Your Baby Name Stories

It’s always interesting to learn the name someone chooses for their child, but I think it’s often even more interesting to learn why. I love hearing the stories behind baby names, so I think we should have a thread for it. [name]How[/name] did you choose your child(ren)'s names? Did you encounter struggles, or was it a piece of cake? Did you look into meaning, popularity, family names, etc.? Please post your baby name stories here! :slight_smile:

I always love hearing how parents named their kids, irl and online. (Maybe because I am name obsessed, lol)

[name]Sebastian[/name] [name]Elihu[/name]-

We had it narrowed down to [name]Sebastian[/name](My DH studied in Spain for a semester, he was reading an email from me in a town called San [name]Sebastian[/name] when he figured out that he loved me) no-middle-name figured out or [name]Ezra[/name] [name]Eliot[/name] (my project to graduate in college was on the collaberation of [name]Ezra[/name] Pound and TS [name]Eliot[/name]) on the way to the “finding out the gender” ultrasound. We were stumped and my DH chose [name]Sebastian[/name] because he thought it had “better nicname potential” and that [name]Seb[/name] was a “really cool nicname”. So we decided if we had a boy, he would be named [name]Sebastian[/name]. We found out we were having a boy and then needed a middle name. I had HG (hypermesis, it means I puked pretty much my entire pregnancy), not to mention my DH was finishing his undergrad, we were very young (22), and got pregnant (while preventing) only 2 months into our marriage. So needless to say, while we were happy about bringing new life into the world, it was stressfull and I felt really down especially about the barfing all the time. DH went to church one day (I stayed home) and the sermon was about how [name]Job[/name] was “sticking out” his trials even when it was hard. He showed me the verses in the Bible and there was this young wise man named [name]Elihu[/name] who encouraged [name]Job[/name]. The next day we were driving somewhere and I was telling him how I thought [name]Sebastian[/name] [name]Elihu[/name] was neat, and he wasnt too sure. So then he put in a live concert tape by Phish (I followed Phish “back in the day” and also participated in dubbing and mailing out of concert tapes…at once point I had over 200 shows on tape in my college closet, lol) and the first song was this one called “Sample in a Jar” in which there is a line called “I saw you dancing with [name]Elihu[/name]”. Mind you he chose this out of the big tape box we had along (remember those?) and the first song mentions this name. So it was meant to be in our mind and from that day forward, he was [name]Sebastian[/name] [name]Elihu[/name]. :slight_smile:

[name]Bronwen[/name] [name]Eliza[/name]- We chose not to find out her gender, and I had a boys name I really loved…The last LOTR movie had just come out and I had loved the book growing up. In this movie [name]Gandolf[/name] uses [name]Pippin[/name]'s “full name” which is [name]Peregrine[/name] and it just stuck with me. I loved the combo “[name]Peregrine[/name] [name]Silas[/name]” because it meant “traveler of the forrest” and we hiked a lot during her pregnancy and it just seemed fitting. I told [name]Andy[/name] if he let me name the baby [name]Peregrine[/name] (because I was so sure I was having another boy,ha) he could pick whatever girls name he liked from an “approved list” of 5. (Names we both liked). I was smitten with the name [name]Iris[/name] [name]Aviva[/name] during her entire pregnancy, but it wasnt [name]Andy[/name]'s favorite. After she was born, he chose the name “[name]Bronwen[/name] [name]Eliza[/name]” from our list. I known a [name]Bronwyn[/name] in college and always loved her name (being a [name]Jennifer[/name] who was one of a million, and her being the only [name]Bronwyn[/name] on campus) and we had a back and forth the entire pregnancy of the -yn or -en ending…Being name crazy, I insisted that [name]Bronwen[/name] was the correct way to spell it, plus at the time (and still too this day) names like [name]Jordyn[/name], [name]Camryn[/name], etc were very popular, taking boys or unisex names and adding the “yn” to make it girly and it reminded me of that…My middle name is [name]Elizabeth[/name], and he thought [name]Eliza[/name] was neat and honoring to me. Plus [name]Eliza[/name] is a Phish song (and the first name of a band members daughter) so Phish connection was there as well with [name]Sebastian[/name].

