I recently re-logged into my old account that I created when I had not long become a teenager (she still exists—@GPU), and it’s hilarious reading back through all my posts! Some of my favourites have remained the same, but there’s definitely been some changes.
According to younger me, my favourite name was [name_f]Helen[/name_f]. And I remember thinking, and being quite adamant, that this name was the name. It was going to be the name of my first daughter, and it was here to stay. But now it’s nowhere to be seen (even on my very-long list)!
What’s a name you loved as a child that you thought would stay with you and be the one?
[name_f]Abigail[/name_f] maybe? [name_f][/name_f] It was my first favorite girls’ name and I swore up and down it would be my daughter’s name and it was the most beautiful name in the whole world. [name_f][/name_f] But then I had a manic obsessive episode with the name and decided I’d had enough of her after a month or so
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I still loved her for years and I still really like [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] but doubt I would use her.
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TBH though, I’m even surprised former first name loves like [name_m]Peter[/name_m], [name_m]Caleb[/name_m], and [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] are not even on my list at all. [name_f][/name_f] That makes me a little sad but I at least can recognize that my own style now suits me much better in this stage of my life than [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] and [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] would! [name_f][/name_f] It’s hard to believe at different stages of my life I could’ve had children named [name_m]Emmerson[/name_m] [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Laila[/name_f] [name_f]Abigail[/name_f], or even [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] Olivia… those don’t feel like me at all anymore! [name_f][/name_f] Although I’m sure in 2008 I would have never believed that [name_m]Caspar[/name_m] and [name_f]Adele[/name_f] would end up becoming such huge favorites of mine lol.
[name_m]Even[/name_m] though I’ve never considered her for an actual child, I have to go with Eyerusalem. She’s still to this day the strongest name crush I’ve ever had, and was at one point above my all-time-favorite on my list. Most of my name loves today have to do with meaning, sound, context, etc, but Eyerusalem was so different. I just had this physical reaction that made her the most beautiful name in the world for no reason at all. She’s still on my list, but nowhere near the top, and I can’t seem to summon the feeling she used to give me!!
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As an aside, if I hadn’t chosen [name_f]Mayim[/name_f] as my nameberry name five years ago () I’m sure she would be long gone from my consciousness. I definitely wouldn’t pick [name_f]Mayim[/name_f] as a name for myself nowadays, but I’m very glad I did!!
Probably [name_f]Ada[/name_f]! I’ve loved that name for years and later on DH was onboard for using it for a daughter. I had a combo picked out and just knew that, should I have a girl, that would be her name.
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I’m expecting a daughter now and that’s not what her name is going to be at all [name_f][/name_f] and I’m completely okay with that lol.
The first one that comes to mind is [name_m]Noah[/name_m]. I still love it, don’t get me wrong. But when I was younger I was absolutely certain that if I ever had a son, I’d name him [name_m]Noah[/name_m]. He was my first serious name crush. This was a couple of years before it became extremely popular. In the end, I never used it, in part because it became so popular.
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Another one is Ísrún, I was completely smitten with it as a teenager and it stayed on my list until around the time I got pregnant with my daughter. All of a sudden it just didn’t feel right anymore. It’s a pretty rare name even in [name_f]Iceland[/name_f], and around the time I got pregnant I read a book which had a character named Ísrún. She wasn’t very likeable, and I blame the book and the author for ruining this name for me
and to a lesser extent, [name_f]Phillipa[/name_f], [name_m]Emlyn[/name_m], [name_f]Lorilyn[/name_f]
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I still love [name_f]Tallulah[/name_f], [name_f]Clementine[/name_f], [name_m]Jasper[/name_m] and [name_m]Emlyn[/name_m] [name_f][/name_f]- probably not as “the one”, but still on the list
I used to want to call my daughter [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] [name_f]Maria[/name_f]. I still like it, but don’t think now I would have used it. Not least because I have known so many Rachels! Also loved [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] until it got too popular for me. But I might have used it because my best friend is [name_f]Gail[/name_f] and I would have liked to honour her. That is, if I hadn’t yet discovered the more unusual [name_f]Avigail[/name_f]. I really like that.
[name_f]Emma[/name_f]! I loved it for years and was absolutely convinced it would be my first daughter’s name. When my first real relationship ended I left [name_f]Emma[/name_f] behind with it; it was the name of our[name_f][/name_f] future daughter and had become obsolete.
[name_f]My[/name_f] obsession with the name [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f][name_f][/name_f] used to be intense but now…. nothing. I thought my future son would be [name_m]Henry[/name_m][name_f][/name_f] for a long time!
