I’ve been thinking about this loads recently, so I wanted to see what you all have to say. I see a lot of people on here who play with thousands of names, but have an idea of the one name that is their absolute favourite, and the one that they would use for a child. Maybe you have multiple, for multiple children.
But what would you do if, for whatever reason, you couldn’t use your number one name? Maybe your partner hates it. Maybe a friend just used it. Maybe your baby just doesn’t seem like one.
What would you do then? What’s your number one name (or multiple names that have tied for the actually-going-to-use-it spot)? And what would you choose if you couldn’t use that?
*my* back up options
The names I have for use on an actual baby, at the moment, are [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] and [name_f]Aurembiaix[/name_f] for girls, with [name_m]Ronan[/name_m] for a boy, and probably [name_m]Leander[/name_m] for a second.
I think my back up options for a baby girl would be:
[name_f]Artemisia[/name_f]
[name_f]Atalanta[/name_f]
[name_f]Isolde[/name_f]
[name_f]Hecate[/name_f]
[name_f]Circe[/name_f]
And for a boy:
[name_u]Dorian[/name_u]
[name_m]Alasdair[/name_m]
[name_m]Lucius[/name_m]
[name_m]Oberon[/name_m]
All names that I can see myself with a child by the name of, but definitely wouldn’t have predicted using
I share my top choice for a daughter with 3 or 4 people or even couples from my surroundings but in fact it doesn’t bother me very much. Maybe it is because [name_f]Anna[/name_f] is rather popular there. However, I like many names and if I couldn’t use my favorites, I would find something else neat and suitable.
Cleo and [name_m]Cassian[/name_m] would be my first picks. I don’t know if I’d use both because they’re both Cs. Right now I’m feeling [name_u]Everest[/name_u], [name_u]Evren[/name_u], or [name_u]Nico[/name_u] as back ups for [name_m]Cassian[/name_m], and [name_u]Rowan[/name_u], [name_u]Fable[/name_u], [name_u]Parker[/name_u], or [name_u]Ridley[/name_u] for [name_f]Cleo[/name_f].
[name_f]My[/name_f] #1 names are [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_m]Wesley[/name_m]. I have a clear #2 for girls ([name_f]Anya[/name_f]), but with boys it gets trickier. I love [name_m]Wesley[/name_m] so, so much, and I feel like most of my other boy names are all on about the same level. It would be a close call between [name_m]Philip[/name_m], [name_u]August[/name_u] and [name_u]Elliot[/name_u].
Oooh this kind of happened to me lol - [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] was my #1 for close to a decade and then I met my DH and he has a cousin named [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]…so he was absolutely not on board lol. It took awhile, but I put [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] away and it sort of just feels like an old friend that you don’t see any more but have fond memories of still. We don’t have kids yet, but as a name nerd I like to plan and have my list so after he vetoed [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], I basically just bombarded him with my favorites until one stuck haha!
Now my #1 names are [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] and [name_u]Brooks[/name_u]. We do have a definite #2 set for a girl ([name_u]Parker[/name_u]) but we agree less on boys names so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that no one in our inner circle has a [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] before we can use it haha
If [name_f]Flora[/name_f] and [name_f]Rose[/name_f] are out, though I would only use latter if she grew up in an [name_f]English[/name_f] or [name_u]French[/name_u] speaking country primarily, either [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] or [name_f]Clara[/name_f] (german) or [name_f]Alice[/name_f], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] or [name_f]Violet[/name_f] (english) would be in.
If I could’t use [name_m]Hugo[/name_m] or [name_m]Arthur[/name_m], though I would only use [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] if he grew up in a [name_m]German[/name_m] or [name_u]French[/name_u] speaking country primarily, I would use [name_m]Oscar[/name_m], [name_m]Victor[/name_m], [name_u]Theo[/name_u](dore), [name_m]Edmund[/name_m], [name_m]Frederick[/name_m], or [name_m]Edgar[/name_m].
Linus is one of my favorite boy names but my SO hates it (thinks it’s too nerdy but I think it’s so sweet for a boy). If we ever have a boy we would choose from the names we agree on: [name_m]Casper[/name_m], [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] or [name_m]Oscar[/name_m].
Winifred was my favorite name but ultimately my SO felt that the name sounded more like my taste than his. We compromised on [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] (at the time, [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] was both of our second choices). I honestly don’t know what we will do for another girl. Maybe [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f]?
