Do you have a naming 'style'?

[ElviraCondomine]

I'm fascinated by the different approaches to naming and was wondering, does anyone else consciously have a particular approach or style?


I am firmly in the "nobody else in the school" (let alone class!) naming camp, but I like 'real' names with a history rather than newly coined. I am genuinely delighted not to have met another child in 11 years with the same name as DD2.

I like to consider the meaning of names.

I also believe that sibling names should work together - I find it odd when a family has children called e.g. Orlando, Gabriel, Cressida and Bob. Or Lily, Joshua, and Athene. It doesn't 'feel' right to me.

However I am not keen on matchy matchy names either!

And I really don't like traditional diminutive forms given as full names. I'd name a child Katherine rather than Katie, although I think Katie's lovely as a childhood nickname for example.

I've given my DC more classical/ plain/ commonly found middle names which are also family names as I thought unusual x 3 was a bit of a hippy pretentious overload (so I'm not totally airy fairy) They are all family names. And I was scrupulously fair so that they each have a name from DH's family and from my family.

It's such a very personal thing I've probably offended lots of people already.

Equally, I am sure lots of people hate my children's names - I've seen at least one of them described as bully bait on this very forum! But I am genuinely interested in other people's approaches. Anybody want to share?

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Someone on here said they knew triplets called Faith, Hope and Kevin

[RueDeWakening]

Ha, that was me - I came across them on a baby forum years ago, still makes me laugh :o

[PacificDogwood]

"Faith, Hope and Kevin" - that's genius!

[Mmmporridge]

DH and I definitely have a naming style - which we broadly agree on fortunately!

Basically it comes down to underused but classic saints' names!

But also, no family names, standard spellings, no cutesy names or diminutives - they can pick their own nicknames. I hate girls being given pretty itsy bitsy names - particularly when their brothers are given solid traditional ones. DD's names are unusual and beautiful and definitely feminine, but pass the high court judge test!

[nooka]

I'm from a family that have what probably looks like slightly mismatched names, in that my brother and sister have relatively unusual names, my big sister has a classic and frequently popular name and I have a very very unusual name. I assume that when my big sister was born her name was out of fashion (there were four in my class at school!)

[nooka]

Oh and I'm not understanding the problem with Ariadne and Stephanie either, although I guess that there have been times when Stephanie was quite popular.

[EbwyIsUpTheDuff]

my "theme" is that I won't consider any first name for my children that isn't Welsh. Just will not.

Arwyn, Taran, and.... [to be announced on arrival]

[Tranquilitybaby]

I like unusual but not too unusual nanes, not in the top 50 if possible, not a fannied about with spelling of a name (Ie. Amy not Aimee) etc.

[Alisvolatpropiis]

Yes, it's pretentious according to my DH.

[cigarsofthepharaoh]

When we were naming our first child, we briefly discussed one of us choosing this baby's name and the other naming any subsequent babies. We soon chucked that idea though when we realised how ridiculous it would look - we'd have ended up with Jess and Cordelia, or Jamie and Magnus!

DP likes really common names that will never have the spelling questioned and can't be shortened. I like distinctive, memorable names with character. We had such problems naming our two, it was fucking awful.

[MoominKoalaAndMiniMoom]

DD is Celyn. Think our rule in naming future babies will be all Welsh names (or at least Celtic). For girls I love 'word' names eg Celyn, Seren, Deryn and Alaw. Boys I just love a good Celtic name - Dylan, Owain, Rhys.

[insanityscratching]

My five dc all have short, easy to spell, traditional names that don't pinpoint exactly when they were born because they aren't overly popular or fashionable. They also have names that will age well.
The strangest theme I came across were a family whose girls all had quite masculine names Terri, Toni,Kamrin and Sam but the boy had a name that was quite common as a girl's name around here.

[ElviraCondomine]

When we were naming our first child, we briefly discussed one of us choosing this baby's name and the other naming any subsequent babies. We soon chucked that idea though when we realised how ridiculous it would look - we'd have ended up with Jess and Cordelia, or Jamie and Magnus!