[name]Linus[/name] [name]Ezra[/name] [name]Graham[/name]- When we were very newly pregnant, we were watching the Peanuts “Valentines [name]Day[/name] Special”. A tradition that we both had as children that we carried on with our children. (And [name]Bronwen[/name]'s actual bday is Valentines [name]Day[/name]!). The character [name]Linus[/name] is talked to and about a lot in this show, and I said to DH “You dont hear the name [name]Linus[/name] much these days, and its a neat name” and he agreed and we were very much stuck on using [name]Linus[/name] if the baby was a boy. We did find out with him, so he was [name]Linus[/name] from that moment on, but nobody knew but us since people were weird when we told them [name]Seb[/name]'s name while I was pregnant (and nobody but my online friends knew the names considered during B’s pregnancy). When I was pregnant with [name]Linus[/name], we had chosen [name]Graham[/name] as his middle name because he was to be our first homebirth and we loved the significance of that as being meaningful like [name]Sebastian[/name]'s middle name is meaningful (B’s is too, but as a family name). [name]Graham[/name] means essentially “from the grey stone house” and our house is lined at the bottom with big grey stones. :slight_smile: A few weeks before he was born, I had a very vivid dream where I was told “His name will be [name]Linus[/name] [name]Ezra[/name] [name]Graham[/name].” and this feeling that I would know after his birth why [name]Ezra[/name] needed to be in there…I had always liked the name [name]Ezra[/name] so I thought maybe my pregnancy hormones were working overtime, lol, I am really not a big fan of 2 middle names (my own personal preference of course). Labor with him went great, all was well. When it was time for his birth, he got stuck by his shoulders. The MW did something called the “gaskin technique” where she puts me on all fours (graphic I know, oops) and pushes on my hips in such a way to make a bigger gap for the baby to come out. He came out fine, was very blue and needed O2 right away and CPR, but pinked up within a minute and scored great on her apgars at 5 and 10 minutes. My sister who was there is a nurse who works in L and D sometimes (she is whats called a float pool nurse). She told me that at the hosptial for SD they yank the baby out with forcepts…This is fine except that sweet [name]Linus[/name] had not only a true knot in his cord, but the cord wrapped several times, tightly, around his neck. The force and time that it would take to do forcepts combined with the cord situation could have very easily killed him, or, caused lasting issues like CP etc. (And my sister is convinced that in the hospital, yes, this would have happened given these 2 things he had going on). Then it hit me, that [name]Ezra[/name] meant “helper”, and that [name]Linus[/name] was "helped "by the MW who knew exactly what to do in this senerio. So I told [name]Andy[/name] and he agreed that yes, that is a meaning that we need to honor plus the E middle name would match the older 2 kids.

[name]Violet[/name] [name]Leona[/name]- Again, didnt find out the gender, had a list for both genders. I was given full naming rights since my DH was finishing up graduate school, working full time and doing an internship for the entire pregnancy (well, he graduated one month to the day before she was born) and so he sort of let me do whatever I want because of that, and being so sweet. :wink: I was stuck on the name [name]Ingrid[/name] for a girl that whole time, I also loved [name]Althea[/name] but wanted to wait to see what the baby looked like. The two boys names I liked were [name]Ansel[/name] and [name]August[/name]. [name]Major[/name] surprise having a baby girl, I thought I was having boy (obviously I am always wrong). I was in labor with her for almost 24 hours, and during my pregnancy my [name]MIL[/name] told me she thought the baby would be born on her fathers birthday, [name]January[/name] 21st. He died when she was 19, so never met my DH, and his middle name is [name]Leonard[/name] after the first name of this person. I labored all day the 20th (watching the president take office, sadly didnt keep my mind of contractions) into the next day so I felt like this little girl needed a version of [name]Leonard[/name] as her middle name. DH’s favorite color is purple, this is one of the first things I learned about him when we met (in high school, at the age of 14…we were in English class together and the teacher went around and had each student say their name and asked them a random question, his was “whats your favorite color”) and he has loved the name [name]Violet[/name] since we were pregnant the first time but I always nixed it. But for this little baby, it just seemed right, she looked like a [name]Violet[/name], not an [name]Ingrid[/name] or any other name, and to this day she is a [name]Violet[/name] (we call her Vio most of the time actually) and I am so glad I chose it even if it does look like its really coming up on the charts. It still has meaning, plus [name]Violet[/name] [name]Leona[/name] means “purple lion” which is just awesome! And the older 3 have the middle (first for [name]Linus[/name]) names that start with E like me, and her a middle name that starts with L like my DH. Variation of a family name just like her sisters.

