are you 100% sure of the name?

[topaz22]

im 32 weeks and we picked a name quite a while ago that we both love. we've kept it a secret so haven't had other peoples opinions sway me but sometimes i panic and think is it the right name anyone else feel unsure sometimes?

Yes! I felt unsure until we made it official...

And posted 4 or 5 threads on mumsnet to make sure I'm not totally crazy ;)

Absolutely. I was a single mum and was so worried that I would announced my DDs names to silent rooms and gasps of horror!

I actually did spell one of their names wrong for it to be pronounced correctly in England, but it's not a disaster (it really isn't, although it felt like it at the time).

I'm pregnant again now and am having similar fears, even though I have my OH and DC to bounce name ideas off to check I'm not crazy.

Oh, and MN of course!

My mother keeps saying "you'll know - when you see the baby, you'll just know".

But... I don't "just know". I've birthed a complete stranger, and now I have the audacity to name it something that may not suit them at all. It seems odd to me.

Obviously, I give my children names. But it takes a while for the name + child to grow on me, if that makes sense. Even if I love the name.

Give yourself time. You don't have to "know" right now. Don't put pressure on yourself to stick with a particular name. There will be lots of things that you don't know about this baby. My theory is that we obsess about names because they give us some illusion of control

Unhelpful I know but sometimes you are never 100% sure.

I sometimes look at DS2 and think he really should have been a Seth.

Ritchy

Yes. I was and still am sure about DS1's name. Still have wobbles about DS2's (he is 13)

Yes Yoda. Totally happy with DS1's name even though it's often given the face IRL and is much criticised on these boards.

DS2 has a name that is loved on these boards but rare IRL - it was more of a compromise with DH.

I think maybe it's harder with two of the same sex.

I'm still not sure about our baby's name, she's 2 weeks old today and her birth has been registered. My partner and I love it, bit I know other people don't & find it a bit weird where we live.
She's called Romany, but we've taken to calling her Romy for short.

*but

DS was different name for an entire pregnancy. As soon as he was born he wasn't that name but was my favourite name.

DD was going to be a boy and we hadn't really settled on a name. We decided on something v simple and v classic. It didn't come naturally to me at all and yet she is everything her name is. (has been for 18 yrs). I called her fagash lil or fagash for a Cpl of weeks and do again when I happen across 10 Marlborough in her laundry. She was the other half of the act too.

I think maybe it's harder with two of the same sex.

I'd agree with that.
DS1 got my all time favourite boys name. Never a shred of doubt or regret about his name.

DS2 - lots of back and forth about what name we'd like, complicated by very close relatives having used other potential favourite names before DS2 was born. But, he's 3 now, and I can't imagine him as suiting any other name now.

DS3 - that was very tricky, finding a 3rd boys name that we both liked enough to give a baby. I'm not 100% sure about it, no. I know DH definitely had reservations about his middle name. But I expect the name will probably grow on me like DS2's name has.

I wasn't 100% sure at any point throughout my pregnancy. We both found girls names very hard to like for a long time. We had 2 that we liked when she was born and even now at times I look at her and think we (I) should have picked the other! good luck

thanks everyone i feel better about being so undecided now! i really love the name and even made something with the name on. maybe i'm just overthinking what other people will think of it

I think it's normal for a name to lose its sparkle when you're using it every day and are used to it, and tastes and fashions in all things evolve over time.
The other important thing to remember is that as long as you've chosen a decent name that you like, it's not that big a deal if you later wobble. If you've called your DD Lily, for example, and you later wish you'd called her Jasmine because it's less popular and has stronger letters, it doesn't really matter. Lily will get on perfectly well in life with her name.

I chose a name that we knew we'd get looks so didn't feel we could test the waters with others in case mil people tried to talk us out of it.

However, there are days I look at dd and think she doesn't suit her name.

We'll struggle if we ever have another girl. We didn't agree her md until the day we registered her(!)

I think one can look back at the:

Kevins
Elaines
Trevors
Waynes
Kylies
Darrens
Courtney's

and have a little think about where contemporary popular choices might lead.

I wasn't 100% sure on DSs name until he was born and then suddenly it was his name. I have loved it ever since and am so glad we chose it, it really suits him.