consider them if I could find the right middle name.  Alexander just happened to go with most of the names I love so much! 

4) I love the meaning.  You have Jude, which means praise, and Alexander, which means defending warrior.    Awesome meaning!

Yay for boy!  I'll always miss my second pick for a girl's name, because the nickname Lily Q gives me the warm fuzzies, but I'm super excited to have a boy!

Boy or Girl

Alright.  Tomorrow is the day.  I get to find out the sex of our second baby.  I must say the wait has been pretty annoying.  I'm the kind of person who can't wait if there's something I could know.  And I have been eligible for my sonogram for almost a week now.  Not cool.  Anyway, in anticipation for this, I have figured out the names for our baby, whether we have a boy or a girl.  After much deliberation since around, oh, 6 weeks, we have come to these two choices:

Boy: Jude Alexander
Girl: Lilliana Quinn

Now, of course, this isn't 100% official until the birth certificate is signed, but most likely the child will have one of these two names.  As to which name it will be, well, you'll have to wait until tomorrow just like me :).

The Name Trend

Trend Research Article

Whenever you have time or are bored, take a look at the above link.  The author makes a great point about the trend factor of a name.  Those names that are fast to rise are also quite fast to fall.  For instance, my own name follows this trend.  Kristi rose quickly to become quite popular in the 70s and 80s, then fell into obscurity by 2000.  So, why does this happen?

Well, names that become popular so quickly end up being viewed as trite and overused (which is the case most of the time).  Nevaeh is a good example of this phenomenon.  Although it is still popular, I wouldn't be surprised if it suddenly fell away and was no longer used frequently like it is now.  It almost seems that name trends becomes an issue of class, as well.  When I hear the name Nevaeh now, I think that it is the name was chosen by a very young mother or a lower income mother.  When I hear the name Addison, I think that the name was chosen by upper class parents, possibly in their 30s or older.  Neither of these are bad things, but just what seems to be true.

Then there are those who try to create the trends or beat them altogether.  I am closest to this group.  I like to pick a name that isn't very popular but is still accessible.  Many name elitists take it to the point that they pick super obscure names that hardly anyone would even consider.  Or they choose names that were popular a very long time ago and are due to make a comeback.  One such name that I've seen becoming more and more popular is Beatrice.  Now, these names do not trend quickly like Kristi or Nevaeh.  They are names that have a more classic feel to them, giving them the ability to come back into fashion.

How do you fit into the trend?  Do you choose names that are popular classics?  Or perhaps a more obscure name that is unlikely to be overused?  Or do you go for the super name that rose so quickly to popularity that it must be a good one ;)?

B Names: The Girls

B Names: The Girls (this is a letter that doesn’t have quite as many options.
Briana (24) - Irish; strong, virtuous, and honorable
Brooklyn (37) - place name
Brooke (54) - English; small stream
Bella (58) - Italian; beautiful
Bailey (85) - English; law enforcement, bailiff

Bethany (342) - Hebrew; house of figs
Bridget (424) - anglicized version of Brighid; strength, power
Brenna (444) - Irish; raven
Brittany (460) - English; from Britain
Barbara (656) - Latin; foreign woman
Beatrice (860) - Latin; she who brings happiness

My favorites: Brooke, Bella, Bethany, Bridget, Brenna.