Neil and I started considering baby names around week 17 of our pregnancy. We sat down and both made our own list of about 10 boy names and 10 girl names (although I am pretty sure that my boy name list was like 15 and girl was around 6). Once we finished our individual lists we exchanged them and crossed off any that we didn’t like from each others lists and then from our two lists we then created one master list.
We then considered the following things:
- origin
- meaning
- nicknames/shortening of name
- popularity
- how it sounded with our last names
- for girls names how it sounded with our pre-determined middle name
- ease of pronunciation and spelling
The things we didn’t take into consideration:
- opinions of family and friends
Girls Names: Here are a few of the girls names that made our lists (either his, hers or ours) at some point in our naming process [note this list may or may not include the final name choice – you’ll just have to wait to find out!]
- Sophia
- Lillian
- Eleanor
- Edith (Edie)
- Ingrid
- Adelaide
- Astrid
- Kenzie
- Lucie
- Amelie
- Olivia
- Audrey
Boys Names: Here are a few of the boys names that made our lists (either his, hers or ours) at some point in our naming process [note like above this list may or may not include the final name choice – you’ll just have to wait to find out!]
- Harrison
- Cary
- Declan
- Rowan
- Kiernan
- Tiernan
- Liam
- Ronan
- Dax
- Oliver
- Callum
- Seamus
- Peeta (loved because of Scandinavian roots but removed from list for obvious reasons)
- Basil
Eventually we whittled our lists down and came up with five boy and five girl names that we really liked. Then we let things marinate for a while and took a few weeks off from really discussing names.
Around Week 23, we started to really talk about names again and slowly started to reduce our list. By Week 24 we had decided on our boys first name and middle name but we were still debating over our girl’s name.
By Week 26, we had narrowed our girls name down to two options although we were leaning more towards one and eventually settled on it(or so we thought). Then, around week 33 I came across another girls name that I really have been drawn to and we debated over it for a few weeks but ultimately decided that the name we were leaning towards originally was the girls name wanted to go with.
Now here we are Week 37 and we are ready and waiting the arrival of our little boy or girl. Part of me wonders if we will have a change of heart about the name when we meet them? Will we need to go back to the drawing board? Or will the name that we decided on be just right?
How did you go about choosing your baby name(s)?
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Amazing! My top 2 baby names for when I get pregnant are on that list! So excited to see what you name baby 🙂
I have had a list of names since I was in Jr. High – I’ve been adding and subtracting names along the way, I just didn’t want to forget any really good ones if the time ever came. Well once we found out we were expecting I went over all of the names, and not a single one seemed good enough to name our child. We wiped the slate clean. We debated for several weeks, and had some good girl names but not a single boy name. Luckily turns out we are having a girl, so that didn’t really matter. One day my husband just threw out a name and I said “That’s it!” – that was at 20 week and we are 100% set on it. Now we are really really struggling with a middle name. Didn’t think the middle name would be the hard one.
Love your names though! I’m a big fan of Edie, Astrid, Declan and Oliver! I met a little girl the other day named Declan, it’s really cute for a girl too!
I would have never thought of Declan for a girl but it works!
Neil and I had a number of names that we had considered before we got pregnant but I don’t think any of them ended up making our list!
We had such a hard time settling on a girls name for some reason and at times we both find ourselves considering another name but we seem to keep going back to one that we have now decide is “the name”. The middle name for a girl was super easy to decide but ended up being the reason why a number of names were eliminated because they just didn’t flow right together.
As for a boy we liked so many but our final choice just stood right out to us especially with the middle name.
I can’t wait for this baby to arrive so we can find out if it is a he or she and can reveal our name choices!
What a beautiful list of names! I like them all! I don’t have a child, but I’m one of those people who already have names picked out- all have family significance. Looking forward to learning which name you choose!
I’ve had a list of names I love for years, but I ended up marrying a sexy Latin man, which has changed things a lot. We are currently TTC and have a full boy’s name and a girl’s first name but can’t decide on her middle name at all. Of course, we’ll see how things change when I finally get pregnant. Can’t wait to see what names you have chosen!
I love latin names- lucky you! I have a whole list of latin names I love however I don’t think that Neil and I with our combined British/Irish/Scottish/French/Canadian/Scandinavian heritage could pull one off haha. Good luck to you!
Ha ha. I entered the survey without seeing the list.
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