We want something original but not bizarre (sorry, Gwyneth; no fruit names here), popular but not ultra-common, and of course we have to like how it sounds. At this point, with nothing nailed down, Lollipop will probably go nameless for a few days
By Megan Powell
What’s in a name?
My second child is due in a less than two weeks (so really, any day now), and my husband and I still don’t have names nailed down. It’s certainly not for lack of trying.
I’ve done my Google searches and borrowed baby-name books from the library, and we’ve sat and brainstormed for hours together. We also text each other potential names constantly, with one of us either nixing the name or me adding it to our inventory.
The lists with our favourite names seem to change on a monthly basis.
But we still don’t have any set in stone. I’m quite sure this baby will be nameless for at least a week.
Maybe it’s because we’re not finding out the gender.
I also really feel like I need to meet this baby before we decide on a name.
My son went nameless for a couple of days and oddly enough, we ultimately didn’t use any of the potential names we had picked out for him.
We only discovered his name the day after he was born, and after trying out a few, we realized it suited him perfectly.
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I definitely feel like we’re in the minority. I have friends who had their babies named in utero, and know of other couples who’ve gone so far as to purchase monogrammed items or put up the baby’s name in letters on the wall.
Then there’s us over on the other side, with a random scrap of paper full of potential names, half scratched out, some bolded and starred.
Original, but nothing too "out there"
Part of the dilemma stems from us wanting an original name that isn’t too “out there” (no fruit names for us; sorry, Gwyneth).
Since I grew up with a fairly common name, sharing it with at least half a dozen other Megans in high school, I’m looking for something more unique for my children. (To this day, I’ve only ever heard my son’s name mentioned once at a playground.)
. . . But not TOO original. And definitely not something that will be butchered by others.
I’ve been consulting a friend who teaches kindergarten, referring all unique names to her to see how she might pronounce them.
I also like checking in with her to see how often she’s come across each name in her class, as we tend to avoid those top 20. As much as I love some of the old-school classic names making a comeback, I don’t want my kids having to share their name with 10 others in class.
So our criteria make it a bit tricky:
1) a name we both love; that
2) isn’t wildly popular; and
3) isn’t too crazy or difficult to pronounce.
We’d also love to incorporate family names, which will likely be used as a middle name, just as we did for my son.
Phew. It hurts my head just thinking about coming up with the “perfect” name.
And when it comes to searching baby lists according to certain criteria, I’ve found them to more mind-boggling than anything.
We’re an earthy family, so when I look up any nature or earth-related names, I find a bizarre list of obvious items that I would never actually name a child: Rock, Grass, Tree, Water.
Sure, those things are great, but I’m pretty sure Rock would be changing his name at the first possible chance.
Maybe I’m looking way too much into this and we just need to pick a name. But for now, I’m going to stick with our constantly evolving list of names—for girls and boys—and we’ll see what suits our little one when he or she arrives.
In the meantime, we’re taking my son’s lead and referring to the baby as Lollipop, a nickname I think might stick even after this little one enters the outside world.
Megan Powell has a 3-year-old son, a blog on natural living, and a baby due any day now. Check out her other 9-1/2 Months posts, and watch this space for further news of Lollipop