DP likes really common names that will never have the spelling questioned and can't be shortened. I like distinctive, memorable names with character. We had such problems naming our two, it was fucking awful.

cigarsofthepharaoh This is me and DH exactly! Except DH wouldn't have gone for anything quite that nice. The only time he ever made an actual suggestion (as opposed to just ridiculing mine) he just listed all his cousins' (very 1960s) names and said what was wrong with them? Plus I tend more towards the Mediaeval Celtic Mystical.

Our DC could so easily have been Ygraine and Nicola.
Or Costentyn and Martin.

[PacificDogwood]

May I just caution everybody against giving your first DC 2 middle names?

By the time we had DS4 we had seriously run out of ideas…

One middle-name is just fine.

We've done the plain, short (in fact one syllable) first name and longer, more 'fancy' middle names for all of them.

We had some middle names we could 'sell' to interested parties as 'family names' even though they weren't really - just what we liked .

Ygraine and Consentyn are both lovely!
Would your DH agree to a 'modernised' version? Not sure about Ygraine, but Constantine??

[ElviraCondomine]

Ygraine and Consentyn are both lovely!
Would your DH agree to a 'modernised' version? Not sure about Ygraine, but Constantine??

We're well past the stage of naming babies, sadly. However let's just say that our children have names that are much much closer to Ygraine than Nicola.

For DD1 I toned it down quite a bit - her name is unusual but not unheard of (I've met 3 in the past 15 years, and heard of 3 others, although it's more often a boy's name).

With DD2 I completely got my own way due to DH being emotionally overcome after the birth. I think if I'd wanted at that point I could have called her absolutely anything in the Cornish baby names book! She's 11 now and he's come round to it (slowly.) Other names on my list (she's not actually Ygraine although I loved it) were Eseld, Veryan and Elowen.

[PacificDogwood]

Oh, I am coming over all unnecessary at those names!
V romantic and strong women's names I had never heard (I am not only not Cornish, I am not British).

Seeing that our boys' first names are the equivalent of Tom, Dick and Harry, I am truly humbled!

[BuggedByJake]

Classic / traditional and strong sounding names. I don't mind if there's another child with the same name in their school, who you are makes you an individual not what you're called. I have never met a child with the same name as my dd but it was chosen because its a family name, not to be unique.

I can't stand made up names or real names with alternative spellings ( yes I am judgemental)

[ScrambledEggAndToast]

Hate with a passion people who take normal names and give them a unique spelling e.g Kaytee. Not so bothered about other children having the same name in the class however, my DS has a name that whilst totally normal, I have never met another child with that name in 12 years

[areyoubeingserviced]

My children all have biblical names.

[Tranquilitybaby]

Do abt of you have issues with a name looking rightvon paper aswell as sounding nice? I love a particular name but not so keen on it when reading it. Urgh what is the matter with me, I need help!

[Tranquilitybaby]

Excuse all the spelling mistakes, bloody phone!

[marshmallowpies]

Tranquility I do have some spellings/ variants of names I am a bit funny about for no good reason...eg:

Prefer Katharine or Katherine to Catherine, but....
....Can't bear Katrina or Katrin, if I was using those names it would have to be Catriona/Catrin.

It makes no sense - why prefer K to C in one case but C to K in the other? I could probably come up with loads of similar examples!

[BeeInYourBonnet]

Traditional/biblical and short.

[DertieBertie]

I tend to pair the first name with our surname and then put it through a few different things, i.e.

"Dr. Lucian Bertie"
"Roger Bertie, Morning Gazette!"
"Award winning gold medalist, Lavinia Bertie" etc. etc.

[freshlysharpenedpencils]

our first born was a 'cool' name - different but not crazy different. Im yet to meet another one named the same but no one thinks it's crazy and it is a very sensible name - nothing ridiculous. But I suppose 'cool' was what we wanted . We are expecting 2nd and now are agonising over a cool name to match it as we feel if we just have a really traditional English name it won't go with first child. Think we have it down.