Baby Names and Initials

I desparatly wanted to call the sluglet Ngaire, but dh vetoed it on the grounds that no one would be able to spell or pronounce it, so it's her middle name. She's called Alex because that was the name we had chosed for a boy. We couldn't agree on a girl's name, so had joked we would call her Alex if she was a girl out of sheer laziness. When she was born, we only got a very brief back view of her before she was whisked away by the paeditricians. You know how baby's genitals can be quite swollen when they are born? Well, dh said that he has biology degrees and has worked in a hospital for the last fifteen years, and dammit it looked like a boy to him, so she was called Alexander for the first fifteen minutes of her life until the midwife pointed out she was a girl. By that time we just thought, sod it, Alex it is.

I know what you mean about Regan. That's the name of one of my nieces. They are currently trying for a second, and dh insists it should be called Carter. If that isn't bad enough, I have another niece called Jolene, which always elicits bad Dolly Parton imitations.

Surely there's a website somewhere that gives you the most popular name listings? At Christmas they always publish the year's top ten in the papers and I checked each time I was pregnant to make sure my old favourites hadn't suddenly sneaked in there. I aim for spellable but not 'four in a class'.
I've seen a lot of Isabella's in the Saturday Telegraph births columns recently. (Actually that's one of the main reasons I buy it - I'm really a Guardian reader!) Lovely name, though, but when I suggested it my dh also started off about bells and bicycles! What is it about men?!

Mollipops - LOL about Richard Brain - poor bloke! That reminds me though about a friend of mine who went to school with a Richard Head! (I have to say though, I went to school with lots of them!!)

I wanted to call mine Pelagia after the heroine in Captain Corelli's Mandolin, we read the book on our honeymoon so it had romantic memories and the name means 'Goddess of the Sea'. But it simply wouldn't be practical up here in the North, she'd be picked on at school, no-one would know how to say it or spell it.
We settled on Benita Josephine, so long as she doesn't get called 'BJ' we should be ok!

I like Georgia, I like Henry for a boy. If we had a girl we were going to call her Tsarla, an old English gypsy name.

Hi Mollipops

Do you happen to live in Brighton as I also know a Taryn, Skyla, Paris and Kai!

I also know of a Honey, Dixie and Silver. Must be the sea air!!

For what it's worth my partner and I both liked the name Jamie for a boy so that is what my son is now called. However, we had real problems with girls names and couldn't decide so thankfully we had a boy! At the time I liked Leila but my partner couldn't stop screeching the song every time I mentioned it. I then had a preference for Regan (one of King Lear's daughters) but then dp couldn't stop singing The Sweeney theme tune. (Noticing a pattern yet!) At the moment I like the name Sasha but I'm sure dp will think of something to put me off.

BTW I like the name Olivia.

Hi again Sara - Georgia Olivia! Lovely (as long as your surname doesn't start with a D! Or A,B,N,R,S,T or V...sorry I had to point that out in case you hadn't considered it!)

I came up with my favourite 3 names to go with Harry - Rose (Rosie), Ruby and Lucy. I also like Charlotte, Ella, Tara and Sophie.

My question is this: Do you think it is more unkind to give a child a "common" name, or an unusual one? Obviously you need to wary of initials and probable nicknames...my dh actually works with a guy named Richard Brain. No lie. Can you imagine what HE got called at school?!

There seem to be more unusual girls names around...I managed to find 20 of each (the ones with asterisks are names of children I know!)
GIRLS: Amethyst, Magenta, Essence, Caris/Caresse, Alisandra, Flame, Kalinda, Mirella, Chenae, Shae, Jessamyn, Gracemaree, Gypsy, Brooklynn, Taryn, Summer, Skyla, Paris, Kiara and Cherilyn*.
BOYS: Henley, Kai, Bayley/Bailey, Kaiden, Blaise, Jurien, Jamen/Jaymen, Kelby, Radley, Reed/Reid, Selby, Sturt, Torryn/Torren, Tynan, Ty, Denham, Reyne, Rourke, Denver, Darcy.

So is it "better" to have an unusual or original name? Or does it just make you crazy having to spell it all the time if it is tricky or spelt differently (like Jorga/Jorja or Mikeal). Is it easier to have a more commonly known name? Does it mean less teasing? Or doesn't it make a difference? Feedback please!!!

PS By the way, Cherilyn is Cher's real name...and mine too... and yes I do get tired of spelling it (and everyone always starts it with an "S"!)

