Any other expectant moms feeling anxiety over their name choice? My husband and I are expecting our second daughter at the end of [name_f]April[/name_f]. We’ve had a name picked out since [name_f]October[/name_f] and for some reason I feel a lot of anxiety over it, like it’s not the right name. Our first daughter is [name_f]Claire[/name_f] [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]. We wanted a similar feeling name: classic but not ridiculously overused. Before we got pregnant, we decided we loved [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] and then of course [name_f]Princess[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f] had her baby and that was off the table (I also didn’t realize how popular it was even before the new royal!).
This time around, my husband wanted [name_f]Lily[/name_f] and I wanted [name_f]Anna[/name_f], nn [name_f]Annie[/name_f] (for my grandmother, [name_f]Anne[/name_f]). I thought [name_f]Lily[/name_f] was too popular, he thought [name_f]Anna[/name_f] was too boring. So we tossed out those names. Eventually we settled on [name_f]Audrey[/name_f]. So since [name_f]October[/name_f], this baby has been [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] ([name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is a family name that honors a ton of people on both sides).
It’s a beautiful name. We haven’t told many people but those who we have shared the name with have said they love it. It has the same classic feel to it that we were looking for and sounds great with [name_f]Claire[/name_f].
And yet for some reason I can’t shake the feeling that it isn’t right. Anyone else face this? Am I just a hormonal mess? We don’t have any other names that we agree on and my husband really loves [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], so I don’t think we’ll be changing it at this point. I feel like I’ve said the name so many times that it just doesn’t even sound like a name anymore if that makes sense. I feel in my gut that she’s an [name_f]Annie[/name_f] but I’m not going to win that battle. I feel like I’m going crazy (at 36 weeks pregnant, that’s not surprising!) and I guess I just want some reassurance that I’m not the only one out there who is going through something like this. I’m sure once she’s here and we start using her name regularly, it’ll feel right. At least I hope so!
I love [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]. It’s classic, beautiful and goes great with your daughter’s name. I’m not a huge fan of [name_f]Anna[/name_f] and tend to agree with your husband here. But if you really feel that should be the baby’s name, maybe you need to make a bigger push with your husband and let him know how passionate you are. He can always chose the middle name (e.g. [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Lily[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], etc.). Good luck!
Thanks. I guess I need to really think about whether it’s worth pushing the topic with him. [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is set in stone as the middle name. If we’d had a boy the MN would have been [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] for my grandfather plus it’s my father-in-law’s mn. There are Josephs, Josephines and Josephas scattered throughout our family tree. I would have used it as a first name but hubs preferred it as a middle name.
I felt the same way when naming my daughter. [name_u]McKinley[/name_u] wasn’t a name I was in love with, but it had meaning. [name_m]Even[/name_m] now that she is twelve There are times when I think her nickname suits her better than her given name, which is still a name I don’t fully love.
[name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is a beautiful classic name. Did you ever consider combining your favorites into [name_f]Lilyanna[/name_f] or [name_f]Lilianna[/name_f]? Then you could still use the nickname [name_f]Annie[/name_f]
I agree that [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is a lovely name, but I’ve heard time and again about this “gut feeling” mothers (and sometimes fathers) get that their baby is absolutely an X, and definitely not a Y. If you really feel that strongly about it, I’d talk seriously to your husband about it - let him know how strong and instinctive this feeling is for you and see what his reaction is. It may be that he feels that your instinctive feeling overrides his preference for [name_f]Audrey[/name_f]. Of course, he may not, but it’s worth impressing on him how strongly you feel about this.
Of course, he has equal naming rights as the father of your little girl, but at the same time you “know” her better at this point, and I do believe that sometimes parents can get crazy intuitions about their child before they even meet them, or shortly afterwards. The number of “name regret” threads I’ve seen on here where parents feel their chosen name just doesn’t “fit” their child, even if they like the name in theory, corroborates this. There definitely is such a thing as a particular name being a perfect fit for a child, while another, equally lovely, name just doesn’t fit at all.
