How did you manage to name your baby? Also, opinions and suggestions please.

[MariaMadita]

Maybe I'm being silly but I feel like there is so much in a name. Naming a human being is just such a big responsibility and a real privilege... And then there are issues like social perception (e.g., the name Kevin in Germany...), trends, potential spelling issues, historical associations etc... And actually finding a name we both like

We need names that at least sort of work in English, German and preferably also Italian... And we both like really different names.

names we could both see us consider / like... Gloria, Anna, Matteo and Sebastian.

Suggestions? Advice?

Tia.:)

It took 7 months to come up with girls first name. Another month for second name.

With our son it took 8 months.

I used to call my bump by names we'd discussed. Also wrote it down, said it out loud with surname etc. Considered initials etc.

It was all discussed lots with DH. We both liked different names. In the end with both it was the name we both liked.

We didn't mind a name being popular. Daughters is top 10. Son is top 50. It was just a case of finding a name we both liked. Also we didn't want a name that already had strong associations for us.

I wrote my list then wrote every nickname that could result. I love Elizabeth but can’t stand Liz. I love Rosalind but don’t like Rosie.

Then I googled the names (first name / middle name combo). Then I googled the initials (to check they don’t stand for some hideous organisation or disease).

Then I posted the names on here and had a mixture of responses.

Then the child was born and I decided then.

Not RTFT.
Gloria - nice in theory, phonetic spelling & not likely to cause pronunciation issues. Makes me think of Gloria Todd, a bartender at the Rovers Return in the mid-late 1980s.
Anna - like it a lot.
Matteo - nice but may seem a bit downmarket in the UK.
Sebastian - don't like it.

I like Sebastian I know a 5 year old Sebastian who gets called Seb.
Have you thought about:
Gabriel
Raphael
Samuel
Maximus
Thomas
Alexandra
Evangeline
Maria

Love Sebastian and Svetlana. Such gorgeous names

Pick a name you like, and that you will still like in 5, 10, 20, ... years time.
Pick a name that sounds OK in English, German and Italian, that doesn't seem too naff in any of the countries.
Pick a name that you will still like even if there are 6 of them in your circle.
If you pick a name from outside your own culture, you could end up giving your child what is a mum/dad name in that culture.

GreatDuck thanks :)

Hairy
We have 4 weeks to register the LO (after the birth), so we unfortunately don't have that much time... ;/

BitOf thanks, babe. How helpful...

CruCru
Yes, we definitely can't forget the initials. Thank you for reminding me!

Mike
I'll have to google the Rovers Return. Thanks:)

We liked different names, so we had a list we added to and subtracted from. There were two names that stayed on the list we both liked. We chose when DD arrived.

And I got to choose because I did the work!

Anna is one of my favourite names, and definitely fits your criteria. It's so simple and elegant.

Also though Daniella might fit your criteria but I am not sure if I actually like it....

Rafael?

Pick a name that sounds OK in English, German and Italian, that doesn't seem too naff in any of the countries

100% agree with this. I don't mind if it's a bit dated (like a dad/mum name...) in one of the three countries, tbh. I don't think a child would suffer due to having a slightly dated name...

And I got to choose because I did the work what a neat solution.

Daniella and Rafael (and Daniel and Raffaela) are already taken (repeatedly...) in my family.

@LoveInTokyo
I like Anna as well. The only issue I have with Anna is the lack of nn options. (And I unfortunately don't like Annie...)

We had a boy's name straight off - first name DH's grandfather, middle name my grandfather's (got to use that second time around!)

Girl's names were harder - we had a rule of 'Nothing in the top 10', so Charlotte, Olivia,Emily etc were out, but nothing too weird. In the end, about a week before DD was due, DH met a girl at a party with the name we eventually used and suggested it. It was along the lines of some of the names we had considered (such as Flora, which we dismissed due to the margarine!) and was slightly unusual without being so rare as to be weird, as I knew of a few girls with the same. He correctly predicted it would be in the top 100 names within a few years and he was right.

As for some good 'European' names:
Claudia
Olympia
Laura
Colette

Sebastian
Leo
Gabriel
Xander

I like all 4 names you first suggested.

We made a list for both sexes (opted not to find out in advance) but never chose a final name and then waited a week just getting to know our son before we decided. Husband suggested his name out of the blue and it just felt right straight away - it wasn’t even on our final list. Then when we phoned round to tell people my grandad (who I love dearly) was delighted and said it’s what he’d wanted to call either my dad or uncle but grandma hadn’t been keen at the time, and it’s one of his favourites and he’s glad one of ‘us’ finally got it!

It is a big decision but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it quickly. Don’t feel you have to decide before you’ve seen your baby’s face!