what’s in a name?
August 1st, 2010
Okay, Dana. I’ll bite. Because it’s a good idea for a blog post!
Now that we know this baby is a girl, Troy and I are just starting to talk names. We aren’t anywhere near choosing one, we just have a big list of all the names we sorta maybe like the sound of. At this point it still feels like we’ll never narrow it down to two names because none of them sound quite right when paired with Annalie, or our last name, or they mean something weird.
I commented on Facebook last night that coming up with a name for an innocent, brand-new human is HARD. Apparently this is a common sentiment. The comment thread quickly grew and got hilariously out of control, what with Sonja suggesting Brunhilde and Princess Consuela Bananahammock, and Katie saying she thought & or * (pronounced, of course, ‘Ampersand’ and ‘Asterisk’) would make lovely names.
Then my sister-in-law Dana commented that I should write a blog post about what names we’re considering, and ask you all to discuss and give your opinions of our names. Now, I’m not gonna do that, because I know myself well enough to know that I am Little Miss Contrary. If I told you all my absolute favorite name, a name I loved, and you all agreed that it was fabulous and the name we should use, I would probably say, “Eh, never mind. If everyone likes it so much we’d better pick another name.” I’m not saying it makes sense; I’m just saying I know that’s the way it would go.
But here is what I will do, because apparently there there are others out there, like me, who love discussing names. I can’t promise I’ll join the discussion in any serious way, and it’s very unlikely that anyone will know our kid’s name before she’s actually born. But hey, that doesn’t have to stop the fun! One caveat: don’t feel like you have to tell me THE name you’re saving for your kid, because the last thing I want to do is accidentally steal your name. That said…
What girl names do you like? Why?
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Evie is nice.
ainsley. =)
Cool, this will be fun. I already told Troy that I like Avery (although I think it’s becoming popular) because it’s a family name on the Gronberg side.
Also, Leslie worked with a guy whose daughter’s name was Darby and I thought that was a cool and unusual name.
If I had a girl, I wanted to name her Jocelyn.
Julia, Corinne, Ava, Claire, Genevieve, Helen, Lucia
I never got to name a girl!
Margaret is my favorite girl’s name. It’s classic and Maggie is such a great nickname for a little girl.
ARACELY. It means Altar of Heaven…
Just saying…
I still wish we would have named Elsa Jolene instead. I have no idea why. It was never a name we even considered. I also really like the names Callie and Kyra.
I always liked “Allison”
You know how the hippies used to name kids things like Rainbow, Leaf, and Moonbeam? Well, *our* generation should start naming babies things like LOL, ROFL, Cheezburger, ZOMG, Bebbeh, n00b – things like that.
Also, I think Elizabeth is the most beautiful name in the world.
The first time, our girl names were Lilly Katherine and Margaret Agnes. The second time, Margaret Mary and Grace Lydia. (The second time I really loved Ava, which I’ve only heard once ever. Imagine my shock when I saw that it’s not just top 10, but top five! Though I do think Swistle has a good point about “popular” names. The #1 girl name right now accounts for about 1% of girl babies. When Jennifer was #1, it was more like 5%.
Oh darn it, I forgot to close my parentheses.
I wanted to add that I liked that you specified “innocent.” It would make it easier if we had to name an evil baby (not YOUR baby, naturally, just a *hypothetical* evil baby), wouldn’t it?
If I ever have another girl I’d like to name her Lucerne Elise. It’s a name I wanted for a girl ever since we went to Lucerne, Switzerland. But I won’t have any more babies so I’m not afraid of you stealing it. As long as you don’t mind if I steal it back JUST IN CASE I ever have any more babies. Which I won’t.
If Margie was a boy I wanted Julian Auryn (which is EXTREMELY geeky if you catch that, the middle name anyway) but she was a girl. Auryn is kind of girly.
If Elliott had been a girl the closest we got to a girl name was Elliott. Heh. I wanted Amelia with Mia as a nickname. Alex wasn’t into it.