[name]Felix[/name] [name]Emmanuel[/name] - He was stillborn at 21 weeks. We found out at a routine MW appointment that there was no heartbeat. We did not know his gender before any of this, but from the time I became pregnant DH loved the girls name [name]Blythe[/name], which means happy. A day or 2 before we found out he had died, I was flipping through a baby name book and saw that the name [name]Felix[/name] was listed on several of the same lists as [name]Sebastian[/name] and [name]Linus[/name] or both. So that made me inquire enough to look it up and see that it too meant “happy” just like [name]Blythe[/name]. I didnt say anything to DH until we were in the hospital (I was induced after 2 different US’s on 2 different machines confirmed there was no longer a heartbeat) and he said [name]Felix[/name] sounded perfect. We chose [name]Emmanuel[/name] because it means “God is with us” and gosh, we really needed a spiritual something or other during that time in our lives. Chosen for meaning (like the boys), starting for E, and an old testiment boys name so it fit the bill.

I probably put too much time into naming my kids, but I love that we did and that they have meanings behind each and every one of their names. That is why at barely out of the first trimester I have joined these message boards since this babe’s name has a lot of trends to follow for our personal family. :slight_smile:

I don’t have any kids, but I can still contribute!
First of all, my name has an interesting story. I was going to be named [name]Hailey[/name], but my parents decided it was too popular. Then they changed it to [name]Harley[/name]. But then my mom found out that that was a motorcycle brand, and they sat down and went through a big book of baby names to find the name of a girl my dad had never dated - and thus, I was [name]Amanda[/name]! :slight_smile:

And here are the ways I found the names in my signature!

[name]Seth[/name] [name]Austin[/name] - I saw [name]Seth[/name] in a book once and I fell in love with it. It’s been my number one ever since. [name]Austin[/name] is my favorite brother’s name, and I’ve promised myself to name a son after him in one way or another.

[name]Tessa[/name] [name]Marie[/name] - I went to my mom’s friend’s baby shower and one of her friends there was named [name]Tessa[/name]. I loved the name and it’s been at the top of my list since then. [name]Marie[/name] is a family name.

[name]Thomas[/name] [name]Gordon[/name] - [name]Thomas[/name] is after several people - one of my closest friends named [name]Thomas[/name], [name]Thomas[/name] Monson (I’m LDS), and admittedly, [name]Tom[/name] [name]Felton[/name]. :slight_smile: [name]Gordon[/name] goes along with the LDS faith - [name]Gordon[/name] B. Hinckley, anyone?

[name]Violet[/name] [name]Jo[/name] - I just have a thing for flower names. I don’t know. [name]Violet[/name]'s probably my favorite, though. [name]Jo[/name] is after a character called [name]Jennifer[/name] [name]Jo[/name] in my favorite book.

[name]Carter[/name] [name]Joseph[/name] - I can’t remember where I got [name]Carter[/name] from…Hah. [name]Joseph[/name] is my father’s name.

[name]Erica[/name] [name]Beth[/name] - I’ve always liked [name]Erica[/name] and I don’t remember where I got it from/when I started liking it. [name]Beth[/name] is my middle name.

[name]James[/name] [name]Nathan[/name] - I got [name]James[/name] from [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name], hah. [name]Nathan[/name] is, again, a character from a book.

[name]Lydia[/name] [name]May[/name] - I got [name]Lydia[/name] while reading a book. [name]May[/name] just sounds nice with it.

