I am hugely fussy about names. This is probably because I am a secondary school teacher and therefore there are a lot of names that remind me of difficult kids. Silly perhaps, but most teachers are the same! I really like 'normal' names like James/George/Thomas etc, and actually in teaching there are so many of these names that they all kind of merge into one and I don't worry too much about whether some of the ones I've taught have been difficult to like! However, the problem is that I have a huge family. Pretty much every name I like is already the name of a brother, cousin, or cousin's child. So ruled out are:
James, George, Tom, Sam, Jack, Nicholas, William, Oliver, Edward.
Because of the teaching problem, I also don't like names that have started to become more 'trendy' in the last few years. So Archie/Alfie/Dylan etc etc.
Finally, I like names that pass the high court judge test but can also be shortened easily.
Our surname means nothing beginning with H. Our daughters name means nothing beginning with B.
Told you I was difficult!
I have a daughter, Beatrice, and it was pretty much the only name we could find that fitted our criteria. I've never taught one, it's still a 'known' name, and can be shortened.
I have ONE name that I like for our boy, due any day now. That name is Douglas. But is that one of those names you should only use if you're of Scottish heritage? Because we're not... And is it a bit too 'out there' for a baby? I think I'm blinded by how much I love the name and worry a bit that it's like calling a baby Gary?
Help!