I am going nuts with this.  My husband, bless his little heart, does not care AT ALL about coming up with names until we know the sex.  I, on the other hand, am practically obsessed with it right now.  I’ve been through the baby name wizard book and though I throw things out to him, I really only like 3 girl’s names.  Of course he hates them all.

And in order of preference, here they are:

#1 right now is Cora.  This was my great-grandmother’s name.  (I think that’s right.)  It’s been out of vogue for a long time but I just love it.

#2 is Harper.  It’s a little different.  I think I got it from the author of one of my favorite novels.  Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird and it is the ONLY book I’ve been assigned to read in school that I really enjoyed.  I adore the novel AND her name.

#3 is Eleanor.  Yes, very old fashioned.  But also very versatile.  She can go by Eleanor, Ella, Ellie, Elle, Nora, or whatever she likes.

I should mention that ALL of these come with a middle name that is pretty much already determined and will most likely result in a “double name” should this be a girl.  (Think Anna Claire, Sarah Jane, Laura Beth…though none of those second names are what we’d be using.)

As for boys, I’m kind of tapped out.  I’m having a hard time finding anything I like, so I’ve resurrected a name I liked last time but ultimately ruled out because of a celebrity association.  (Mattox…though Angelina Jolie spells hers Maddox.)  I’ve decided it just doesn’t matter.  If I wanted to copy Angelina Jolie, I’d try the name Knox.  As it stands, Mattox (or Maddox) isn’t super unusual anyway.  She’s certainly not the only person out there who has used that name.  I’m just not sure where in the world I will find another boy’s name that I don’t hate and that goes with my current boys.  I guess if this baby is a boy, it’s back to the drawing board…or the baby name books.

If anyone else is going through the name game, check this out!  It is from the Baby Name Wizard site and it shows you (graphically) how names have ranked over the years.  Very useful for ruling out things that are too common!