Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Using the girls name you didn’t get to use last time?

28 replies

FrazzyAndFrumpled · 01/01/2019 10:28

Just a quick Q for your thoughts. When DC1 was born, we didn’t find out the sex. We had a boy’s name and a girl’s name picked out, but of course only one got used (the boys!)

Now pregnant with DC2, we still like the girl’s name we liked with DS. However part of me associates it with him and I’m not sure about using it for DC2.

What would you do? Smile

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
Rarfy · 01/01/2019 11:06

I would definitely use it if you love it. Will actually be a nice story to tell them when they're old enough.

AutumnGlitterBall · 01/01/2019 11:13

I’m keeping the same girls name I had first time round as we only really found one we both liked and then had a boy. The middle name keeps changing though depending what mood I’m in.

Santababyclaus · 01/01/2019 11:20

Use it

SayNoToCarrots · 01/01/2019 11:22

My daughter has my son's "if it's a girl name".

mossyroundhill · 01/01/2019 11:23

DS has DD's boys name. If you like it and it feels right then there's no reason why you shouldn't use it!

SleepingStandingUp · 01/01/2019 11:23

Of C u rse use it. Once she's out and called Geraldine it will be her name, not the name you nearly named him, unless you named him Gerald. You can tell them you loved both names so much that when you found out she was a girl you knew what name you wanted.

JellySlice · 01/01/2019 11:24

We did, too. Still liked it 3y later, so why not?

needanappp · 01/01/2019 11:28

If you still like it why not? Smile

megletthesecond · 01/01/2019 11:30

I did that. Both names were picked when I was pregnant. Dc1 was a boy so the girls name was used for dd.

Svalberg · 01/01/2019 11:46

11 years on my parents still had the boy's name that they picked for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th girl ready to use for the 5th baby (turned out to be another girl)

Batteriesallgone · 01/01/2019 11:49

We didn’t.

I still liked it and we thought about it but it was DC1’s name. Even though it wasn’t. Because he was a boy. Doesn’t make any sense does it! But that’s how I felt - it was a name for then and it wasn’t right any more.

DH was never hugely keen on it and much prefers dds actual name rather than the girl name we had for ds1. If he’d loved it and been dead keen on using it I may have felt differently.

Fantasisa · 01/01/2019 11:53

We would have done but we changed our minds in the interim!

TheGhostOfYou · 01/01/2019 11:56

I would use it if I still liked it, no reason not to!

Mrsbclinton · 01/01/2019 11:58

I used my boy name after five years and two dds. If you like the name use it!

ZebraKid71 · 01/01/2019 12:25

It makes sense to me! When I was prwgnant with dd1 we only liked boys names. In pregnant again and if its a boy he will have that name

Original poster
FrazzyAndFrumpled · 01/01/2019 12:28

Batteriesallgone I’m glad someone else gets it! Grin

Thank you all. I will definitely consider it for DC2 - another little surprise.

OP posts:
LokiDokiArtichoki · 01/01/2019 12:28

I don’t see the problem! Ds2 has ds1s 2nd choice name!

(I had names picked out for
My last pregnancy that ended in mmc though and those names will never be used Sad)

walkingtheplank · 01/01/2019 12:30

My DS has the name DD would have had.

Georgianfairy · 01/01/2019 12:33

We didn't find out the sex with DC1 so had names of each kind picked out. He was a boy. When DC2 came along we found out she was a girl and from that point she had the name we'd picked for if DC1 had been a girl as we still loved it. No regrets 4 years on, it's very much her name!

FuzzyShadowChatter · 01/01/2019 13:03

My younger son has the 'if a boy' name from his two older sisters, but I really wanted to name a boy after my grandfather and he would have had the feminine version (that I don't like nearly as much) as a middle name if he had been a girl.

My daughters, on the other hand, I didn't use the 'if a girl' of their older brother for either of them. That name did feel like it already had a place and we had new lists for each girl.

I think if I hadn't had such a strong association with the name other than my kids, I would have felt similar about the boy's name.

user1471426142 · 01/01/2019 13:58

I’m pregnant second time round and starting again. I had a girl but hate my boys names now. Glad I didn’t use them. If you still like it then keep it in the list. Our girl list is quite different to our plan bs before too.

Original poster
FrazzyAndFrumpled · 01/01/2019 15:01

Loki Flowers sorry to hear that.

That’s funny, FuzzyShadowChatter, do you think you felt differently as your DDs weren’t your PFB?

OP posts:
ThePoliticiansPraiseMyName · 01/01/2019 15:19

My younger brother has the name that I would have had if I'd have been a boy. For years it felt like he was the child that mum and dad actually wanted and I was the consolation prize before they got their boy! I did eventually realize this wasn't the case 😂

Original poster
FrazzyAndFrumpled · 01/01/2019 15:44

Oh dear, ThePoliticiansPraiseMyName, that must be an awful feeling!

OP posts:
LokiDokiArtichoki · 01/01/2019 16:21

@FrazzyAndFrumpled thank you.

I’m pregnant again (20 weeks) so on the positive side, if I hadn’t have lost the baby, then the one I’m having now wouldn’t exist - looking at it this way has helped me come to terms with what happened. And it’s been pretty easy to come up with a whole new list of names x