Perhaps you could agree to delay the final decision until you actually meet your daughter. She may be so clearly an [name_f]Anna[/name_f] or an [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] that you’ll wonder what all the discussion was about! If she’s not, there’s still no hurry. There’s nothing stopping you from trying each name out for a week or two to see what feels more natural; lots of parents don’t finalise the name immediately after birth.
Or, if she’s old enough, how about involving your elder daughter in the naming process? It would give the little one a meaningful story behind her name and I’m sure big sis would love to know that she helped to name her sister!
Also to add one more thing… I totally think [name_f]Annie[/name_f] could work as a nickname for [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] since the full name starts with an A and ends with an N sound.
[name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is a fine name. When in doubt go with your gut. Have you considered [name_f]Lilian[/name_f] or [name_f]Iliana[/name_f] as the first name. [name_f]Alaine[/name_f] is also a possibility.
I’m not really crazy about those. I did think about other names that could lead to [name_f]Annie[/name_f] like Annelies but my husband didn’t really like that. I just know SO many little Lillians and Lilys that I wanted to avoid those. Thanks for the suggestions though!
I know too many little Lillians or [name_f]Lily[/name_f] variations so I wanted to avoid those. That was all my husband When I suggested using [name_f]Annie[/name_f] as a NN for [name_f]Lillian[/name_f] as a compromise, he didn’t go for it so we moved on. He isn’t really crazy about [name_f]Annie[/name_f] to begin with which is why I haven’t really pushed too hard. But thank you!
[name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is gorgeous and fits well with your other little one. I actually think [name_f]Annie[/name_f] could work as a nickname for [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]. If your husband doesn’t like [name_f]Annie[/name_f] he can call her by her full name (or some other nickname). That way you get [name_f]Annie[/name_f] and he gets his pick as well.
Maybe look at other name combos so you have a short list and feel like you’ve explored your options. Then when you meet baby girl you can see what name “fits”.
Sadly, we don’t always get to use “the” name. My pick for my daughter was always [name_f]Anne[/name_f]. It’s still my favorite name. However, my husband had a not so nice relative named [name_f]Anne[/name_f] and he refused to use it. For a couple of years it made me really sad that I didn’t get to use it. I really had to branch out since he didn’t like any of my choices. We finally found a name we both loved. It didn’t feel right for a long time, but now her name is perfect for her, and we still love it. Try putting [name_f]Anna[/name_f] out if consideration. If it wasn’t available, would you love [name_f]Audrey[/name_f]?
I think [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] is great with [name_f]Claire[/name_f]. [name_f]Annabel[/name_f] or [name_f]Annalee[/name_f] would both work as well. Personally, if you love [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], I would stick with that. Good luck!
I think [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is a great name but I also like [name_f]Annabel[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] a lot, and that would get you the nickname [name_f]Annie[/name_f].
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you call [name_f]Claire[/name_f] by a nickname? If not, might you prefer a name like [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], which also doesn’t lend itself to a nickname? ([name_f]Claire[/name_f] and [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], both called their given names).
[name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is beautiful. You have great taste! I understand what you’re going through. Naming this new baby has proved rather difficult. We have been switching between the same three names for a month now and we still can’t pick. And it’s made worse by the fact that I knew from day one what my daughters name would be and her father didn’t have any disagreements. I don’t know how to solve the baby name anxiety, I just hope that when our bubs are born we’ll know and it’ll feel right and we won’t worry about it again.
[name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is a very nice name. If it’s not right, maybe you could get your husband on board with [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Anna[/name_f] and you could still call her [name_f]Annie[/name_f]. I also love [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] and think it pairs well with [name_f]Claire[/name_f]. You can’t go wrong.
When I suggested using [name_f]Annie[/name_f] as a NN for [name_f]Lillian[/name_f] as a compromise, he didn’t go for it so we moved on. He isn’t really crazy about [name_f]Annie[/name_f] to begin with which is why I haven’t really pushed too hard. But thank you!