My first picks for girls are Lilawen & Rosenna, but I know they’re a bit out there, so my back ups would be [name_f]Lillian[/name_f] and [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] (I don’t like any other [name_f]Rose[/name_f] names as much as Rosenna, but [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] has a lot of meaning to me)
My first picks for boys would probably be [name_m]Harrison[/name_m] and [name_m]Adrian[/name_m]. [name_f]My[/name_f] back ups for them would maybe be [name_u]Freddie[/name_u] & [name_u]Noah[/name_u]. I don’t really think as much about my boys names
[name_m]Just[/name_m] realized that question was about back up option. There are about 10-15 names for each gender in my baby name list right now . If [name_f]Anna[/name_f] doesn’t work as well as [name_f]Ilaria[/name_f] and Zlata (my two other frontrunners), I will consider [name_f]Nadezhda[/name_f] (literally means [name_f]Hope[/name_f], [name_f]Nadya[/name_f] for short:smiling_face_with_three_hearts: ) or [name_f]Yulia[/name_f] / Yulianna at first. Also like [name_f]Yekaterina[/name_f], [name_f]Darya[/name_f] and [name_m]Musa[/name_m]. The last one is guilty pleasure that, however, may work. Musa is local form for Muse, actually. Didn’t know that it can be a boy name…
As for boy, I have many names of different style on my list (from old slavic choices like Vsevolod to international [name_m]Roman[/name_m], from popular [name_m]Ivan[/name_m] to unusual [name_m]Rafael[/name_m]) so 80% there would be a point to agree on. Maybe variation or alternative option.
My #1 name for girls is [name_f]Devina[/name_f], when this would be out i take Luela.
[name_f]My[/name_f] #1 name for boys is [name_u]Edin[/name_u], when this would be out i would be doomed but after a moment (a very long moment) of sadness i would probaly go with [name_f]Azor[/name_f] or Dzenan.
Of cause not, as far as i read it (on two different sides) you can interpret it how you like it, either as the femal version of the slavic boys name [name_u]Devin[/name_u] or as “the slavic variation” of [name_f]Davina[/name_f].
I take it as the female version of [name_u]Devin[/name_u]
As far as I know being slavic, there is no name [name_u]Devin[/name_u] in my language group. Russian website says that it is Irish😅 which doesn’t change the fact that it is really pretty!! Sorry if I am answering as a mean person
Oh no your not mean at all, it’s how you know it, there is nothing mean on it. I know it as a croatian boys name and as the irish unisex name. Maybe it’s just one of this names they are for different gender in different counties, like [name_u]Andrea[/name_u] in [name_f]Italy[/name_f] it’s also a boys name, while i mostly know it as a girls name, do you know how i mean it? sorry if it’s not so good to understand, english is not my first language
Old Slavic names are most often formed from Slavic words that somehow characterize a person. These are either two-syllable names ([name_m]Vladimir[/name_m]: [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] -> the root of the word “vladet” (to own); mir -> the world; owning the world), or monosyllabic: [name_f]Mlada[/name_f] (the young one (female name); mlad -> from the word molodoy, young) … Despite the fact that the Slavic language is divided into three groups, and, for example, Russian and Polish are very different from each other, and I do not understand all the words, the principle there is about the same (e.g. Cheslav). The roots and individual elements are alike. (Slav -> slava -> glory)
BUT! Slavic names are, with exceptions, not very popular in Slavic countries. At least in the [name_u]East[/name_u] Slavic. And I didn’t find them in the top of Poland while responding you. Basically, local forms of biblical or international names are used, and in countries that are part of the European Union, [name_f]English[/name_f] names could also be seen. Therefore, [name_u]Devin[/name_u] may be a Croatian name or, at least, common in Croatia.
Okay this is a perfect explanation and i have no idea what else i should say.
I found [name_f]Devina[/name_f] on a bosnian, croatian website and i just love it, wherever it comes from
Had my partner not been all for H’s name, he wouldn’t be my partner, lol (we talked about it on way to our our first date)… we never actually talked much about backup options… only brothers.
For our girl name first time around, our backup was [name_f]Minerva[/name_f] Geneviève. I still love it but it feels so plain and the relegation to the backup (“If we chicken out when she gets here”) position didn’t help make her feel more special…
[name_f]My[/name_f] backup options this time would be convincing my husband of combos I have loved that he hasn’t. [name_m]Solomon[/name_m] [name_f]Jade[/name_f] comes to mind on that front for the boy and probably [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] Menodora for a girl…
. If [name_f]Anna[/name_f] doesn’t work as well as [name_f]Ilaria[/name_f] and Zlata (my two other frontrunners), I will consider [name_f]Nadezhda[/name_f] (literally means [name_f]Hope[/name_f], [name_f]Nadya[/name_f] for short:smiling_face_with_three_hearts: ) or [name_f]Yulia[/name_f] / Yulianna at first. Also like [name_f]Yekaterina[/name_f], [name_f]Darya[/name_f] and [name_m]Musa[/name_m]. The last one is guilty pleasure that, however, may work. Musa is local form for Muse, actually. Didn’t know that it can be a boy name…
but after a moment (a very long moment) of sadness i would probaly go with [name_f]Azor[/name_f] or Dzenan.
