Waiting until the baby is born before deciding on the name?

We waited until both were born to find out sex and to choose name.

Of course a baby can look like their name! Or more, not look like another name. We had a list of 4-5 for each sex. After DS was born we went through each and tried calling him each one. It was really clear which ones just didn't suit him and felt a bit strange to say aloud to an actual person. One just suited perfectly and that was that.

We had a shortlist but then when DD was born, I vetoed several as they suddenly seemed too harsh when attached to an actual mini human. It took us 2 weeks to decide and we flipped a coin between 2 names and I dictated the middle name!

2/3 names for each sex

We did this. Yellow bump but even then we had a shortlist of 2/3 names. Didn't settle on one until DD was 12 hours old.

I really don't understand the whole "but what if they don't look like xyz", I don't understand how they couldn't unless you just weren't 100% on the name in the first place. I like to pick a boy/girl name and then once you know gender refer to them as that name, for me it really helped me bond with baby. We only kept the name and gender to ourselves though as we liked the idea of waiting until little one arrived before announcing.

We picked beforehand. I do see why people want to wait (although maybe not 6 weeks!) but I think babies just look like babies rather than their name and then they become their name iyswim

I waited. DD was actually 10 weeks old before she got a name! (8 week limit so I had to call up and request more time). Little brother is nearly 3 weeks old and doesn't have a name yet but we've narrowed it down to two options so close to deciding. It's pretty normal where I live though, people don't name the baby until the christening so call them by a nickname until then - baby's nickname is Mr. Justice.

I chose all of mine after birth, with the exception of my first, as he was named after my father.

I definitely think they do immediately look (but more often don't look) like particular names when they're born. I had several, "No, you really don't look like an X" moments after mine were born.

We're down to two or three but keep changing our minds. I think the reality of the baby being here will focus our minds and help us make the final decision (also means that as the Mum who just went through labour you're bound to get the casting vote)

We chose a name for both before they were born. I don't think they look like names when they're born tbh! They grow into them.

I had a name choses for my eldest but when he was born I didn't think he looked like it so I changed it

Really? What does a baby Stephen or a baby Arthur look like, for example ?

We had a shortlist of 3 names and waited til we met our DS until we named him (both times) they do ‘look like’ or in our case ‘didn’t look like’ a name.

We decided after both kids were born. It took 4 days to decide for our first. We had though of a few names but the name we eventually chose was none of those! The name we chose just fitted.
2nd was easier. Almost as soon as he was born we had a name that fitted.

We made a list but had no definite decision until we saw her

We had a shortlist for DD2 as Just couldn’t decide and then waited until she arrived before seeing which suited her best. The favourite wasn’t chosen as it was not her at all!

DC1 was named at 20 week scan. DC2 was named 2 years before he was born

I did this all three times. We had various names we liked and decided properly once they arrived. I personally don't like naming a child before they are born.

NO baby looks like their name!

Left naming till after the birth for 3 out of 4 of my children. Massive. Mistake.

We would get so caught up in the 'newborn bubble' that we just quite happily referred to the new one as 'baby' or 'the baby' or other silly ( outing )nick names for weeks. We are pretty heathen. By six weeks or near then, a letter would arrive telling us to register the baby.

Then, sleep deprived, brain addled it was just as difficult as before the birth to think of something especially with a cut off looming. Probably harder. And the baby always seemed to 'look' more like whatever silly nickname we'd given them, than this very important name we were trying to adorn it with.

Put my foot down for no 4. Thought of name. Ran it past DH regardless of his reactions. And after the birth when someone medical said to me " what's their name?" I just said it. Job done.

I chose a name both times, then changed it when I met them!

We thought we had a name for dd2 but then once she was here neither of us liked it for her. Not sure why it just didn't seem to fit. It's hard to explain!

I've never bought into the idea that a chosen name becomes unsuitable after the baby's born because "they just didn't look like a X". Newborns don't look like anything. Neither of my babies looked like their names when they were born, and it usually took a few weeks of calling them a pet name before I felt like they inhabited their actual names.

Plenty of people say they changed their minds at birth because the baby didn't look like the name, but that's just confirmation bias talking. I'm sure the child would have been just fine with their first choice name also