Georgia Olivia? Are you sure you have not been subliminally influenced by George and Olivia Harrison?!!

about 5 years ago when my husband was graduating from university with his phd, i was scouring names in the listings of all the graduates looking for names of future children! (at that time i was just doing it for fun!!!) i came across emily and have loved the name ever since, thus i always said if i had a girl she would be called emily, and to top it off i loved bagpuss as a child (the episode with the chocolate digestive being a particular favourite!!!) and the phrase "but Emily loved him...." always makes my toes tingle, thus when a baby girl was born this year July... out popped emily... although she is most commonly an Emmy!!... a lovely name and i don't care how popular or common a name it is at the moment!!

good luck with whatever name anyway!

ps i also like Sally, but mil is a sally and my sister is a sally so we thought, one sally too many!

Thanks for all your thoughts! At the moment Im erring towards Georgia Olivia. Our son will be Harry James. James being my fathers name.
I dont think one name got more votes than another so hubby and I agreed on my fave Georgia followed by his fave Olivia. Must admit though someone suggested Scarlett and its got me thinking??

Now I've posted twice, more oops. R.

We were really keen on Yasmin - on our shortlist along with Matilda (Tilly), Madison (Maddy) and Lucy until we came out of the lift on to the ward at the hospital and there was the biggest, most scary looking nurse wearing a Yasmin badge!

BTW - last posting should have said wishing he was a girl, not boy! Oops. R.

We were really keen on Yasmin - on our shortlist along with Matilda (Tilly), Madison (Maddy) and Lucy until we came out of the lift on to the ward at the hospital and there was the biggest, most scary looking nurse wearing a Yasmin badge!

BYW - last posting should have said wishing he was a girl, not boy! Oops. R.

I have a niece named Georgia, her mother is Olivia and a friend with twin girls that she named Georgia and Scarlett.

My favourite is Georgia, with Molly and Olivia second. Not too keen on Isabella, though don't know why.

Good luck with the twins once they arrive.

Well Olivia is a margarine, which would put me off (or is that Olivio?). I knew a girl called Molly and at school it was Molly Mophead. Georgia reminds me of Georgie Porgie. Isabella is lovely, but Bella is on Tweenies and I HATE the Tweenies.
Sorry, that doesn't actually help much does it? I don't know anyone called Isabella so I would go for that one, sounds nice and Spanish, would really suit her if she had dark hair!

I have to say that Harry is a fantastic name [] - congratulations (beware the Potter references though; we failed to anticipate them and can't be bothered with it)! Just to add my tuppenceworth, I would choose Bella. No reason; just a lovely name. Let us know what you decide.

Callie, LOVE the line "every tom dick and harry is called Chloe"!

Lol Rhiannon. I had the name Chloe for a girl 9yrs ago but I had a boy. I thought Chloe was sooo unusual . The only one I had heard of was Richard and Judys daughter. How wrong was I! A couple of yrs later and every tom dick and harry is called Chloe. Still love it though.

Sorry Sara forgot to add my vote!

Well look at my nickname - I'd have to vote for Molly wouldn't I?

None of the others are really a favourite of mine, but it's your daughter after all!
Maybe once you "meet" her you will just know!

Hmm Harry and...Sally? Just kidding...what about Annie?

Hey Joanie, what about if you use Emily as a middle name? So long as her first name doesn't start with V, M, P, G, B, D, J, L, N, W or Y.

Hmmm. Maybe that's not such a good idea after all!

I liked Kaysi, Holly, Danica and Emma. My husband didn't like the first 3 and our surname is a McM... so Emma sounded daft. We both liked Elyssa or Alicia and Tessa. Tessa won! And our ds was always Daniel even before he was conceived!

I think children "grown into" their names...I know of a few parents who named their children names like Oscar and George and everyone thought it a bit odd, but now they are older you can't imagine them being called anything else!

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet....well, maybe so but it wouldn't seem quite as romantic to receive a dozen red "turnips" would it?!

I have friends with two young children( not twins) called Harry and Olivia, so i think those two go well together!
However....I always think olivia reminds me of that olive spread butter substitute!
Lucky you having twins! I would LOVE twins.

I have an Olivia and there's loads about! I thought I was being different Ha Ha! I'd always loved the name and my son 6.5 year old was going to be Olivia. I even bought Olivia tissues from Tesco in the vague hope he'd be a boy!

How about Rhiannon?

Oh, just to stick my oar in as well, I think they're all lovely but Olivia IS very common, or popular, I should say. I like Isabella best but it may be a bit fussy. How about just Isabel?