Decide on name before or after birth?

[chipsandmushypeas]

what did you do? We have a shortlist for our boy but were thinking to wait until we meet him to fully decide on final name to see what suits him, is this a good idea?

[NotGeoffVader]

That's what I did. We didn't know the gender in advance so had a list of M and F names. Still took 2 days to decide what to call her when she did put in an appearance :)

Glad we did hold off though as the name I was pretty set on didn't suit her. Looking at her now, that name still wouldn't suit.

[MidWeekSlump]

I decided before.

I found out the sex and referred to them by their name before they were born, so once they were born they were already that person/ name.

[OneOfMyTurnsComingOn]

Entirely up to you. But I've never found out the gender so can't name until baby is born. Same this time. And struggling for names too.

[Chunkychicken]

We waited until baby was born, but then we too didn't know the gender. However, it took very little time to settle on DD's name.

This time I, too, am finding it harder to come up with a shortlist. Whilst we'll have to wait and see whether we've got a blue or pink one, I find I swing between being almost decided on one or two names and worried it won't suit, and equally unable to narrow down a list of about 50 names!!

Hopefully it'll all click into place on the day :)

[NervousAt20]

I don't want to pick a name before our LO arrives but DP is set on what he wants and even though I really like the name too I worry that when she arrives it might not suit her DP thinks im mad and it will suit her because that's who she will be and what we think of her already as

[ShoeJunkie]

Same as Not we had a short list for both m and f and took a couple of days to decide (although DS ended up with a name that wasn't even on the list!)

[C0smos]

Rough short list for a boy, no clue for a girl, luckily we had DS so had a few to pick from. I find it a bit odd when the name is decided ages in advance and people refer to their child by that name before he or she is even here.

[RubyFakeNails]

I picked one of each beforehand. I knew what we loved and that was that. I didn't want to be influenced by hormones or some random in the hospital I would never meet again so made DH promise not to let me change from the list. I had a brief wobble but powered through and I love their names even now not that mn does.

[GnocchiNineDoors]

Thats what I did. Infact, while labouring at home in the bath I shouted out names while dh cleaned the kitchen. We didnt know what we were having, but for some reason I was fixated on girls names.

As it was, we picked the very very first name we both had liked way back pre-pregnancy, and added in my second favourote as her MN.

[shoobidoo]

We decided the day after our 20 week scan .

[LadyofWinterfell]

We had a name picked out for DS, but when he arrived it really didn't suit him! 3 days later DH came up with a name, we slept on it, and it stuck. I can't imagine him being anything else now!

We had a name picked for DD2 before birth. That was only because we couldn't agree on another one.

[IMcHunt]

I didn't have a definite name picked for DS if he was a boy (which he was). I had a couple of names that I liked, but in the event, DH picked a name after he was born (it suits him very well).
DD, 2.5 years later, got the name I'd have given DS, had he been a girl. Again, she couldn't be called anything else now

[chipsandmushypeas]

Love the shouting out names during labour :)

I think I'm not going to stress about names until I meet him, plenty of time to decide when he's here

[fanjodisfunction]

we came up with a boys name and a girls name we liked and then waited to see what we had. It was the best moment for me when She popped out and DH announced to the room her name straight away.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Think that's fine. We decided on a name for DS during pg but with DD we just couldn't agree. DH came up with a name I had suggested and loved when I was in the 3rd stage and still love it now 5 years later .

[drtachyon]

We had a shortlist of names, but we didn't decide on the final name until a few hours after DS was born.

[javotte]

DS and DD were named a month after future-DH and I got together
DD2 is due in October and hasn't got a name yet, but I live in France so baby has to be named at birth.

[Annunziata]

I always liked to wait. I had ideas of what they would probably be called but I didn't tell anyone (well, other than DH obviously!) until they were born.

[NicVilla]

It took us 5 weeks to decide on DS2's name (after he was born). We knew he was a boy, picked a name and no one liked it! He got that name as his middle name. We're glad it turned out that way because he really suits the name he waited so long for.

[bouncysmiley]

At least have a shortlist- you won't have time after!!

[MrsJohnDeere]

Ds1 we decided pretty much from the start. A name we both liked and it was the name of both of dh's grandfathers (both dead).

Ds2 decided after he was born. We ummed and erred about the name we finally chose beforehand but it didn't seem to fit until we saw him. We were 99% sure it was going to be something else (compromise name) until he was actually born.

[strugglingwiththepreteenbit]

I like having a name to use during pregnancy. At least boy/girl name. That's just me, though!