[name]Logan[/name] [name]Michael[/name] - My mom’s friend named her son [name]Logan[/name]. I think he’s two now. Anyway, I loved the name when I heard it. [name]Michael[/name] is after one of my best friends.

[name]Nola[/name] [name]Juliette[/name] - I first got [name]Nola[/name] when I was assigned a random scene in theater class where I played the main character named [name]Nola[/name]. At first, I thought it was kind of a strange name. I don’t recall why. But my love for the name grew and now it’s officially on my list! :slight_smile: [name]Juliette[/name] just sounds nice with the name, aha.

[name]Kenneth[/name] [name]William[/name] - [name]Kenneth[/name]…I think I was looking up names for characters when I stumbled upon it. I really liked it, so I added it to my list! :slight_smile: [name]William[/name] is another family name.

[name]Joanna[/name] [name]Kathryn[/name] - I can’t remember where I got [name]Joanna[/name] from, but I just really liked it…You could call her [name]Jo[/name] or [name]Anna[/name] or simply [name]Joanna[/name]. [name]Kathryn[/name] is - what else? - after a character in a book.

[name]Asher[/name] [name]Jay[/name] - [name]Asher[/name] was the first name that’s made it to my list from Nameberry. I think I was playing a [name]Chance[/name] BNG and it was one of the options. [name]Jay[/name] was suggested to me as a middle name, either here or on Yahoo! Answers.

[name]Lilly[/name] [name]Diane[/name] - Like I said for [name]Violet[/name], I just [name]LOVE[/name] flower names. ([name]Rose[/name] is so close to making it onto the list!) But [name]Lilly[/name] also honors my grandmother as well. [name]Diane[/name] is after my mother.

So…yeah! [name]Hope[/name] you enjoyed, hah.

jemama: Wow, I love how your childrens’ names are all so sentimental! And I love Peanuts, too. <3 I’m sorry to hear about Felix. Your children all have wonderful names, though… I hope that I’ll have similar experiences with naming when I’m ready to have kids!

heytherepigeon: I love the names on your list! Isn’t it funny how you can just stumble upon and name and fall in love with it? Especially from reading… I love literary names. I’ve also discovered names thanks to BNGs! They’re surprisingly helpful when it comes to finding new names. <3

Thanks to you both for sharing your stories! :smiley:

I have 3 kids; a girl and twin boys. My daughter and one of my twins names were easy for my husband and I to agree on. My husband is [name]Joseph[/name] [name]David[/name] and I am [name]Emily[/name] [name]Clare[/name] and we wanted our kids names to fit well with ours.

Our daughter is [name]Ella[/name] [name]Claire[/name] [name]Rose[/name]. I always loved the name [name]Ella[/name] because it’s timeless and beautiful [name]IMO[/name]. I also wanted her name to begin with an E like mine. My husband thankfully agreed to it (he’s picky). However, we could not agree on her middle name. I wanted [name]Ella[/name] [name]Claire[/name] and he wanted [name]Ella[/name] [name]Rose[/name], so we compromised and did both. My mom is [name]Amy[/name] [name]Clare[/name] and I’m [name]Emily[/name] [name]Clare[/name] my Aunt is [name]Marcia[/name] [name]Leigh[/name] ([name]Mar[/name]-see-ah) and her daughter is [name]Cassie[/name] [name]Leigh[/name] and my paternal grandmother is [name]Wilda[/name] [name]Ann[/name] and her daughter (my aunt) is [name]Connie[/name] [name]Ann[/name], so I really wanted to continue the tradition of giving my daughter my middle name. I don’t particularily like the spelling of my middle name so I spell [name]Ella[/name]'s [name]Claire[/name] rather than [name]Clare[/name]. My grandmother is of Irish decent so that’s why she spelled it [name]Clare[/name]. My husband just thought [name]Ella[/name] [name]Rose[/name] went beautifully together so we just added that. [name]Ella[/name] [name]Claire[/name] [name]Rose[/name] fits her well.

