Did you name your child AFTER they were born?

[iloveyoubutilovememore]

Like a few others on here, I am really struggling to settle on a name for our second son. There are a few we like, but none that really stand out. A friend told me to chill and that the name will come once he's here. So looking for some reassurance I guess, has this happened for anyone else?

[ineedbanoffee]

I like knowing before the baby is born. We don't tell anybody, but I'm currently pregnant with DD4 and I feel so connected to her knowing what she will be called. We did change our minds about DD2's middle name though, once she was born. I'd never felt fully settled on our first choice and once she was born she just didn't look like that name. Glad we picked another. Otherwise somehow we've found names that feel right at around the 20 week scan.

[Disfordarkchocolate]

Lovely baby No. 3 took a week to name.

[custardbear]

No, my husband and I chose two names before TTC - wrote them down. Two years later DD was born, we'd fine through other names but came back to the original. Same happened 4 years later with DS

[PopsicleHustler]

We have 5 dc and we picked all the names before they were born.

[Jennobop]

We’ve never named our kids until at least a day after they were born. Personally I believe you can’t choose a name until you meet the baby. Don’t rush it : it’s such a lovely thing to do

[Wanderlust20]

This is reassuring as I feel the same OP! Although I've just Googled it and it seems you only get 3 weeks to register a birth in Scotland eeeeeek!

[IggyAce]

Dc1 we had two names first & middle for each sex but didn’t decide which way round until we met them.
Dc2 we decided on a name a few weeks after the 20wk scan (found out sex) and told no one until they were born. Just in case we changed or mind and also to avoid comment because we had chosen something unusual.

[grey12]

Yes with DD2 and 3. We had 2/3 options but chose in the first day

[yikesanotherbooboo]

All 3 were named after they were born.

[JFCO]

Yes for both. DC1 did not have a name for first 4 weeks. Dc2 got it 3 days after being born.

[BernardsarenotalwaysSaints]

All 5 were named after they were born, we had 6 to 8 names for each of them (we didn't find out the sex so it was 3-4 for each sex) but we didn't decide until after they'd arrived. The first 4 were named within a few hours & number 5 it took just over a day. My friends ds didn't have a name until he was 41 days old (appointment booked for day 42)!

Swimming I love that!

[HummusAndCarrotSticks]

Yes.

With dc1 we picked a girl name and a boy name. Didn't know what we were having but we went with the girl name we'd picked when she arrived.

Dc2, we were still discussing names as he was about to be born (ELCS due to complications with dc1 birth). The medical team in theatre helped us choose! Was fun and very special. If we ever have another dc, I'd do the same.

[rooarsome]

The first one was named when I was pregnant and I felt that I had to stick to that name.
With the other 2 we had a short list of names... but once they were here I chose something totally different each time! They just felt "right"

[TheOneWithTheBigNose]

DD1 named around half an hour after birth from a shortlist.
DD2 named in the car on the way to hospital in labour.
DS1 named in the car home from the hospital after giving birth, when he was 7 hours old (wanted the name ready for when we got home so that we could tell the DD’s).

[DowntonCrabby]

Yes, both DC. I couldn’t imagine them having names until we saw their faces. We had narrowed it down to a few each time.

[bakingdemon]

Yes. The day after he was born we settled on a name - we'd really struggled with boys names. If we have a girl next then we have a wonderful name lined up

[SwimmingInToys]

The legendary story in my family is that my parents couldn't agree on a name for my brother before he was born, so they chose 7 boys and 7 girls names, assigned one to each day of the week, and let nature take its course. The 80s were wild times!

[BabloHoney]

Yep, we didn’t name our second for over a week!! Everyone thought we were being all secretive about the name but in truth we couldn’t agree

[ColdCottage]

Yep, we had a shortlist. Son was named within 3 days and daughter within 12h

[stellarfox]

Yes I definitely couldn’t decide before they’re here! Last time we still had such a long list it took us a few days. This time I’m hoping to narrow it down to a bit of a shorter list!

[SportsBlah]

Ds was named before but dd was named after, we had a name picked out right at the start of my office but we changed it after she was born, I just got bored of the first one.

[Tempusfudgeit]

No, all three were named around the 20 week mark. Still love all six names and wouldn't change a letter!

[speakout]

Yes- I wouldn't want to decide on a name before my baby was born.
Even at an early age they have their own little personalities, and a name may not "fit" with the baby.
I had some shortlists each time, but my DD was 2 weeks old before we decided on a name that wasn't even on the list.
We decided on DS name when he was 3 or 4 days old.

[RunHobbitRun]

We had a list of mutually agreeable names (after the veto process which was much needed for the inclusion of Thor and Zeus for any male babies!)

When DD1 was born we agreed immediately on her name. It just worked. DD2 took a couple of days, but we soon found one that was perfect.

On the flipside my mother was always going to call her first daughter me Roxy. She took one look at me and said "Well she's not Roxy" then spent weeks trying to figure out what I was called

[TheVanguardSix]

DC1 yes, we named him after birth... he's 19 now and I want to say we didn't name him for a month but maybe we just didn't register him until a month after birth (he was born in California). But he definitely was nameless for a couple of weeks after his birth.
DCs 2 and 3 were with my second husband, who was really into naming the kids!
DC2 (DD) was named during pregnancy.
DC3 as well was named pretty much from the moment we found out he was a boy- has the boy's name DH and I wanted for years.