[name]Every[/name] woman is different, every family is different, and every baby is different. The amount of people involved in a baby’s life can lead to some craziness when it comes to naming! Some people have their favorite names picked out years before they conceive, or even meet a life partner. What about your best friend? Are there any names that are OFF LIMITS because they “belong” to someone else? Would your sister kill you if you used the name [name]Lola[/name]? Would you stop speaking to your good friend if she named her new baby [name]Bodhi[/name]? What are some of the forbidden names?
For me? It’s a fact that “[name]Stella[/name]” has been reserved by my best friend. No matter how much the name appeals to me I’d never use it because she confessed she’s loved the name for years and has dreams about her daughter [name]Stella[/name].
Does anyone else have a name they are forbidden to use?
A few years ago, my cousin tried to steal “my” name. A name that I had talked about using for years and years. When she mentioned what she was going to name her baby girl, I told her that she couldn’t use the name because it was mine and I’d talked to her about it many many times. It was a family name for me (not her) and I wanted it reserved for me. If I had a dollar for every time I’d told her “If I ever had a little girl, she would be named x,” I would have a nice downpayment for a car. She wound up naming her child something different and I’m really, really glad because if I’d had to call that undisciplined devil child of a little girl “my” name, I would cry.
I can’t think of any names that are off limits because someone else loves them or called them. There are quite a few names I could never use no matter how much I like them because they remind me too much of a person, whether it’s in a good or bad way.
[name]Everly[/name]- surname of someone i grew up with
[name]Tabitha[/name]- a girl I knew… aka [name]Tabby[/name] [name]Cat[/name]
[name]George[/name]- [name]Friend[/name]'s father
[name]Grady[/name]- Step grandfather’s surname… would not like to honor that
[name]Brigida[/name]- It might be usable, I adore this woman though. She is Dominican and pronounces the beginning like Brigett, I prefer to pronounce it like [name]Brigitta[/name]
I also love too many names from The Sound of [name]Music[/name] so I’d have to be careful if I have more than two children!
The only name that is absolutely off limits for me is [name]Margaret[/name] (and by extension [name]Margo[/name] etc.) because it is my only brother’s long time girlfriend’s (he’s saving for a ring) grandmother’s name. Not only was she extremely close to her grandmother but she recently passed AND we have discussed how she would love to use it and what nicknames we could use. I would never do that to her as long as she is in my family (even though I think its a fabulous name!)
Other names that may be off limits:
[name]Lorelei[/name] - too close to [name]SIL[/name]'s name [name]Lori[/name]
[name]Susanna[/name] - I have an Aunt [name]Susan[/name] who is NOT namesake worthy unfortunately
[name]Beatrix[/name] - sounds horrible with my surname
[name]Thomas[/name] - Family name already used up (because used too much and by certain family members)
[name]Emmeline[/name] - too close to my cousins baby [name]Emma[/name]
I can’t think of any others but I’m sure there is more. Sometimes it feel like the “off Limits” list is longer than the “contenders” list!
A lot of times if I wouldn’t use a name its because its too closely tied to someone
Two of my closest friends from back in University have lovely names I’d never be able to disassociate from them even though I’d love to use the names-- [name]Julia[/name] nn [name]Jules[/name] & [name]Charlotte[/name]. It strange though, since neither are uncommon, but I just feel like I’d be stealing their names! Another close friend’s name, [name]Eleni[/name], I’d love to have all to myself.
My mother’s name is absolutely gorgeous and extremely unusual without being odd, and she’d make a lovely namesake but I think I’d still struggle with having to people with such an standout name in the family. Actually, come to think of it, there a lot of extended family names I love that are just unusual enough (given our annual large reunions) to make for a crowd-- [name]Clio[/name], Otillia, [name]Flavia[/name], [name]Rowena[/name], [name]Selma[/name], [name]Viola[/name], & [name]Tamsin[/name]
Luckily, a lot of my friends seem to have different tastes in names, so I haven’t yet run into any name-stealing or off-limits names on that front!
My sister’s ‘reserved’ names-
[name]Isla[/name]
[name]Liv[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
And we have an ongoing fight over who called [name]Thomas[/name], nn [name]Tom[/name], first.
My BFF’s ‘reserved’ names-
[name]Ellie[/name]
[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Scarlett[/name]
[name]Harrison[/name]
I loved the name [name]Lyla[/name] for a girl but then my niece was named [name]Lily[/name]. They are too similiar for me to use [name]Lyla[/name] down the line. Boo!
Well I’m not planning on having children for at least 10-15 years, but I do feel that names ‘belong’ to me.
When people tell me that they like names that are (or ever have been) on my list, I get upset. [name]Silly[/name], yes, to get in a flap because my friend happened to mention a name that I liked years ago; but that’s just me :lol:
I do, however, DEFINITELY have dibs on [name]Margaret[/name], and any form of [name]Margaret[/name] ([name]Even[/name] [name]Daisy[/name] and [name]Pearl[/name] are off limits). And also [name]Ramona[/name], although my sister has mentioned liking [name]Rhona[/name]. We’ll see.
