I know what names I love the most. The problem is, when I say I’m set on any of those names, my mind inevitably wanders to how this baby’s name will affect the names we’ll be able to choose for future babies. Since I’m sort of an OCD freak about uniformity, and have all sorts of rules about it, I really feel like some of our favorite names for this baby (our first) will leave us trapped should she have siblings later on.
Can you all relate to this? [name]How[/name] do you deal with it? [name]Do[/name] you feel like you have to name the whole yet-to-be-conceived-crew in order to feel secure in baby # 1’s name? Or are you a little more laid back and just trust you’ll figure something out when the time comes?
Expecting my 3rd soon. I originally felt very confined in my choices because of the choices I had make fo rmy son and daughter. After much thought and reading on this website I decided it really didn’t matter. This child deserves her own name and is going to get, even though it doesn’t go with her siblings. Perhaps it will give her a strong sense of self!
Obviously most of us on this site are name fanatics and a good deal of us probably do know what we would like to name our entire brood, if we know for certain how many we’d like to have!
And although a first child’s name does determine a family naming style, particularly for people who have OCD tendencies (Oh don’t worry, I’m right there with you!), I actually think a second child’s name makes that style even more determinate.
For example, if you named a first son [name]Andrew[/name], you could go any numbers of directions. There’s the upper-crust classic names ([name]Charles[/name], [name]Henry[/name], [name]Thomas[/name]), the Biblical names ([name]Luke[/name], [name]Mark[/name], [name]Matthew[/name]), the popular names ([name]Ethan[/name], [name]Alexander[/name], [name]Ryan[/name], [name]Logan[/name]), etc.
I don’t know if that makes things seem easier or not, but I thought I’d share the thought anyway!
Most of all, I highly encourage you not to stress about future children while naming your first. [name]Just[/name] make sure you love whatever name you choose for this child. [name]Remember[/name] that each child is individual, and deserves to be given an individually selected name! (I’d hate to find out I was only named “X” because my brother was named “Y”!)
Besides, chances are, you will be able to find another name that fits well with the first if you have more children down the road.
P.S. If you are having a hard time deciding between a few names for this first child, then I think it’s perfectly fine to consider how each will affect future naming choices. It might help you make your final choice!
The problem is, in general, I tend to prefer names that are longer, with a fairly obvious nickname potential. My favorite girl name is [name]Eva[/name]- which obviously doesn’t fit that name type.
We’ve talked about longer names from which [name]Eva[/name] can be derived, and I thought we were fairly settled on Evalie (Eh-vuh-lee). I think Evalie is very pretty, and it keeps open many more future baby names, like [name]Juliana[/name] with nn [name]Ana[/name], or [name]Isabelle[/name], nn [name]Izzy[/name]. But, I don’t love it like I love [name]Eva[/name].
On the other hand, I don’t love the names that fit [name]Eva[/name]'s style as much as I love my “runners up” in the long name department (like [name]Juliana[/name] and [name]Isabelle[/name]). The only [name]Eva[/name]-styled name I can even fathom for a second daughter is [name]Claire[/name]. And while I do love [name]Claire[/name], I don’t love it as much as the others.
One minute, I feel like just living in the moment, and worrying about the future later. But that lasts about a second, and then I think about [name]Eva[/name]'s future siblings. Sigh.
You remind me very much of myself and I feel your pain in this particular predicament!