My twin boys are [name]Jack[/name] [name]David[/name] [name]River[/name] and [name]Jake[/name] [name]Duane[/name] [name]Riley[/name]. [name]Duane[/name] is pronounced (Doo-ain) people pronounce is [name]Dewayne[/name] all the time which drives me nuts, but that’s neither here nor there. When I discovered I was pregnant I was convinced it was a girl because my grandmother had 3 girls and my mom and aunt had 2 girls so I assumed I would follow suit. We decided fairly quickly we would name her [name]Olivia[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Lily[/name]. I always loved the name [name]Olivia[/name], again it’s timeless and beautiful [name]IMO[/name], and goes well with [name]Ella[/name]. [name]Charlotte[/name] is my maternal grandmother who passed away when I was 13 and who I loved dearly and wanted to honor her. We wanted a 2nd middle name since [name]Ella[/name] had 2 and [name]Joe[/name] suggested [name]Lily[/name] since its a flower like [name]Rose[/name]. To our pleasant surprise we found out we were having fraternal twins at my 8 week ultrasound and immediately started considering other girl names that would flow well with [name]Ella[/name] and [name]Olivia[/name]. I again was convinced that I was having twin girls and on the off chance that one of them was a boy we already had the name [name]Jack[/name] [name]David[/name] [name]River[/name] decided on for [name]Ella[/name] had she been a boy. We decided on [name]Amelia[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Iris[/name] for baby b. [name]Amelia[/name] in honor of my mother ([name]Amy[/name]) and I thought it went well with [name]Olivia[/name]. We knew we wanted the middle name to start with a C since [name]Ella[/name]'s is [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Charlotte[/name] was going to be baby A’s. [name]Caroline[/name] is my cousins name so we had the family connection there and I just love the name. I wanted the to name baby b [name]Amelia[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Laurel[/name], but [name]Joe[/name] wanted something with 4 letters since [name]Rose[/name] and [name]Lily[/name] have 4 letters (yeah he’s a little OCD like that :slight_smile: ) I suggested [name]Iris[/name] and he agreed. We were so excited about the arrival of [name]Olivia[/name] and [name]Amelia[/name] and even went so far as to tell [name]Ella[/name] that her sisters [name]Livvy[/name] and [name]Milly[/name] were on their way! As it turns out we were waaaaaay off base. When I went in for my 14 week high risk ultrasound and the doctor told me baby a was most definitely a boy I was shocked but very excited. We knew we were naming him [name]Jack[/name] [name]David[/name] [name]River[/name]. My husband picked out the name [name]Jack[/name] when I was pregnant with [name]Ella[/name]. He wanted something that began with a J and he’s a fan of traditional name. Again we were at odds on the middle name. I wanted [name]David[/name] after him and he wanted [name]River[/name]. So we used both. During the ultra sound baby b was being shy and not wanting to show us but I was telling the doctor “that’s ok I’m quite sure it’s a girl” a few seconds later baby b moved and my doctor said " no baby b is a boy as well!" We were floored and had not even considered a second boy name. Neverltheless, we were ecstatic about having twin boys. We didn’t decide on [name]Jake[/name] [name]Duane[/name] [name]Riley[/name] until I was about 20 weeks. We went back and forth. I was set on naming him [name]Luke[/name] because I think [name]Jack[/name] and [name]Luke[/name] go great together, but [name]Joe[/name] was insistent on his name beginning with a J and having 4 letters. He suggested [name]Jake[/name] right off the bat and I said no because I thought it was too similar to [name]Jack[/name]. He turned down [name]Judd[/name], [name]Jude[/name], [name]Jett[/name], and [name]John[/name]. Finally I was convinced by [name]Joe[/name] and my mom that while [name]Jack[/name] and [name]Jake[/name] are similar they have different end sounds and are fitting for twins. So [name]Jake[/name] it is. [name]Duane[/name] is my dads middle name and so I chose that to honor him. We knew we wanted a 2nd middle name for [name]Jake[/name] as well and we wanted it to begin with an R like [name]Rose[/name] and [name]River[/name]. My dad suggested [name]Riley[/name] since had I been a boy my name was to be [name]Riley[/name] [name]Matt[/name]. (My dad is [name]Matt[/name] [name]Duane[/name]). So we both just loved it and went with it. I’m glad we did because my dad has since passed away and I’m glad [name]Jake[/name] is not only named after him but he also had a hand in naming him.

