We have a good Top 4 boy list, with another four as backup. All have passed the playground test, imagining using them in real life (two better than the others.) All have pretty balanced pros and cons. [name_f]My[/name_f] mom dislikes one. One is a little close to our second son’s name for my comfort. Of the other two, I prefer one and my husband the other.
We’re a bit stuck trying to narrow them down any more. I ran a poll here a little while back, so I know which one the Berries like best. We’ve been asking family for opinions. Where do we go from here? What are your best strategies? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you choose the best meaning? The name that tells the best story? Wait to meet the baby?
I think it’s always good to take a step back and wait a little, letting the names settle in properly, figuring out which names you still catch yourself thinking about.
I also think meeting the child first and then naming them is a wonderful thing; it feels proper in a way - getting to know them first.
It’s not what I ever saw myself doing, but I’m almost at the point of thinking that might be a good approach this time–especially since everyone around us is saying it’s a girl anyway I like @OpheliaFlora’s idea of it almost being the proper thing.
I’m not totally convinced it would help that much. Some people who have done it say they knew right away which name “fit,” others say the baby just looked like a baby at first and they still had a hard time choosing.
I will say from your explanation I would likely narrow your list of four down to your list of two- the one you prefer and the one your husband prefers. From there I’d likely just take some time to let it go and see if time helps either if you budge. And from there maybe take those 4 other names as “backup” (although honestly IMO if they didn’t make the Top of the list there’s likely a good reason)
Thanks, @tfzolghadr. Good things to ponder. I’ve worked over the syllable counts and the sounds of the names pretty well, but I’ll take another look with that and the other things in mind. Again, pros and cons; our Irish option sounds really good with our Irish surname, though they are both 2 syllables. The other names have 3 or 4. But the mn is 1 syllable, so it does help the rhythm of all the options.
@Alix2016, I had been pondering either dropping it to those two (since nearly the only problem with those names is that we each prefer the other one) OR dropping it to the other two, since we haven’t been able to agree (not that either of us is unwilling to budge, really, it just feels like picking one of these is a concession on one of our parts. Which is fine, unless we could pick something else we love more equally.)
I think if you’re not super keen on waiting maybe try the remaining names out for the week. Reference the baby as “[name_u]George[/name_u]” (whatever your names are) for a few days and just trial them out. I think the playground test is great but consistently saying it in reference might be a new perspective.
Other ideas - which do you like written out more? what is the potential popularity? can your kids pronounce them easily? are they easy for people with accents to say or internationally are they known names or adaptable names?
I think you can really go down a rabbit hole with lots of questions and ways to look at it. So try to be at ease with yourself and at the end of the day see what feels right to at least one of you.
I like