I remember loving the name [name_m]James[/name_m] and having it as my top boy name when I was in primary school (so younger than 11!) and it remained my favourite boy name until I was about 22. Then one day, it just lost its shine for me.
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Although fun fact [name_f][/name_f]- my husband’s cousin had her baby yesterday and they named him [name_m]James[/name_m] so at least there’s a baby [name_m]James[/name_m] in my life somewhere!
So mine is [name_m]Noah[/name_m] just like @Rosebeth[name_f][/name_f] I loved him for a long time including this being the front runner if [name_f]Lilia[/name_f] was a boy and still do he’s absolutely gorgeous. But I wouldn’t personally name my son [name_m]Noah[/name_m] if I was to have a boy right now. I think he’s just lost some of his shine not necessarily because of popularity but mainly because other names have become shinier. [name_m]Solomon[/name_m], [name_m]Robin[/name_m] & [name_m]Joshua[/name_m] have definitely overtaken my love for [name_m]Noah[/name_m].
I remember when I was 6-7, my list was full of names of its time: Tiffany, Kimberly, Samantha & Gabriella.
Three names I remember being deadset on:
At that age (year 1), Julian Luke - couldn’t believe what a handsome name I’d come up with. Still like both names but as firsts, Julian especially.
At around 17, I was sure I would call my daughter Gracie Garcia nn Gigi - and again, super proud, this time of a fem/masc combination. Didn’t think about it being culturally more than a little odd without any Garcia-relevant heritage. Lasted a few years!
First three months of pregnancy (this time 9 years ago), was convinced my daughter would be Edith nn Edie. Still like it but one day, it just didn’t feel right.
[name_f]Sarah[/name_f]. [name_f][/name_f]Thought it was the most beautiful name when I was a kid and hadn’t met any. (Little me also liked that it meant princess… I’ve been a name nerd for a long time.) A few really mean Sarahs later (and discovering more names, too) and I don’t really like it that much anymore.
Ignoring childhood name crushes (Sophie, Sara, Crystal), I think I had the biggest crush on Clementine. I had a big “vintage phase” for most of my teenage years (I’ve always loved history and I was especially obsessed with 1920s-1950s aesthetics for a while) so I loved the vintage vibe and the cute nickname Leni! Similary I liked a lot of vintagey boy names – I was especially sure I’d have a baby boy called Lionel or Ozzie someday.
I still think these names are nice, but they’re not me anymore? I used to think I would move to an English-speaking country someday but, now that I don’t want that anymore, these names feel too English for me. While I wouldn’t use Clementine, I do really like Klementina! And instead of Ozzie I like Oskar ‘Ozi’. I doubt that I’d use either of them though! And while I still love history I tend to like names that feel more timeless than specifically vintage or early 1900s.
[name_f]Ella[/name_f] for sure! I loved that name from the ages of 6-12 and swore I would name my daughter that. But not so much anymore, It’s just too popular and lost some of it’s charm (though it’s still sentimental) I also really liked [name_m]Robert[/name_m] nn [name_f]Birdie[/name_f] (my thought process was Robert-Berty-Birdie) I would use [name_f]Birdie[/name_f] but I can’t STAND the name [name_m]Robert[/name_m]. All of the boy’s names I liked were super classic that has definitely changed.
When I was a young girl I was convinced that my daughter would be named [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] (I loved the books & show lol), which is quite different than our choice of I n d i g o[name_f][/name_f] [name_f][/name_f] [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] isn’t even on my long list anymore.
The two names that I were sure were the ones were [name_m]Hal[/name_m] and [name_f]Jennie[/name_f]. [name_f][/name_f] [name_f]My[/name_f] children ended up having family names – [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] [name_f]Louisa[/name_f], [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] [name_f]Helen[/name_f], and [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] [name_m]Caleb[/name_m].
The two names that I were sure were the ones were [name_m]Hal[/name_m] and [name_f]Jennie[/name_f]. [name_f][/name_f] [name_f]My[/name_f] children ended up having family names – [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] [name_f]Louisa[/name_f], [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] [name_f]Helen[/name_f], and [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] [name_m]Caleb[/name_m].
) I’m sure she would be long gone from my consciousness. I definitely wouldn’t pick [name_f]Mayim[/name_f] as a name for myself nowadays, but I’m very glad I did!!
[name_f][/name_f] and I’m completely okay with that lol.
[name_f][/name_f] [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] isn’t even on my long list anymore.