to find naming our baby difficult

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I am currently in a dither about what to name our impending bundle of joy and however hard I try, I just cannot make a decision. I think the main reason is that the names I really like don't go with our rubbish surname and therefore can't use them. That means she will end up with a name that is not my favourite if you see what I mean.

So, this might seem like a daft question but, how did you come up with a name for your DC - especially if you couldn't use the name you would have liked to for whatever reason.

Lovely DH has no opinion whatsoever on the issue of names - 'names are just words' apparently - so no help there. I know it all sounds a bit daft but this is a genuine enquiry - how do you go about choosing a name?

And did you Morag?

A name might occur to you after your baby is born. For example DD was due in March but was born in April - so "April" could have made a nice middle name ?
Also she was very lively and I rather like "Allegra" And she had red hair and could have been an "Amber" - gosh seems that I like lots of names beginning with A - but you get the idea. A friend of ours named her DD after a Saints day that she was born on. So, there can be lots of room for inspiration after the event.
We'd already settled on her name however based on experiences we'd shared

• we once saw a bear in the wild for example and her middle name is Ursula

(meaning Little Bear ) I'd say don't worry too much if you've not decided before the birth - it can actually leave more room for inspiration !

I agree its a tricky decision. Ds had no name (thought he would be a girl) and my family visited in hospital and everyone was saying names. Someone suggested one I liked and that became his name. He does suit it. With dd it was the only name Dp wanted for a girl so that's what she was called. She is never called by her name by us but by her nickname but her real name does suit her looks but not necessarily her wild personality!

We agreed on one name for a boy but had no girls' names in common So we had to negotiate over a name for a girl, but at least we had quite a short list to choose from! DC1 was a girl. DD2 is due next week, and this time we both came up with one girl's name in common

It's hard!!!!
I have 5 and only 2 have been easy as I'd had the names in my head for ages and thankfully DH liked them too. The others were a bit of a compromise.
How about I name your child?
A girl should be Elizabeth
A boy James.

Job done!

DS1: I made a list of about 10, DH said "meh" or vetoed all of them. My criteria were just names I liked, some of them because it was a friend's name.

We looked through a baby naming book, DH found the perfect one. We agreed. Happy happy. Wobble when baby was born (I think in general it's a good idea to give yourself a few options). But it is still my favourite name.

Then DS2 was conceived and it was difficult again. We went back to my list for DS1 and agreed on one of those. It felt like a bit of a compromise though.

I sometimes wish I'd insisted on my top choice name from that original list.

... FOR ds2

Found it easy for DC1.
DC2 arriving on Fri, and although we have names for a boy or a girl, I don't feel that wow about them. They're fine, but I truly love DC1's name.

Rarely

that's like me .

I'd advise taking your time a bit about DC2. I do regret DS2s name (a perfectly nice name, and suits him, but I don't love it)

I was convinced my first was a boy so only had a boys name. Then SHE was born. I chose a name and my DH took one look at my face and agreed instantly.

Second DD was named by my DH as i chose the first but i chose her middle name.

DD3 name was chosen by DH and DD. My choice was vetoed. I chose her middle name.

We had a list of girls names, but had a boy!
I couldn't think of any that I liked and DH went outside and it was very sunny and he then started thinking about a names with 'son' in them. He returned and suggested a name with 'son' at the end, which I loved. I still love the name and am glad that we waited until after the birth to think about a name.

We could only agree on 2 boys name and one of them went so well with the second name thats what won i do love it prob more than DP does tbh.

If we ever have a girl we are fucked my girls name would be Arya his would be Erin, similarly myother boys names were Dylan and Luca his were Sam and Tom no difference in tastes eh

I had a girls name for years but was stuck for a boys. I did want Farley but realised it had pisstake potential.

So I got a book called 20,001 baby names or as I called it 19,900 twatty names and only 101 you would dream of using. I mean Barman was in there FFS.

I just went through the boys until I came to something, I liked luckily it was on E... and the surname of a friend/dj I used to drool over

DH & I took the same approach as quite a few - went through a baby name book and made a list each, looked to see where we had the same names, and as a result DD has a first and middle name which were on both our lists (after posting on Mumsnet to see what people thought of each!) Her second middle name is my mum's name which was important to me.

It took us 10 days to come up with a name though - ignoring all the people who had helpful suggestions (names that came to them 'in a dream' - WTF dsis?!) It was only when we found ourselves calling the cat's name out of sleep deprivation we really worried about it

I wanted my child to be named after an inspirational humanitarian who promoted tolerance and religious freedom. I heard about the historical figure first, thought it would be a good name for a boy, and a few years later, along he came!

I want the same for a girl, after a historical powerful female, but DP doesn't like the (ancient Greek/Persian) name.

• that is, I want my DC names to be inspirational, for them to be proud of their namesake. I couldn't ever just pick a random name out a book, to me a name is so important.

But, I know others feel differently. To me, I have to think about what that name will mean to the person who will bear it through their life.

Yes, I agree with you there Scheh - I could only use a baby name book as a prompt/ reminder - I couldn't choose something I'd never heard of from it. The meaning and connections are all important to me.

We are struggling with a name for ds5

Wondering what your older boys are called Moomin ? - but perhaps you'd rather not tell us all four names as it might well out you !
What do you have on your short list / as possibles ?

I read the thread title and thought you were going to name your baby 'difficult'.

That'll make him sound hard

The only one of my DCs who was actually called the name we thought we'd decided on during the pregnancy was DD. She looked like her name when she arrived. All four of my sons were originally going to be something else, then we changed our minds once they arrived.
Once your baby is here, their name will come to you, or one of the names you like will suit and be the right one.
If all else fails, Yanboo or Ayeboo are nice

I've named them all before, they are a bit of a mixture
Connor
Cory
Tommy
Jacob
I like Oliver but dp really doesn't like it, I quite like Joseph and Issac. Dp likes sonny, Reid and darragh.

Is he due soon Moomin - or perhaps already here ?
Joseph for a Christmas baby ?
That's my favourite anyway from your short-list

No I'm 28 weeks but have a history of prem births, ds3 was born at 32 weeks so a Christmas baby is possible.

Dp does quite like Joseph, it's his uncles name. Tommy is named after dps dad who died just before he was born. Dp says we would just need a Mary then and we would have all three of the names his gp choose

Not very original of us I guess!

Derek for a boy.
Pauline for a girl.
That'll distract them from your "rubbish surname".