While you consider *, be aware of the (originally French) comic Asterix I grew up loving. You don’t want your little girl to be mixed up with a hairy Gaul: http://www.asterix.com/
Also, you could call her Matilda and spell it M~.
If Marc had been a girl, he would have been Marissa. Steve liked the name Heather, but I was dumped in high school for a Heather and never could agree to that name :-)
For someone who doesn’t want children, I sure do like picking out names. It’s like my estrogen only stretches out so far.
I like….
Lydia.
Rainee.
Alexis.
Luna.
Annabell.
:)
I also like Mitzi, but out of principle of ‘that sounds like a cheerleader name,’ it never made it into my top five.
(Also, I’m very much like you. I knew exactly why you weren’t going to let us know the names you were considering — I am the. Same. Way. “Oh … I asked for your opinion but now you all agree with me? … Oh. Nevermind.”)
I don’t think you want my opinion because I actually like the common names. :) However with that being said I have always like Hedivig (pronounce Hay-duh-vee) It is a Danish name (I think) on my dad’s danish side. Other than that I like Megan, Alexis or Alexa- calling her Lexi (guess what Alex would have been named if is was a girl :)) Elizabeth, Nicole, and Sarah. I love the name Sarah!! :) Good luck!! It’s SO HARD!! At least you don’t have to do three at once right? ;)
elisabeth
that’s a name we always considered with our girls, but they ended up being “someone different” (teresia&johanna)
i still love it, the meaning is great and i like the women i know with this name.
have fun deciding!
Rocco and I have had our hypothetical baby girl named since before we were married. He has since suggested rethinking it, but it is decided. He will come around. Indira Jane, possibly nicknaming her Indy. He likes India, but that reminds me of Wilson Phillips.
Also, someone with whom we went to high school recently solicited name suggestions for their baby. I suggested my favorite baby boy name & the spouse totally dissed it in a mean way, saying something like, “Thanks, but we are naming a kid, not casting for a soap opera. We don’t want to doom him for life.” or something along those lines.
Lastly, Annalie is one of my favorite names ever (and one of my favorite kids ever). I recently heard of several people with that name. Weird.
Does Annalie have an opinion on the matter?
My sister and her husband have always waited to meet their daughters before finalizing their name choices. Maybe that makes sense. My parents apparently should have named me Jennifer because I am more often called that (or sometimes Stacy) by mistake. So I must look like a Jennifer or Stacy. But I love having a name that few people have without being weird one. That being said, one of my favorite girls names has always been Hannah. I probably won’t ever use it if I’m blessed to have a daughter because my parents have a goddaughter named Hannah who is also close to my sister and her family. But I think it’s a beautiful name and a beautiful story of faithful prayer in the Bible.
Also, have you considered Mehitabel? It is most definitely NOT popular and a nice, literary name. You could call her Mehitabellarinatina for short. :)
The other night Fish and I were trying to come up with girl names for that fictitious 4th girl that we’re going to have. It was hard!! haha
I tend to lean towards traditional names. I still like Katie, Maggie. I have an affinity for that ie or y sound at the end of names.
Interesting names I’ve encountered…
Deja (with the middle name Vu)
Storm
Aroma
I agree. It is really hard to pick out a name. Did I tell you it was recommend that we rename our baby for the adoption? It was hard to start calling him a new name after we were used to the old one. Our situation was different though as we needed a bit more common name (for reasons I will not go into here.) But we named him “Kevin.”
I do like following your posts. There is a good chance we will be getting an newborn in the next month or so. So we are starting to think of names AGAIN (it has only been 2 weeks since we picked out the last one. )
Heh heh. We had a really hard time coming up with girls’ names I could stand when we were expecting G. So we named her G. Just kidding.
I have strong negative reactions to a lot of names, including a lot of popular ones, so for obvious reasons I’m not going to say which ones. If I like a person their name grows on me anyway. It’s just hard to find one (or two) I feel good enough about to attach to a new person! Wait, I think you made that point up there somewhere.
I like Annalie a lot though. Great combination of classic and uncommon, and we missed that one completely when we were looking (either didn’t see it at all or didn’t see a fit), so I look forward to seeing what you and Troy settle on for the second!
