I’ve seen several people mention using their favorite names at Starbucks to gauge their practicality in the real world. I think that is a fabulous idea and made me wonder what other methods people use.
Personally, I go to dafont.com and use my favorite combos as font samples. What would the name look like on a diaper bag or a wedding invitation? There’s a font to show you!
I also sometimes work the names into sentences and see how natural they sound. “I need to make an appointment for my daughter [name_f]Luna[/name_f] [name_f]Violet[/name_f]” or "[name_u]Everett[/name_u] [name_m]Jack[/name_m] get out of the dryer!"I don’t do this often, but it sure is entertaining!
[name_m]How[/name_m] do you test your favorite names for use in the real world?
I try and use the name in everyday sentences like you eg talking to dh " did you pick up [name_f]Freya[/name_f]'s jacket"
I think it’s important to try it out to make sure your comfortable saying the name to other ppl… I know that sounds weird but it’s what I’ve learnt from ppl with name regret…
I havnt tried the font or star bucks … curious to see what others say
I think about what their name will sound like when I shout it out loud in a crowded area or down the street i.e. ‘[name_f]Wilma[/name_f], time for tea!’ And I think about what her name will look like on top of a CV when she’s applying for a high powered job as a company CEO.
I like the genie test drive as well. And I totally agree with saying the name out loud in mundane sentences. Sometimes I’ve fallen in love with a name only to finally say it out loud and it sounds so ridiculous on my tongue I have to laugh.
I found that with my son, using the name we were considering- talking to my belly, and feeling out people’s reactions to it, really helped us. We heard no negative reactions when we said we were planning to call our son [name_u]Spencer[/name_u]. We announced that name at about the 5 month mark, and started using it to refer to the baby. It just fit.
Right now we are test driving names for our 2nd. We are 4 months along. We have discussed possibilities with close friends and family. Our girls name is getting excellent reactions, much like [name_u]Spencer[/name_u] did. However, we have yet to land on the boy’s name… we are test driving [name_m]Dominic[/name_m] right now.
The other thing I suggest, is talk to anyone you know who works in childcare and teaching. See what their feelings are on names. My friend who does supply teaching told me, stay away from “[name_m]Lucas[/name_m]” they are all hellions! lol (I’m sure not all of them… but if she has a bad taste in her mouth from that name, it says something and I wouldn’t want my son to get negatively prejudged because of his name). They also have a good sense of what is popular in your area at the time. And they can sense out if there is the possibility for a negative nickname you haven’t thought of.
We call the names out, see how they sound out-loud and said over and over again. We use the names at home at different times of the day and in different situations. We have dared each other to scream it down the street but it has not been done yet. I run names by my son and his friends (mostly teenagers).Wearing a few names for a couple weeks, or even better months, helps determine if you really love the names or not. You will not grow tired of a name that you love and would want to use on a child. If you start growing tired of it after a few months then you could never love it for the 60-70 years you will hopefully be in your child’s life.
I’ve used the Starbucks test for myself! Sometime I do it just for fun. For some reason I always go with L names, [name_f]Luna[/name_f] is a favorite to use. I’ve also used [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], [name_u]Laine[/name_u], [name_f]Lulu[/name_f], and [name_f]Lily[/name_f].
I have never tried any of these tests (I think, considering I’m 18 and not planning to have children for quite a while, my family would probably think I was very weird if I started shouting names around the house!) but the Starbucks test seems like a good one. I think I’ll have to try it because any name I test out will probably be better than giving my own name and seeing the panic in the person’s face when they try to spell it
Asking people who work with children seems like a good suggestion because like staceyi said there may be (maybe not very nice) nicknames you hadn’t thought of
My parents used to stand on the back porch and shout - first names, full names. They’d try it as if you were in trouble or just late for dinner. Then they’d do it ten times in a row. Worked for them.
I’ve never tried it but its a good idea! I would probably do it if I was considering more unusual names. On the other hand, I’ve found myself saying sentences to myself using the names we’re considering to find out if they feel right or not.
I do the babynamegenie one, and also saying “[name_f]Do[/name_f] you ______ take this man/woman as your lawfully wedded husband/wife?” out loud to myself. (Talking to myself sounds very strange, but hey, I’m strangely obsessed with names)
I have never met a Macsen before, yet I find myself accidentally calling other children Macsen relatively often. Probably because it’s on my mind quite a bit.
It’s understandable when I confuse it with my stepson, [name_m]Maddox[/name_m], since they’re pretty similar in sound. But when I go to call my nephew ‘[name_m]Caleb[/name_m]’ and I blurt out Macsen instead, I know I’ve found the right name!
The girls have been a bit trickier…and I’ve found myself trying to say [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] aloud all over the place. It sounds great off my tongue, but the other day the pizza guy literally said ‘bless you?’ So yeah, if this baby turns out to be a girl… I’ll continue this test and many others until I’m confident!
I run names by my son and his friends (mostly teenagers).Wearing a few names for a couple weeks, or even better months, helps determine if you really love the names or not. You will not grow tired of a name that you love and would want to use on a child. If you start growing tired of it after a few months then you could never love it for the 60-70 years you will hopefully be in your child’s life.
For some reason I always go with L names, [name_f]Luna[/name_f] is a favorite to use. I’ve also used [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], [name_u]Laine[/name_u], [name_f]Lulu[/name_f], and [name_f]Lily[/name_f].