I have a huge list of boys names and find it so easy to love a new boys name I hear. For girls though I can never imagine myself giving a girl a name, even if I like the sound of it.
I really like nickname type names for girls like [name_u]Georgie[/name_u], but I have a hard time envisioning it on my actual child. I also love names like [name_u]Florence[/name_u], but again I don’t see it on my own child.
For boys, there are so many names I would want to use on my kid. When I think of the name [name_u]Wesley[/name_u] or [name_m]Isaiah[/name_m] I can picture my child.
Does anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions on how to fall in love with names?
I have this problem but reversed. I have a long list of girl names I love, and a very short boy list. Then I have a list of names I could see on a boy or girl but most of them I think I prefer on a girl anyway. When we found out our first baby was a boy I was admittedly a little bummed, not because his gender really matters at all, but simply because I was nervous I’d never feel right about a name for him. I do love his name but I will admit I never got that same sparks I got for some of my favorite girl names. I’m not really sure what advice to give other than when you have kids if you have any girls you just have to recognize that you have to give her a name so it’s better to just find a name and then you will learn to love it because you associate it with this baby girl that you love.
It sounds like the disconnect is in envisioning the child more than in finding names you like, and I understand, that can be really tricky! In a way, I think that need to be able to picture it is tied to dreams and expectations for the potential child. Do you have trouble envisioning yourself as a “girl mom” in general?
I think for now what I would say is to just collect names you do like, even if right now you can’t picture any of them on a future child, since you may struggle to picture her in general until you’re in a position where you’re expecting a girl. It’s okay to take the pressure off and just enjoy “collecting.” The way you feel about a lot of these names may take on a new life when the prospect of having a daughter feels more real.
Love Georgie and Florence btw
I feel the same about boy names. Here are a few things to think about:
- Is there anyone you could name her after that you would have positive associations with?
- [name_f]Do[/name_f] you have a favorite flower, season, color or month that you’d like as a girl’s name?
- Are there any “boy” names or unisex names that you think could fit for your baby girl (Charlie, [name_u]Austen[/name_u], Finley)?
I agree with pp in that you may just have a strong intuition that you’ll have a boy or don’t picture yourself as a girl mom. If your little one is a girl I’m sure you’ll feel differently and the right name will materialize! Collect ones you like I’m sure the right one will stand out to you when the time comes.
I have the opposite problem in that I really struggle with boys names but I can definitely relate.
What I will say is that when it comes to actually naming living things, it might feel different and even if the name doesn’t 100% feel perfect, the person/pet will grow with it and become that name. I say pet because that’s my only experience - none of the masc names I’ve picked for my male guinea pigs have felt “right” at first but they’ve become their name and [name_m]Ive[/name_m] grown to love them.
Not sure that really helps, but some other things I’ve found make me feel more connected with boys names are taking them from a book or series I like so they have extra meaning and relevance to me, making combos to make them feel more complete, tossing out any rigid rules I might have made when looking for names and also just not pressuring myself to have a big list or a certain number of names
A family member had this problem, so when expecting her first baby, a girl, she had lots of chats with me, knowing I’m into names - which was fun!
I suggested lots of ideas, but the ones that grabbed her were names that sounded, and had meanings, that were strong. She tended to like consonant endings and beginnings - so generally avoided ‘a’ and ‘ie’ endings for instance, and didn’t like the popular ‘El’ beginnings and ‘bell’ endings. She wasn’t keen on gender neutral names . She ended up loving and putting on her shortlist [name_f]Harriet[/name_f], [name_f]Clementine[/name_f], [name_f]Bridget[/name_f], [name_u]Florence[/name_u], [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], [name_u]Juniper[/name_u], [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] among others. Interesting to note you also like [name_u]Florence[/name_u]. She ended up using one of these! She, like you, couldn’t at first imagine actually using any of these, but came to love them all and had a tough decision in the end to narrow it down!
I had this problem when I named my son! I named him something that I thought was okay and as I got to know my son, I started to really love his name. Maybe this will happen for you. If you can’t find anything you really like, you could choose a name that you think you daughter might like to have, even if it’s not your taste. I’d recommend a “normal” name. For example, even if you don’t like the name [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_u]Maria[/name_u], or any other common enough name, your daughter may be glad you gave her a simple and classic name.
I have the opposite problem!
It’s hard I’m sure, but it just may take a while to find a name you love!
[name_u]Georgie[/name_u] and [name_u]Florence[/name_u] are great names!
I remember when I started looking at names, I kept putting names down on my list that I thought were magnificent and bold… but then I realized that they were just “too out there” for my own daughters if/when I have them. So I’ve gone back to more familiar names.
It really helped when I looked back of pictures of myself, or looking in the mirror now, and tried to imagine what other names might suit me, as I’m sure they would suit my daughters.
Maybe you list unisex names, or stronger names:
[name_u]Frankie[/name_u]
[name_f]Lorelei[/name_f]
[name_f]Harriet[/name_f]
[name_u]Lennon[/name_u]
[name_u]Sydney[/name_u]
[name_u]Lincoln[/name_u]
[name_u]Stevie[/name_u]
[name_u]Monroe[/name_u]
[name_u]Linden[/name_u]
[name_u]Izzy[/name_u]
[name_f]Heidi[/name_f]
[name_u]Darcy[/name_u]
Lochlyn
[name_u]Fallon[/name_u]
[name_u]Rory[/name_u]
[name_f]Suki[/name_f]
[name_u]Wren[/name_u]
Murrie
[name_u]Mickey[/name_u]
[name_f]Clover[/name_f]
I think it’s important to take notes of names you do like, even if you can’t imagine it on your child. Maybe think about what sounds you like (e.g do you like names with O’s in them or names ending in an EE?)
hope for boy… That’s about it or use a boy name for a girl ig
I had this exact problem!! I loved boys names easily (and my SO and I easily agreed) and I could picture them on my future sons. Of course I ended up having 2 girls! We named them names that weren’t in my fave list for ages like the boy names but I love the names now all the same. Once a real kid is involved I think it changes things regardless of if you have long time favourite names or not.