I still love the names [name]Olivia[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Lily[/name] and [name]Amelia[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Iris[/name] but I am done having kids so I will never use them. I’m very happy with my kids names. We put a lot of thought into them and they all fit them well.

I love my kids:
[name]Ella[/name] [name]Claire[/name] [name]Rose[/name]
[name]Jack[/name] [name]David[/name] [name]River[/name]
[name]Jake[/name] [name]Duane[/name] [name]Riley[/name]

texasemily: Your kids have wonderful names. [name]Olivia[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Lily[/name] and [name]Amelia[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Iris[/name] would have made lovely names as well.

[name]Lillian[/name] [name]Hazel[/name] “[name]Lily[/name]” - I always knew I wanted to name my first daughter [name]Lily[/name], I got lucky and my husband loved it too but he wanted a longer form. I wanted [name]Lilia[/name] or [name]Liliana[/name] but my husband wanted [name]Lillian[/name]. At first I wasn’t sure but my father reminded me that [name]Lillian[/name] was his grandmother’s name. I wanted her middle name to be after my grandmother [name]Cecily[/name], my husband didn’t like the sound of [name]Lillian[/name] [name]Cecily[/name] so we used her middle name [name]Hazel[/name] instead.

[name]Oliver[/name] [name]Luca[/name] - If [name]Lily[/name] had been a boy we were going to use [name]Oliver[/name]. We decided we bother loved it so much we would use it for our baby boy. [name]Oliver[/name] is also after my [name]SIL[/name] who’s middle name is [name]Olive[/name]. If [name]Oliver[/name] would have been a girl he would have been [name]Olive[/name]. My husband picked [name]Luca[/name] after we picked the middle name [name]Lucia[/name] for his little sister. [name]Luca[/name] is after my grandmother [name]Lucille[/name], my best friend [name]Lucile[/name] and my brother [name]Lucien[/name].

[name]Iris[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] - Her name probably has the most meaning to me. I love her name so much. We knew from day one that [name]Iris[/name] would be apart of her name. [name]Iris[/name] means “rainbow” and she is our rainbow baby after our daughter [name]Lily[/name] was stillborn. Her middle name is after my grandmother [name]Lucille[/name], my best friend [name]Lucile[/name] and my brother [name]Lucien[/name]. I love how [name]Lucia[/name] sound with [name]Iris[/name].

[name]Miles[/name] [name]Harrison[/name] - His name was the hardest to decide on. My husband wanted [name]Harrison[/name] after his father who’s middle name is [name]Harrison[/name]. Which worked since we wanted a H middle name like [name]Lily[/name]. We debated with [name]Harris[/name] or [name]Harrison[/name] depending on his first name. I wanted [name]Silas[/name], I really wanted to name him [name]Silas[/name]. It is my favourite boy name. If [name]Iris[/name] has been a boy we picked [name]Silas[/name] but when I got pregnant with [name]Miles[/name] I realized [name]Iris[/name] and [name]Silas[/name] rhyme so I couldn’t use it. My husband suggested [name]Miles[/name] and I loved it.

[name]Felix[/name] [name]Humphrey[/name] - If our new baby is a boy we have decided to name him [name]Felix[/name]. I love that [name]Felix[/name] means “happy, fortunate”. I also love how it just fits with [name]Oliver[/name] and [name]Miles[/name]. [name]Humphrey[/name] is my mother’s maiden name.

If our new baby is a girl. We don’t really know what we will name her. My husband wants [name]Amelia[/name] [name]Louise[/name] but I want something more uncommon like [name]Clementine[/name] or [name]Cecily[/name]. Once we find out what we are having we will figure out if we need to find a girl name.

What lovely names, pixielily! I’m sorry to hear about [name]Lily[/name]. Your children all have / will have wonderful names. [name]Felix[/name] does fit in perfectly with [name]Oliver[/name] and [name]Miles[/name]! And I agree, [name]Iris[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] is simply gorgeous. :slight_smile: