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Baby names

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Original poster

Did/Does a name's meaning influence your decision?

32 replies

KRH · 11/05/2010 17:19

We have 2 children already and twins on the way. We have chosen our children's names on 2 counts - the fact that we like them and the fact that they have meanings which are important to us. (the meanings are like our hope/prayer for our children later in life.) The meaning of a name is of vital importance to us, although we would never choose a name JUST for the meaning if we didn't actually like it! Having spoken to lots of other people however we seem to be in the minority in being influenced by a name's meaning. SO - did a name's meaning influence your decision? If it did - what kind of meanings did you like/not like?

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iloveasylumseekers · 11/05/2010 18:01

(My name means "ewe" and it's never bothered me)

iloveasylumseekers · 11/05/2010 18:00

No, it wasn't really important to us. Having said that I wouldn't call a child Noel or Holly if they weren't a Christmas baby, or a girl autumn or summer or April if they were born at the wrong time of year. I wouldn't use a name like Melanie or Ebony on a fair skinned child either. So I guess it might have been a little bit of an issue. Thankfully as I've gone for fairly classic names, they usually have quite bland meanings.

violethill · 11/05/2010 17:56

Yes, it was one of the factors which was important to us. Obviously we needed to really like the sound and look of the names too, but meaning was important. For instance, there were some names we liked which had negative meanings, and that put us off. It's amazing how many ancient or biblical names have horrid meanings - eg 'cow', 'noose or rope', 'blinded' etc. I just couldn't bring myself to give a child a name that carried a horrible meaning!

Psammead · 11/05/2010 17:50

The name meaning was certainly one of the factors we considered. The meanings of her name fit my DD perfectly. 'Light' (she's our ray of sunshine!) and 'Little red one' (she is red haired).

mayanna123 · 11/05/2010 17:48

It depends on the meaning.

Names that mean sad/negative things (e.g. Claudia = lame/disabled, Cecilia = blind/dim) I would avoid.

However a neutral meaning wouldn't bother me if I love the name. In fact ds1's name is derived from the number 5, and while he is not our 5th son, we used it regardless .

Original poster
KRH · 11/05/2010 17:23

Our kids' names were chosen either because of Biblical characters (and their characteristics) or because the meaning was related to having a relationship with God.

(eg. our son is named after 2 Bible characters with characteristics such as being faithful in prayer and obedient to God.
our daughter's names mean "Devoted to God" and "Grace".)

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Tidey · 11/05/2010 17:22

If it was a name I truly loved, I don't think I'd be put off by a meaning, and I don't think I'd choose a name solely because of a meaning either.

If I was feeling unsure about a name and then it meant something really lovely or really unpleasant it might help make up my mind. IYSWIM.

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