For a few reasons, I’d want to wait until the baby was born to announce it! I’m not pregnant yet either, but I know that when I’m expecting names will be solely discussed between me and my man I guess it makes it more special to me, to have a name that me and him came up with together and love dearly. I have very opinionated family members, and I’m a bit sensitive to peoples reactions of names. So I don’t want to come up with what I think is the perfect name, then have it trashed on by others My family means well, but in the past every time I announced a name I liked they told me it was “an old persons name” for most names. Like [name]Henry[/name] <3 Also, once I chose a name, I don’t want anyone stealing it!! That happened to my dad with my older brother. They came up with a name, announced it to EVERYONE, then it just so happened a couple of the expecting dads at my fathers work heard him talking about it and loved the name themselves! Dad stuck to the name anyways, but I don’t want that happening to me!! Though I honestly don’t care if someone shares a name with my kiddo, cause the name me and my bf settle on will be the perfect name regardless I guess the only issue with it is my impatience, hehe! I’d probably let it slip to my best friend, but I also trust she wont tell me negative things about the name unless there was something seriously wrong with it [like wanting to use pYkkeljewsee or something!]
I suppose it could be really fun to announce the initials at the baby shower! I do love name games! Or maybe if the name has a special meaning, you can have the meaning displayed through various items in the room. For example, if you decided to name your baby Aiden, which is Gaelic meaning “little fire”, you could decorate your room with flames. Or if your daughters name is going to be Lily, you can add some flowers around the room, though I’m not sure if you’d want to use Lilies themselves otherwise it’d be too obvious. Unless you add lilies among a bunch of daisies and daffodils or whatnot. Maybe I will do this, if I have a name that works nicely like that!
I strongly believe in not announcing the name or the sex before the birth. What if you pick a name and it doesn’t feel right? Plus you’ll have to contend with everyone putting in their 2 cents worth. You’ll also be upset if someone you know uses the name when they know it’s your pick.
When my mom was pregnant with my little sister, they knew what they were going to name her but didn’t want to tell anyone ( not even us kids because we all have a tendency to acidentally let something slip…hahaha) but people kept asking what they were going to name her so they said [name]Jessica[/name] [name]Anne[/name], because both are popular first and middle names and people were all like ‘awww how sweet’ because they were so normal. but when my sister was born they sent out a birth announcement that said ‘[name]Welcome[/name] our new daughter Mykaela ‘Aela’ [name]Haven[/name] weighing w/e pounds and somethin ounces’ people couldn’t believe her name was Aela and not [name]Jessica[/name] bcuz thats what they were saying all along, but then when they saw her they couldn’t say, “Aela…what kind of name is that??”
We didn’t announce because we didn’t choose before she was born. We did think we might call her [name]Arwen[/name] and my nana fell in love with that name and started calling my bump [name]Arwen[/name], which really annoyed me as I wasn’t 100% sure.
I wouldn’t call your bump by an initial. First, you might change your mind. Second, it would annoy me no end if someone told me their bump name initial but not the actual name. Either tell people or don’t - but don’t tease them with clues! Yeah - annoying.
I’m not a mother or expecting, but I’d definitely wait till birth.
I plan on having at least two names for the baby, then get to know them a little before saddling them with their lifelong titles.
I agree with the PP of saying there’s no surprise. Unless the ultrasound is inaccurate and you end up with a different sex, there’s nothing to look forward too anymore. Once I know the name, I lose all excitement in knowing personally.
I think when the baby’s born, then they should be officially named. Not before.
For my brothers, we announced their names a week after birth. It really gave us time to test the chosen name, and see how it fit.
For my youngest brother, we ended up not having a set name for him until he was here, and we spent time with him.
I don’t want to announce my babies names until they’re born (I say ‘want’ because I don’t know how much will power I will have once I’m pregnant and being pressured for the name). I’ll probably announce the sex and just refer to it as tadpole or bean or something until it’s born. I like your idea of using the initial, though. I don’t think calling [name]Felix[/name] F is a great idea, but I could call my [name]Lucy[/name] [name]Elle[/name].
My husband and I kept our daughter’s name a secret until she was born for two reasons. First, we weren’t sure if [name]Ianthe[/name] would suit her. Second, we didn’t want people to discourage us from using it. I’m not sure if I want any more than [name]Ianthe[/name], but if I ever get to be blessed with another child, I wouldn’t announce her/his name until the baby’s born.
Since I am anxiously awaiting the right time to start our family, I figured getting a head start on names would be a great past-time for me to pick up. It doesn’t cost anything (just time, and lots of it!) and it’s the one thing you can actually feel prepared for. Everyone says I got the baby-bug this past year, but only I know why and when it happened…just as soon as my childhood best friend announced her first pregnancy. Even though we don’t have much of a relationship nowadays, she will always have a special place in my heart. She’ll never even know how excited I was for her! All because IT happened; in response to someone’s comment on Facebook, she nonchalantly said, “I think we’re going to name him Noah Quinn”. Every expectation and curiosity I had about her son was inflated in an instant. For some reason, the mystery about this new little life was the first time in years when I felt close to her (don’t ask why, female emotions are too complex!), if only she had prolonged the suspense. By all means, at least make it an official status! But just a comment on a comment??
Never will I understand. My husband and I already have our children’s names picked out, for a while now actually, and we know that they are keepers (I feel like I know “them” already because of it; is that even possible?). And I’ve run them by only my parents and 4 very close friends because I value their input and want them to know we are almost ready for parenthood. My friends and family are all in different circles and are geo-graphically distanced, but when we are ready to make an announcement, believe me, we’ll make sure it’s special and official. Announcements are announcements for a reason. Meant to be extra special, not something someone sees everyday. Each to their own, but Facebook won’t be first to know.
Everyone knew if we had a girl she’d be [name]Evelyn[/name]. Girls at work had a pool going to see if I’d change it after bubs arrived. We didn’t announce her middle name though until she was born, so that was a nice little surprise for my mum.
This time we’re finding out the gender, and I figure you’ve got to maintain some sense of mystery. So I’m keeping the name very close to my chest.
I don’t plan on telling people my final name choice until after the baby is born. I probably won’t even have a final name choice until then. I plan to make a short list to take to the hospital. I’ll probably share the short list, though. People not liking the name wouldn’t bother me, unless they have what I consider a valid reason. Then I’d really want to know they didn’t like it because that could prevent some naming regret. I want to be well-informed on names before we choose the final one.
I announced his name as soon as I was positive I had made my final decision, so somewhere around my 7th month. I felt very strongly that I had found his name, and I wasn’t going to change my mind. No other name came close, not even my second choice option. I admit I was a tiny bit concerned that I would look down at him after birth and suddenly feel his name didn’t fit, but that didn’t happen.
If I didn’t have that feeling of conviction, that sure and certain belief that I had picked THE name, I wouldn’t make any announcements until the ink dried on the birth certificate application.
I guess it makes it more special to me, to have a name that me and him came up with together and love dearly. I have very opinionated family members, and I’m a bit sensitive to peoples reactions of names. So I don’t want to come up with what I think is the perfect name, then have it trashed on by others 
My family means well, but in the past every time I announced a name I liked they told me it was “an old persons name” for most names. Like [name]Henry[/name] <3 Also, once I chose a name, I don’t want anyone stealing it!! That happened to my dad with my older brother. They came up with a name, announced it to EVERYONE, then it just so happened a couple of the expecting dads at my fathers work heard him talking about it and loved the name themselves! Dad stuck to the name anyways, but I don’t want that happening to me!! Though I honestly don’t care if someone shares a name with my kiddo, cause the name me and my bf settle on will be the perfect name regardless