I’ve been interested in names for roughly 14 years. I’ve compiled lists upon lists of names, full notebooks, long documents, etc. and I never felt like I was finished.
Recently I took a long, honest look at my girl’s list. It had been growing like crazy and I felt the need to pare it down. I chose to keep only the names I would use for a child, regardless of popularity or other’s opinions. It’s now 13 names long–six first names and seven middle names.
I’m not saying other names are unappealing to me, I love heaps of them. But my actual girl’s list feels complete. I have no desire at this moment to add to it. Of course, it would be silly for me to say I’ll never add a name or two (or five). But for the time being, I feel like it’s finished.
I’ve felt finished but it’s never lasted. I’m not yet having done babies but I guess after that I’ll be finished? Who knows. It’s possible I’ll still make lists for hypothetical babies I will never had. The list I have now hasn’t changed much, but I do change it around a little bit, if I feel inclined. In my experience, it really only stops changing once the baby is named.
I’m not sure my list has ever felt complete. And if it has, it was long, long ago! I’m always adding and taking away and never fully satisfied with something. I remember once thinking that I LOVED my list just how it was with the exception of the last spot (I really wanted [something] nn [name_f]Posy[/name_f], but I couldn’t find a [name_f]Posy[/name_f] name I loved, so I left some [name_f]Evie[/name_f] name in there until I could find a [name_f]Posy[/name_f] name, and now [name_f]Posy[/name_f]'s nowhere near my list, even). I’ve been trying to just get my list down to a top 10 for a year or two now, haha! I’d love to have a list sorted, but I’m not sure it’ll ever really happen. As long as I’m 100% satisfied with my children’s names, that’s all that will matter to me, I think.
I never really feel like I have to ‘complete’ my lists, so to speak, rather, I’m gathering-collecting-evaluating names I would consider for future children. Most of the time it feels like super-forward planning which I guess it is. Once I do have children and I’m happy with their names, maybe naming will change for me? I dunno.
I feel most satisfied with my list when I have a top 3/4 names that I adore equally and would love to use, and don’t have much interest in anything else. It rarely happens to be honest, my list tend to be more of a spectrum that rearranges itself constantly - just a big mess really.
By the way, I absolutely adore the combo [name_f]Alba[/name_f] [name_f]Lilac[/name_f], it’s just gorgeous.
I have one son who is the pride and joy of my life, and Hubby and I made literally notebooks full of options for him. Nothing sounded PERFECT, but everything sounded great!
But our boy list really finished when we named our son. Hubby loved [name_u]Davi[/name_u], and I loved [name_u]Lucca[/name_u], so we combined them and named our baby [name_u]Davi[/name_u] [name_u]Lucca[/name_u]. And once we named our son, I felt like I now knew which names I would and wouldn’t use. I hope it’s that easy for my daughter!
There’s been a few times that I’ve felt as though my lists are finished, though those periods have never lasted longer than a week. [name_m]Even[/name_m] when I’m happy with all of my combinations, I always feel as though they could be “better”, so to speak, so then that leads me onto rearranging everything all over again.
I have single names that I love, but they are kind of a separate list. They change a bit, and I’m really not that invested in them.
Then I have the names in my signature, they are my favourite names! Besides switching the boy’s middles, my list hasn’t changed in a [name_m]LONG[/name_m] time- and I don’t see it changing. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I put these names together, so unless our tastes drastically change, at least one or two kids will have these names.
Thanks everyone! It’s so interesting to see other’s opinions on these things. Funny enough my being completely satisfied with my list lasted a whopping two days. This morning I woke up and was like, “Hm. I wonder what other middle names would work with [name_f]Leah[/name_f].” Names are a vicious cycle.
[name_f]My[/name_f] lists are starting to settle. ^^
Especially the boys list, I did a lot of work on that one, and it seems most of my long time favourites are still there. Some have been cut and replaced with new favourites, and then some of those new favourites have been cut and replaced with really old favourites (from when I was 12 and such). The boys list now has 47 names with about as many on the ‘middle name only’ list. There are also a whole bunch of word names I have to sift through, figure out which ones I would use as first names and middles and unify the lists.
I’m still working on sorting through the girls, but at the moment I find I don’t have the energy.
[name_f]My[/name_f] ideal was never to narrow it down to around ten though. Keeping it below 50 was a big enough task for me. When it comes down to actually naming a child, I suspect the name I use for my firstborn will eliminate many of my other choices as cohesive sibsets really matter to me. (If I go with [name_m]Balthasar[/name_m], this eliminates [name_u]Bo[/name_u] and [name_u]Blaise[/name_u] and [name_u]Jules[/name_u] and [name_m]Euan[/name_m] and a whole bunch of other, now too-short names.)
I forgot to post this earlier, but you’re my new best friend. The reactions to [name_f]Alba[/name_f] [name_f]Lilac[/name_f] have been decidedly negative and it’s great to get some positive feedback on it.
I feel like my list has settled down a bit [although I suspect that is because of my absence on nameberry] but as soon as you think ‘Yay. I finally feel like I have finished it’, you get bored and want new ideas.
