DH and I have about a month until we welcome our first child, a little girl! We have decided to wait until we see her to officially chose the name. But the name conversation has recently taken an interesting twist and I need some help to ease and/or support my concerns. Sorry in advance for the length of this:
We had come pretty close to settling on either [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] or [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f] (mn [name_f]Jane[/name_f]); other names that have been tossed around are [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f], [name_f]Winifred[/name_f], and [name_f]Augusta[/name_f].
Last weekend I was looking through genealogy records from my family and saw that [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling was the name of not only of my grandmother, but her great-aunt and her great-great grandmother (3 women over 4 generations). I think that is pretty cool! Also, I will note that we are in the 124th year of only girls being born into this side of the family – I would love to honor this history.
Now DH is set on [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling LN. I do love the name (it’s darling!) and so many family members will be touched with the name being passed down once again.
BUT I also have concerns – I have loved our top girl names for so long and it feels like I am just throwing them away.
What about future children? [name_f]Jane[/name_f] is very traditional and our other girl names don’t really fit with [name_f]Jane[/name_f], (not so worried with our boy names).
[name_m]Will[/name_m] future children feel bad if their names don’t have as much history? We will do honor middle names, but not necessarily both names.
Is [name_f]Jane[/name_f] too plain? We love the name and believe she will make it her own, but there is a concern of it being ‘just [name_f]Jane[/name_f]’.
Am I overthinking this, and just need to see this little girl to make certain [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling is the one? I never thought I would be so hesitant to pick out a baby’s name… but I am kinda a mess about it Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated.
I love [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling and can easily see her with a sister [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f], [name_f]Winifred[/name_f], or [name_f]Augusta[/name_f].
[name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling is such a sweet and meaningful name! [name_f]Jane[/name_f], although a simple name, is very classy and feminine yet strong. It’s quite underused in this generation so I think people will really appreciate a little [name_f]Jane[/name_f] at the playground or in the classroom. It’s hard for me to tell you to go ahead and use it and “throw away” the names you’ve loved for so long (as I can’t imagine being able to do that myself) and I can guarantee your family will love your daughter no matter if she is [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling or [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f] so I wouldn’t worry about what they think too much. Although it is very sweet of you to consider using a family name, you cannot name her out of obligation or you may end up resenting the name.
One option is always to use [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling as two middle names; for example, [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling is a stunning combination, [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling and [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling is quite nice too. Let me know what you think! Good luck!!!
@ lavenderbelle – thank you! I like the idea of [name_f]Jane[/name_f] with [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f] (love the Pride and Prejudice connection!)
@katiem333 – I do find [name_f]Jane[/name_f] refreshing among some of the current name trends, I don’t think she will run into many other [name_f]Jane[/name_f]'s her age I have not told any of my family that we are considering this (as I don’t want to start feeling obligated to use it), and I think it’s an honor to pass down this name to our child. I have asked DH about doing a double mn - [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling would be #1, but he has a double middle and HATES it. He runs into confusion with official forms, IDs, etc. But, the double middle option will stay on the table for when we see her. Thank you!
As the mother of a [name_f]Jane[/name_f], I am biased when I say I love her name. It was on my list of baby names from high school, so it’s a deep-seeded love.
Yes, I have twice heard the “just [name_f]Jane[/name_f]?” comment but to $&@* with them. We find it a lovely, classic foil to our dynamic, vivacious, often mischievous four-year-old.
As for [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling fitting in with future sibling names, I see [name_f]Jane[/name_f] as being so classic it will go with anything, be it [name_f]Augusta[/name_f], [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f], or [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f].
Finally, [name_f]Jane[/name_f] is a stand-out name in her class; she’s the only one at her school.
As the mother of a [name_f]Jane[/name_f], I am biased when I say I love her name. It was on my list of baby names from high school, so it’s a deep-seeded love.
Yes, I have twice heard the “just [name_f]Jane[/name_f]?” comment but to $&@* with them. We find it a lovely, classic foil to our dynamic, vivacious, often mischievous four-year-old.
As for [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling fitting in with future sibling names, I see [name_f]Jane[/name_f] as being so classic it will go with anything, be it [name_f]Augusta[/name_f], [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f], or [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f].
Finally, [name_f]Jane[/name_f] is a stand-out name in her class; she’s the only one at her school.
I love the name [name_f]Jane[/name_f]… [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling is wonderful.
You could opt for [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling and just call her [name_f]Jane[/name_f], use [name_f]Jane[/name_f] for most intents and purposes. Then as she grew older she could decide whether to start using [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f]. Also, there’s a cute nickname potential with Z.J. I also like [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] Darling.
@jo jo - It’s great to hear from a mother of a [name_f]Jane[/name_f]! I don’t think we would run into too many other [name_f]Janes[/name_f] on the playground, and I kinda love that!
I love [name_f]Jane[/name_f], it’s definitely not plain any more as you never hear of little [name_f]Janes[/name_f] so I find it so much more interesting than a lot of other names such as [name_f]Emma[/name_f] and [name_f]Olivia[/name_f].
The meaning behind the name is lovely and I don’t think you’re other children will mind as long as you explain why you chose their name too, even if that’s just telling how much you love how it sounds.
If you are still unsure about [name_f]Jane[/name_f] but want to keep the family connection I would use Darling as a middle name for one of your favorite names.
[name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Jane[/name_f]. It’s sweet, classic, feminine, and I don’t feel that it’s at all plain. You don’t really meet little [name_f]Jane[/name_f]'s, so I think the name would stand out in a refreshing way. [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling is really nice.
Maybe you could go with something like [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Darling [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]/ [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f] Darling and call her by [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]/[name_f]Georgiana[/name_f] but have [name_f]Jane[/name_f] as her official name?
Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated.