Letting siblings name a new baby

I came up with my little sisters name ([name_u]Eden[/name_u] [name_u]Ruby[/name_u]- Dad is a gardener and my great-grandmother’s name was [name_u]Ruby[/name_u]) when I was ten (name nerd forever :)). However, it wasn’t a case of my parents letting me name my sister just because they thought it would be cute and that it would be a guaranteed thing. I suggested the names and the combination, and they happened to fall in love with it. I would love my future children to help my with narrowing down lists or coming up with suggestions, but by no means would I guarantee using the name just because they suggested it. There is a definite difference between letting kids help, and letting them dictate the process.

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I would never let my older children decide the name of their sibling. Not ever. It’s my choice and my husband’s. It’s hard enough as it is.

I only have one baby so far. I do have a five year old nephew however and I loved his reactions to my name choices. They were hilarious. I’d ask him questions like “what do you think of when you hear the name _____” and he’d give me a very random, vivid description. I never took any of it seriously or gave him the impression that he had any say in naming, but it was fun to include him. He also often had no idea which was a boy name and which was a girl name.

His suggestions were: Batman, Spiderman, Sharktooth and, later, [name_f]Christina[/name_f]. No idea where [name_f]Christina[/name_f] came from. He did latch on to my top boy name pick ([name_m]Beau[/name_m]/[name_u]Bo[/name_u]) and has since named many a stuffed animal that.

Anyway, yeah. I’d include them, but not give them any control whatsoever. I might consider a little more “from this list” of calculated middle name possibilities, but again wouldn’t give them complete control over anything. I’d still go with what I loved best and if what they loved happened to match then great! Give them the glory. :slight_smile:

I think it’s cute when the older siblings are involved, but I would ultimately go with what I liked. :stuck_out_tongue: (And you know, my husband… I guess. LOL.)

It definitely does make for a sweet story when it turns out well though! My friend keeps joking that her daughter is the baby whisperer. She talked about how her aunt was gonna have a baby, and then a few weeks later she found out she was pregnant. Then she started talking about her mom having a baby boy named [name_u]Aidan[/name_u], and the mom hadn’t even told her daughter she was pregnant yet. The mom and her partner don’t like [name_u]Aidan[/name_u], but they do like [name_u]Hayden[/name_u]. Yup. That kid’s a baby whisperer.

I might give them a list of names to pick from if I was having a hard time choosing.
However I’m a little put off of it because 1)its my chance to name my child and 2) if you don’t use the name their feelings could be hurt. Especially if the child is old enough to put thought into it or you just dismiss the name. [name_m]Case[/name_m] in point:
My [name_f]MIL[/name_f] told my husband he could name his newest brother. He spent weeks deliberating and trying to find some options he thought they would like and would fit with all of their names (baby #8). His two front runners were [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] and [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] [name_m]Kenneth[/name_m]. His parents tossed out both saying they were ridiculous and are naming him [name_m]Cullen[/name_m]. To me, that seems mighty unfair. That is worse than telling your three year old that you can’t name the baby Spiderman.

I agree that they can be involved but it shouldn’t be their choice. My 3 year old daughter has decided that our next girl should be named “[name_f]Rainey[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f]” which I’m OK with and now she has won my husband over. So, it will be a battle to change their minds but I don’t care.

It’s a sweet idea but I don’t think I would do it. I’d be depriving myself of the right to choose the names that I love.

They’ll have the opportunity to name their own children when they’re grown up.

I would probably choose a name and if they absolutely hate it I would try to find common ground- basically what you’d do anyway but including the child too. I wouldn’t let them pick a name though, since especially little children can come up with very unsual/unwearable names. If my parents had listened to my sister’s wish, my name would be Julietafuz (her best friend’s full name) and not something I’d like

They could’ve named the girl [name_f]Kaelyn[/name_f]; [name_f]Kaelyn[/name_f] from the now defunct SAKs channels was known for saying “toodles”.

My Dad is insisting that I have 2 boys and call them [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m] and [name_m]Orville[/name_m]. No thanks, I’ll choose the name that I like!

Jeffrey Dahmer’s parents let him name his baby brother when he was young. I’m surprised he went with [name_m]David[/name_m] and not something like Bonesaw.

I’d be so mad if my parents let my older siblings give me that many names. I’m not usually one to judge but that is so silly. If my parents even gave us that option as kids (which I think is perfectly fine!) they would have said agree on one name or you don’t get to name it at all!

I might let an older sibling pick from a short list if we couldn’t decide by the time the baby was born, or use a name they suggested if we really loved it, but wouldn’t let them name the baby anything they wanted. I’m too obsessed with names to give that power to someone else, call me selfish. Lol