Oooh, I like this thread!
I lost contact with my cousin for a couple of years, and met her again recently to discover she has named her son one of my faves: [name]Austin[/name]. Couldn’t go there now but thinking about [name]Augustin/name instead.
Have some great names too close to use in my family ([name]Lila[/name], [name]Nina[/name]) but am having a boy anyway so don’t need to worry about that!
I’m glad that even though these names are off limits to us that other people might be inspired. It does seem like a name becomes more wearable when someone close to you likes it. Newest example: My bestie just let me know that she’s calling official dibs on the name “[name]Kian[/name]” (pronounced Kee-in) because a childhood friend of hers who passed away was named [name]Ian[/name] and her bf approved it. Of course now I’m like “[name]Kian[/name] is so usable without being weird…”. I wouldn’t use it in a million years but maybe someone out there can call dibs now, haha
Family names I WOULDN’T use (too popular in the fam or bad associations):
[name]Timothy[/name]
[name]John[/name]
[name]Frances[/name]
[name]Dean[/name]
[name]Pamela[/name]
My sister’s #1 name for a girl was [name]Imogen[/name], until she found out she was having a boy. She says she wouldn’t mind, but [name]Imogen[/name] is already my sweet blond niece. Off my list it goes, hopefully onto one of yours.
I don’t like it when people “claim” names. I think it is best to keep your favorite names a secret from everyone. This applies whether you are 14 dreaming of the family you will have some day or when you are actually pregnant. Claiming names make them like forbidden fruit and they become more attractive to the people who know them. If you don’t want anyone using “your name”, just keep quiet about it.
My best friend called dibs on [name]Diana[/name]. Grr…
[name]Both[/name] my sister and I are very much name-lovers, me more than her, but whenever I tell her I like a name, she waits a couple of weeks and then calls dibs on it. So far she has claimed [name]Lily[/name], [name]Phoebe[/name], [name]Belle[/name], [name]George[/name] and [name]Luigi[/name]. I can’t believe her! She’s 8 yrs old!!
Luckily, I’ve called dibs on [name]Roxanne[/name], [name]Ezra[/name] and [name]Phineas[/name] :lol:
Not that I couldn’t…I just don’t like the idea of naming a child after anyone. I feel if I did that to my first child, I would be expected to name the second child after someone too and the way my family is, feelings would be hurt.
But I really, really like [name]Irene[/name], [name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Dorothy[/name], [name]Jo[/name] and [name]William[/name]. I wonder if I can get away with [name]Rosemary[/name] even though my grandmother’s name is [name]Mary[/name].
I just found out that my fiance’s cousin used to be married to a guy named [name]Dimitri[/name] who left her because she couldn’t have children naturally. NOOOO!!! This forever crosses [name]Dmitri[/name] off MY list! Boo to people who suck and ruin their cool names for us.
Thankfully my sister has different taste then me and so do my 2 SILs. I called [name]Jameson[/name] as a teen and it stayed mine. [name]Samuel[/name], [name]Lucas[/name], and [name]Jackson[/name] were all some of my favorites growing up. My best friend just named her daughter [name]Lila[/name] [name]Pearl[/name], so [name]Isla[/name] [name]Rue[/name] is off my list.
No Family or best friend names for me either. There is just too much family and too little babies to go around. Not to mention that I don’t particularly love any family member’s name (so that helps).
Also off limits are names of kids of family, friends,(or upcoming babies of friends) even if we are only sorta close I would never do it.
Some of that forbidden list:
Girls:
[name]Sophie[/name]
[name]Poppy[/name]
[name]Daisy[/name]
[name]Holly[/name]
[name]Mia[/name]
[name]Ella[/name]
[name]Rose[/name]
[name]Lucia[/name]
Annea
[name]Savannah[/name]
[name]Paloma[/name]
[name]Ava[/name]
[name]Penelope[/name]
[name]Danielle[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Chloe[/name]
[name]Oceane[/name]
[name]Dylan[/name], which I loved for [name]Bob[/name] [name]Dylan[/name] & [name]Dylan[/name] [name]Thomas[/name], but which my sister (who shares neither love) used/stole/was inspired by me to use. [name]May[/name] use anyhow as a mn–too popular for a fn anyhow.
Also, (sadly) all the beautiful names beginning with B since my last name starts with M.
My sister had to eliminate all the “E” names on her list after someone pointed out the initial issue with her “W” last name. I guess she won’t be naming any babies after me :x haha
My friends called their daughter [name]Eilidh[/name] which I love, so can’t use that. Another couple have used [name]Ruaraidh[/name] which we were considering but ruled it out in the end, so I’m glad it’s being used by someone.