I think I’m going to go with Princess Consuela Bananahammock. (I’ve seen that episode of Friends a half a bazillion times and LOVE it.) The only girl names I’m IN LOVE with are Kaylie and Liliana. Obviously. :) And I completely love Annalie’s name as well.
I’ve read my big fat baby name book so many times and it has so many dog-eared pages and underlined names and now looking back, I have NO idea how I even contemplated some of the names! So, I really have no idea. I like uncommon names though, as JENNIFER has to be THE most common name EVER and it’s kind of annoying. Not that I mind my name, just the part about EVERYONE ELSE having it.
Good luck!!
So many good choices, I’m with you on not wanting to pick super popular names, which makes it harder because I love traditional names. Though I think that Clancy and Emerson are different and kind of cool for a girl.
I know a 6 year old girl named Clancy! Her sisters are Annabelle and Macy, for the record.
I like Cora because it’s a family name that means a lot to me but my husband has said no way.
Helena would have been a Heidi if she wasn’t such a Helena. =)
name an evil baby… LOL
name her after my sister… EVILyn… okay okay so her name is Evelyn which is MUCH more boring
Feel free to use my name… or Lorelei : D
I like the names Nora, Kandi (hehe), and Kyla.
Oh, and my newest niece is named Ivy. I think that’s a lovely name too.
Sophie, Chloe, Violet, Fiona…
I love these names!
Duh, name her Jillian. haha.
In all seriousness, I plan on naming my future daughter Evey Lee. It’s a family tradition that the oldest child’s middle name is Lee, and I have loved the name Evey for a long long time now.
But I think Jillian is the best name (or Tuesday)! lol.
brooklyn rhayne
freedom rhyme
malaey
vivian
olivia
aerum (means to become whole, complete in korean)
I like Charlotte, Lucy, Alice, Emma … I tend towards the classic English ones, I suppose. They’d go nicely with Annalie, but they lack her originality. I think you’ll pick a beautiful one, judging by past events.
You are such a good sport. Like I said before: everyone has an opinion. Especially me. But my opinion is RIGHT! (hee hee) Still, I always try to be very supportive of the names people choose – I would never say, “Oh, I hate that name!” I have said, when a dear friend was seriously considering Emery for a boy’s name, “I think it’s a little feminine.” That’s the closest I’ve ever said to “Oh please God don’t name your baby THAT!” They had a girl, so WHEW. But I am sure I would have adjusted to the name would love a little Mr. Emery very much.
(My brother and SIL are expecting, and I am steadfastly keeping my mouth SHUT. I don’t want my SIL to hold any comments against me, but I did give them a lovely new copy of The Baby Name Wizard.)
I will share my favorite girl’s name with you, since it is highly, highly unlikely I will ever have a girl. (Girls are not very common in my husband’s family and I have given up all expectations of having one.) Also, my husband HATES it. So here it is: Siddalee. Yes, like from Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. I just love it – of course I would call her ‘Sidda’. Lee is a family middle name on my side, so it fits perfectly. I think it’s majorly uncommon and have an unholy love for this name. But like I said, my husband would never, ever agree.
Oops! I meant to say…”I am sure I would have adjusted to the name and love a Mr. Emery very much.”
ahh, i love names so much. i can’t wait to hear what you name her, i love annalies name!
my favorite names at the moment (which i won’t be using ANY time soon!) are bellamy elizabeth, louisa, joanna, thora, marin, and susannah.
After reading through the other comments, I have to giggle because I am often called “Stacey” as well, maybe Stephanies are really supposed to be Stacies? And Bethanys are supposed to be Stephanies?? ;)
Anywhooo.. I struggled with names because we have a difficult to pronounce last name so I wanted something simple…. my name suggestions come from my two favorite girls in the world (my daughters):
Sarah Nicole
Paige Michelle
i’d give you my name but i keep thinking i’ll have an immaculate conception and have another child so until my innards are innate, i’ll have to wait to share.
best of luck but for the record, i do love Vivian.:)
and no, that is not the name I have held onto for five years.