I know exactly what you mean. I love short names but I feel like that rules out a few old favorites like [name_f]Patience[/name_f] or [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]. It just doesn’t work for me. I am a creature of habit and live by patterns.
Pretty much. I get settled in to my list and start to wonder if maybe there’s something better out there, a lovely combo, or the perfect name I just haven’t found yet.
[name_f]My[/name_f] lists feel finished until they don’t, if that makes any sense. I’ll make a list (usually of names I would seriously consider using), then a few months down the line my tastes will change a little and I will need to alter. Lately, my list has felt fairly finished. I guess once I have a child or all the children I plan on having, the list issue will have to be said and done. I can be completely content with most names on my shortlist.
Isn’t it strange how [name_f]Patience[/name_f] feels so long, but [name_f]Willa[/name_f] doesn’t, even if they have the same amount of syllables? That always amazes me that it’s the written length of a name that determines it!
I was trying to make a list of Nordic names that go together and travel well, but all the girls names ended up having 4 letters and only some of the boys names did. It completely upset the balance for me and I felt compelled to come up with only 4 letter boy names as well or switch out some of the girls names for longer/shorter ones.
[name_u]Jules[/name_u] feels longer than [name_m]Euan[/name_m] even though [name_u]Jules[/name_u] is only one syllable.
I’m waiting for a SO to wreak havoc though. With an infusion of names he likes and a purge of the ones he can’t abide, the whole thing would most likely fall into place in one possible way and that’s that. (I’m eclectic, I can feel comfortable using any type of name but the trendy ones. The problem has always been narrowing it down!)
(And I also wanted to say how much I love your [name_f]Alba[/name_f] [name_f]Lilac[/name_f] combo! I recently felt forced to choose between [name_u]Alva[/name_u], [name_f]Alma[/name_f] and [name_f]Alba[/name_f] and landed on [name_f]Alma[/name_f]. You’ve made me reconsider!)
And it’s so funny because it’s all relative. Someone else may think of [name_f]Willa[/name_f] as round because of the shape the mouth makes when you say it. Then [name_f]Thea[/name_f] would be sharp because when it’s said your tongue touches your teeth.
There are so many layers and variations to these things. It’s fascinating.
As far as a SO goes my previous relationship (fiance) wanted a say. It changed up a lot of my combos but thankfully he went for all of my favorites. There’s hope!
& Yay! [name_f]Alba[/name_f] needs some love. I actually have [name_f]Alma[/name_f] [name_f]Lilac[/name_f] tucked away for safe keeping. A while back I chose between [name_f]Alba[/name_f] and [name_f]Alma[/name_f]. [name_f]Alma[/name_f] was the one that won initially for her meaning. [name_f]Alba[/name_f] grew on me though and is now my preference between the two.
Actually, [name_f]Willa[/name_f] is round for me, and [name_f]Thea[/name_f] sharp.
Is it the other way around for you becuase [name_f]Willa[/name_f] has spiky letters? Most of [name_f]Thea[/name_f]'s letters have a rounded shape, so it would make sense to me if I wasn’t so caught up with the sounds of names.
C/K, EE, Y, J, Z and S are sharp sounds (Oisín, [name_f]Persis[/name_f]), A, M, L, N, V, O, B, F/PH are round or soft sounds ([name_m]Noam[/name_m], [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]), but it still all depends on which other letters are present in the name, and on potential imagery (I would call [name_u]Asa[/name_u] sharp on sound alone, but the fact that it’s a boys name ending in -a makes it soft.)
[name_f]Alma[/name_f] is very trendy in Norway, sadly. If it comes down to using one of the three, it would probably be [name_f]Alba[/name_f] for being quite striking
If my future SO has all the same favourites as me, I’ll tear my hair out. That would be impossible to work with! I’m really hoping for a challenge so that the whole thing becomes a journey. If it becomes too much trouble, I know I can turn to nameberry for help ^^
The letters are exactly why I think of some names as sharp or round! [name_m]How[/name_m] funny that you are the opposite.
I wouldn’t mind [name_f]Alma[/name_f] being trendy personally. I’ve come to a point where if I like a name then I like it and if I want to use it then I will. Either way, I still prefer [name_f]Alba[/name_f].
You have a good point about preferring a SO with varying tastes. It makes for an interesting story and I think it would be more meaningful to come to an agreement together. Though, sometimes I do think it’d be nice to have a SO who let’s me have my way. That could be dangerous though!
I know what you mean. Sometimes I look at my list and think there’s no way I’ll ever add another name. It’s like, okay, I’ve heard every name out there and surely this is it. These are the only names I’ll ever truly love. So then I don’t look at my lists or names (for myself) for a month or so and at the end of my “name break” I’ll suddenly have a long list of new name crushes. I think sometimes with name nerds, because we’re constantly looking at names and analyzing them, that it gets to the point where every name just feels stale.
The reactions to [name_f]Alba[/name_f] [name_f]Lilac[/name_f] have been decidedly negative and it’s great to get some positive feedback on it.