My hubby and I have been talking baby names and have a short list of them that we like, but they either seem “just ok” or we love them but have reasons we won’t use them.
What do you do when you don’t feel that excitement or love for ANY names? We’d also love suggestions based on where our list is at so far. We are team green so won’t know gender until birth. Team green people- does this make falling in love with a name harder?
Girl:
[name_f]Jane[/name_f] - honors family members
[name_f]Daphne[/name_f]- we both find this fun and full of personality but maybe too informal?
[name_f]Luna[/name_f] - We love this one but don’t think it ages well
Boy:
[name_m]Luke[/name_m] - really like this but some of the charm is lost with how popular it is
[name_m]Daniel[/name_m]- nn [name_u]Danny[/name_u] is appealing but still not quite right
[name_u]Dean[/name_u] - love the one syllable and very “normal” sound but that it’s not popular. It’s not love for my husband though he likes those traits.
Maybe our expectations are too high? We aren’t wanting “normal” but short and sweet with some charm or personality.
I’m not sure what you mean by “informal,” but I think [name_f]Daphne[/name_f] is smart and sophisticated—but still flouncy and fun! It’s a great choice if you want something colorful that’s familiar but not popular.
Other ideas for a girl: [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], [name_f]Edith[/name_f], [name_f]Eve[/name_f], [name_f]Fiona[/name_f], [name_f]Gemma[/name_f], [name_f]Lola[/name_f], [name_f]Mira[/name_f], [name_f]Nova[/name_f], [name_f]Vera[/name_f]…
For a boy, maybe [name_u]Jude[/name_u]? Not in the top 100, but still established. Or [name_m]Louis[/name_m]/[name_m]Lewis[/name_m]? Again, familiar but not too popular. Other ideas: [name_u]Blaise[/name_u], [name_m]Clark[/name_m], [name_m]Linus[/name_m], [name_m]Milo[/name_m], [name_u]Roy[/name_u]… Really love [name_u]Dean[/name_u], though!
You have two great starting lists there! I particularly like [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], [name_f]Luna[/name_f] and [name_m]Luke[/name_m].
I understand why you’re picking out the negatives to each option — we all want the final name to be perfect, and try to head off any potential problems at the pass. But I wonder if that’s what’s making it difficult to [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] any of your current choices?
I can’t remember where I heard this great term, but maybe you could try “narrowing up” rather than narrowing down? You look for positive points to each option that you especially love and work towards your decision that way.
[name_m]How[/name_m] far along are you? I am also team green and I personally don’t think it makes it harder to fall in love with a name, although you may naturally be more excited about one name than the other.
I’d suggest just being patient (if you have time, haha). I was having a hard time loving any girl names, they all just seemed ok. I especially wanted a really special combination, and I just couldn’t come up with one. But then I started mulling over a combination of a name that we liked best for first name, and a name I knew my husband loved for a middle, and even though at first I wasn’t satisfied and thought I’d be settling for something just ok, the name has really grown on me and now I do love it. So I think sometimes you just need to give it time to become comfortable, and you may start loving it after all! Good luck!
I didn’t fully fall in love with my LO’s name until after she was born and the name became associated with her. You have lots of lovely choices on your list!