Had we had a girl, her name would have been Julia Joy. Julia because I love Julia Louise Dryfus, and Joy because it’s such a happy name. Julia Joy sounds adorable together. I think. :)
I don’t think I know your last name, so I won’t
know if my suggestions sound smooth.
When my husband and I weren’t in agreement over names we each made a list of our own top 20. Then exchanged the lists with each other and crossed off 10 names we didn’t like. Make sense so far? I crossed off ten on his, he nixed 10 of his. We looked at the lists then nixed 5 more. We were left with 5 of our spouse’s favorite names-and we were able to riddle it down to the most tolerable name from each list. We only did this for our first child. After that we pretty much liked the same name. I like..,
Pearl
Gwendolyn (we have a Gwen and it’s my favorite of my girls names-sssh)
Ack!
He nixed 10 of mine, not 10 of his.
Um Bonnie…..Auryn is a brilliant name. Especially seeing as I get the geek reference.
Ok. My two cents, just because I too like thinking up baby names.
Years ago, when watching an old fave sci fi show Space: Above and Beyond (another one that got canned after one season), I really liked the name of one of the actresses.
Lanei
I like the idea of some boys names as girls names like Cameron.
I also like:
River
Jorja
And just recently I decided that if I ever had a girl I would make her middle name ‘Ride’ after Sally Ride, the first female (US) astronaut.
Now if only I could meet a guy and settle down and have kids…..anyone have any tips for that?
My only experience with naming babies is in the game The Sims that I play quite a lot. My current generation’s children are called Violette, Violaine, Vincent, Vilja and Venla. The previous generation had twins called Olivia and Cecilia.
Not that any of these names ever would end up being chosen as a name for my REAL children, no way :p I like more traditional names in real life, like Emma, Laura, Mia etc
Wow! What a discussion! As you already know, I like names to be packed with meaning! My #1 recommendation would be Acacia thinking of how God chose to dwell with His people at the mercy seat made of Acacia wood covered in gold. It would go really well with Annalie and your last name, in my opinion. I’m sure you’ll surprise us all with something just right in 4 months.
For the record, runner-up names I’ve probably already told you about: Callie, Allison, Collins, Brie, Alexandria, Britta, Sarai, Joyanna, Amelia, Violet, Kate.
Choosing hypothetical baby names is so fun … choosing real little innocent people’s names with an opinionated partner… not so fun.
Remember Persephone?
I love playing the name game!
These are names I think would go well with Annalie:
Adra
Avery
Caroline
Charlotte
Charis (Ka-riss)
Clara
Deandra (Dee- Andra)
Emery
Eliza
Fiona
Hannah
Imogene
Isabelle
Lillian (nn Lilly)
Lucy
Lydia (my own dd’s name!)
Laurel
Lila
Mallory
Meredith
Paulina
Ruth ( I always love when little girls are called Ruthie!)
Thomasina
Veronica
Willa
You can see I like classic names. As a teacher, I see a lot of the trendy names or names with their own creative spelling. That bugs me!
I can’t wait to hear what you and Troy (and Annalie!) come up with.
for each of our kids we had boy and girl names, and since the last 2 were boys, we didn’t and won’t use them – Claire and Elly (I hadn’t decided if Elly would have officially been Elizabeth or not – probably since my husband is Mr. Traditional Names). I like Elise, Lauren and Bethany for girl names as well (they made my short lists)…
Hi! I love the name Claire for a girl. I think its sweet, and its special to me because it has all the same letters as my own name… who knows what name I’ll like when it comes down to choosing though! I also like Riley as a different one, and I’ve seen it as a boy or a girl
Picking names is so hard!
Here are my favorite girl names:
Madelynne
Lucy
Vivian
When you narrow it down, do the scream test.
Go outside and yell the name out loud. If the first name, middle name, and last name flow nicely, you’ve got a winner! (think of your mom screaming for you when you got in trouble)
Our two daughters our angela and abigail. They have a nice ring to them when said togather.
Something people can spell and pronounce correctly.