Considering how often I change my mind on names I like and how my style has evolved over the years, I am curious… [name_m]How[/name_m] many of you think once you name your baby, that you might not like it as much as the day you picked it out? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think you will regret it or wish you would have picked something else? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think you won’t like the name as much down the line because your style changed? I think once I’m pregnant it will be so hard to commit and I’d be afraid of the name just being one of my “phases”
When you have your baby the name becomes your baby. It takes on new meaning. I think that you will find the one you love and you will love it even more once you give it to your baby. 
For future children I worry, but I don’t regret the name I gave my son. I love it, and it’s perfect. I knew it fit him from the moment I held him and called him by his name. No I don’t think you will regret the name you choose.
@stephykneejo I was kinda hoping that would be the case when I have babies ! You start to love your child WITH its name and it becomes much more than a name.
I definitely worry about this. My list changes almost on the daily, so I’m neurotically worried that I’ll select a name I love in the moment, but won’t love it six months, a year, ten years down the line. However, I’m also convinced that I’ll fall in love with the name as much as with the baby once they are born. My mom talks on occasion about “the names that got away”, but says she couldn’t imagine us having different names. She said now I look like a ______ and she couldn’t imagine me being a [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] or a [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], like I was going to be.
I agree with everyone else. When your child is born, I think your child becomes the name and eventually you can’t imagine him or her being called anything else, and you love the name even more for that reason.
I would pick a name that remained on my list consistently for years. For instance, I am currently in [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] with [name_f]Clara[/name_f], but it is a recent infatuation. And, because it’s only a recent love, I think I would be more likely to use a name that has been on my list for much longer.
I actually find myself feeling the opposite…the older my son grows, the more I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] his name I love singing songs with his name in it (real or made-up!), I love hearing other people say it, I love hearing people’s reactions to it when they hear it. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but it totally suits him and a lot of thought and meaning went into it.
I pretty much agree with everyone else.
Also, I think the name is only going to represent the person, and you will love the person so much. Like some of my best friends have names I would never choose for a baby, but it just fits them and I love them all the same
I have not regretted the names of any of my children. I can’t imagine them being named anything other than what they are and I struggled the most with my oldest dd’s name and I absolutely love it!
It is MUCH EASIER to have lists of ever-changing favorites (or even long-standing favorites) than it is to name a real child! As soon as a real baby is on the way, everything on your list looks different. It’s a pretty name, but does it have all the meaning you want to bestow on your child? Is it just a phase? Is it cute for a toddler but not so much for an adult? Are you willing to stand by that name forever, even when people make faces at it? [name_m]How[/name_m] will you help your child deal with it if nobody can spell their name? If there is a SO in the picture, you’ll have a totally different naming perspective to work a compromise with!
There are MANY questions to think through, because suddenly it’s not about your favorite designer combos… it’s about gifting a brand-new, individual person with the very first element of their identity. It’s such an honor, and it’s one of the first things you will do for your child. Once you spend a long time deciding all of those questions, you’re probably going to come to the right choice.
Now, one of my kids (out of five so far) did surprise me by not quite fitting the name we had chosen, or rather, the nn. We named him [name_m]Peregrine[/name_m], and I had in mind to call him [name_u]Perrin[/name_u] or [name_m]Penn[/name_m] or any other names from a NB crowd-sourced list of nn possibilities, but he just had to be [name_m]Pippin[/name_m]. But all of that was obvious within the first two weeks, and it turns out this kid is really particular in general. You just know.
A friend of mine did actually change the name of her daughter. The daughter is in college now, but my friend says they named her “[name_u]Devin[/name_u]” and took her home, and she and her husband just looked at each other said, “this is not right” and had her name changed to [name_f]Emily[/name_f]. They forgot all about it too, until they needed a passport or something and [name_f]Emily[/name_f] discovered records that her name had been changed. It was a funny story.
All of that to say, I think you’ll make the right choice… and if you don’t, you’ll know it right away.
My list changes a lot but I always have a set of favourites that I will always love. My mother says that if it was today she would have given me a different name but it isn’t something it bothers her. I’m pretty sure you won’t hate your children’s name