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!
Kim
July 20, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Hey – I have a name for you: KIM!!! ha-ha!!! I was actually supposed to be named Kimberlee (spelled with the “ee” instead of “y” to make it different), but I was so small at birth (less than 5 pounds), the doctor said that Kimberlee Denise was too big of a name for such a little peanut – so it ended up just Kim Denise!
I was always going to name my daughter Katie Elizabeth (after Katherine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor), but I never had a girl — so, that’s where my dog Katie got her name — same with my other dog, Megan — Megan was my second choice for a girls name.
I never really had a favorite boys name — Sean is as close to a favorite as I had, but probably never would have used it! My son, Robby, came to me as a 6 year old with his name already intact, so I didn’t have to come up with one! ha-ha
Jamie Stamm
July 20, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I’ve always really liked the name Sam, for a boy or a girl. But then I fell in love with my husband and had to give that one up because our baby’s name would have been “Sam Stamm.” And that’s just cruel.
I named my cat Sam instead.
themama
July 21, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Kim, I love your dog’s names…those are actually all names we’ve considered before! In fact, Amy Kate was on our list at one time.
Jamie, I like the name Sam but it has negative associations for me that I just can’t get past. I have to be super careful with our last name. It ends in -ley and that rules out SO many name for us! I would love to have a Lilly, but with our last name it’s hideous. And with so many women choosing to keep their maiden names or not marry, I won’t count on her someday having another last name. Makes it tough!
I have a whole new list of boy’s names and I’ve added my old favorite Aislin back onto the list for a girl. It’s pronounced Ashlyn, but Aislin is the traditional Irish spelling.