Did you absolutely love your baby name?

[Zebed31]

Just that really, I’m expecting a baby girl and we’ve settled on a name that I think is.. ok? It’s a compromise between DH and I as there were some names I was in love with but he said no.

Do you think it’s ok to pick a standard name you’re okay with but don’t love? I can’t shake the feeling I’m doing my baby a disservice (probably pregnancy hormones!)

Just for context we’ve decided on Charlotte, which I like but I had Clara, Matilda and Penelope on my list which DH wasn’t keen on 😫

i think If it was just me naming our daughter it would’ve been something totally different. I remember it we’d known the gender was a girl and I said one name which he replied back with literally it with an a on the end instead of an e and that was it. I found out later that day it was his boss at the times idea. I’m not keen on her middle name and wish I could remove it but her first name is her identity and I love her and it.

There are hundreds of thousands of names and combinations to choose from. With that many out there, I refuse to compromise, it has to be something I love. If you don’t live it, just keep looking until you do, I’d suggest.

I love Clara! (Sorry unhelpful)

I think you do need to love it. Put Charlotte on the maybe list and keep your mind option for others I only 'found' my boys name at month 7 before then was planning to settle

Would

Sophia Arabella Emilia Isabella

Work for both of you? Kind of between Charlotte and your choices

Charlotte is much nicer than Clara, Matilda and Penelope.

We picked names and they were just right when the babies appeared.

Ditto this!!

At the very least Charlotte can have plenty of nn's

I know a Charlie, Lottie, Charl and Oti (pronounced Oaty)

My DDs name we both just liked straight away. I still like it but in retrospect there are things about the spelling and pronunciation that can cause confusion which I hadn't anticipated.

My DS name was a struggle to decide and actually I felt quite low about it at the time. I would say it was a head, not heart decision but is a good solid name and it feels very natural now.

I don't think you do always find the perfect name and I think it can cause a lot of anxiety if you don't, so whilst it's worth considering your options don't let finding a perfect name break you.

It's only a name. You don't need to love it. Just pick something that isn't ridiculous and they'll grow into it.

I'm 19 weeks pregnant with a boy and I love his name, I'm so glad my dh liked it as nothing else would have come close for me.

A girl was much harder, there was nothing we could agree on and had one we both liked but I didn't love it, I like to think with time we'd come up with something we both loved

We gave our DD an unusual name- we just couldn't decide on something more common together. We have never met another person with the name, but historically there are a few, the majority male and often a different spelling!
I love her name, it's unique and suits her personality. She's off to uni this year, and just like her name, she's studying something unique, that many people haven't heard of. (No worries, it's within healtcare with good career prospects!)
So yes, I love the name, but I love the person behind the name more!

I always knew I would have a DS with a cretin name, So no negotiations at all! Again, at the time his name didn't even make it onto the top 1000 list. Sadly a few years later it's firmly stuck in the top 20.
It's a beautiful soft sounding name- just like my DS. (He's beautiful with a soft centre to his personality- if you can say that about a 13y boy!)
So yes, I absolutely love the name & the person behind it.

@Ylvamoon , I think you need to proofread before posting. I think you meant certain

I love both of my children's names. I would remame them the same way if I had to do it now. I wouldn't want to name my child something I was feeling 'meh' about.

I didnt love my DD's name, I didnt find I loved any names at all but it was the one I kept coming back to and was most drawn to. I love it now as it is a part of her. I think it can sometimes be an unreasonable expectation that you will fall in love with a name... it has to be partly a reasoned decision based on context - your surname etc and the baby is such an abstract thing until they are here its hard to imagine I think.
Expecting a DS now and again cant find any I LOVE... I say remove the pressure and its fine to go with a 'like' over a 'love'

my child has a name that I like, but don’t love. It was on my list of say top 10 names, but probably wouldn’t have been top 3. It was the only one my other half really liked though, so he kind of got to “win” that one
due our second soon (opposite sex to first) and a name I really like is front runner. OH was not keen at first, I’ve just stood my ground more with this one as he got to have final say 1st time round. Obviously, if he hated it, I wouldn’t force it, but after a few weeks he’s come round to it more and says whilst he doesn’t love it, he likes it.
if you’re not due for a while I wouldn’t give up on the 3 you love, maybe get him to pick his favourite of the 3 and try pushing that a bit more.

The name we settled on wasn't either of our top choices but it was in my top 5 and my DS warmed to it whilst I was pregnant. So there was an element of compromise.

10 years later, I'm still happy with our choice.

If I made the decision myself, my children would be called Gerard "Gerry" Nicholas and Linus Zachary. I love those names. Unfortunately, my DH is a co-creator of our sons and got to have a say in the names. He loved the names Ford and Merlin. We both compromised. Neither of us love the names we chose, but we both love our boys and they both suit their names.

I can’t say I really loved my children’s names when we chose them (boys names are so hard!), but I love my sons, so by extension I now love their names because they suit them and belong to them.

When you think about it, it doesn’t really matter if you do love their names because it’s your child’s name not yours and you’re making a gamble that they’re going to grow up and like the name you’ve chosen for them anyway. So don’t worry, you’re not going to be doing her a disservice!

Charlotte is a lovely name. It was on our shortlist if we’d had a girl, although like you I would have loved to have something more like Penelope if my husband hadn’t vetoed, so I completely understand where you’re coming from!

Yes, absolutely loved my DS's name, and we didn't have any other names on the list, just knew it was the one. I'm pregnant again though, and totally stuck for another name for the new baby!

I think Charlotte is a great name 😁

We both loved DS1’s name equally from the moment we heard it. DS2 I had a named I loved and it was DH’s second choice so he let me have it. For the first couple of weeks I then didn’t like it and almost changed to DH’s first choice. But we decided to stick with it and I’m glad we did as I love it now. DH’s first choice name for DS2 is his middle name as we don’t plan on having any more.

Neither of my dc have the names they would have if I’d been naming them on my own. But DH and I both love the names they have.

My daughters name wasn't my first choice but I truly love it. Her dad vetoed two names I loved and didn't come up with any suggestions himself. We wanted a name that wasn't popular but also not weird or off the wall either. One day, i suddenly thought of a perfect name i hadnt considered, but was almost scared to ask him what he thought in case he hated it. Luckily he loved it as much as me, so it was decided.

Yes and still do a couple of decades on. Oldest was going to have my dad’s name as a middle name (tribute) but once he was born we decided to use it with a different diminutive and it really suits him. Youngest got the other name we loved which didn’t quite seem to fit him the same.

I adore my DCs names - timeless but not overused.

I’ve loved my sons name since I was 14. I love it. Same with my daughter. Hers is not that popular but it’s also not weird or unusual and I genuinely adore it. She just suits it. Put it this way, it irritates me if we meet another one, she’s 5 and we’ve only encountered one other who is a grownup. You’ll meet tons of Charlottes.

I’d go for Penelope over Charlotte any day.

Charlotte is nice but not special and there will always be multiples in school.

What about Lottie? On its own or could be nickname if you do go for Charlotte.

I do like Clara and Matilda though.

No. I couldn't go with the names I really loved for one reason or another. DC1 was a boy but the name I had loved and wanted since I was young didn't go with my husband's surname. In fact it sounded terrible so had to let it go.

DC2 was a girl and DH didn't like the name I loved so had to go for a name we both agreed on and really liked but can't say I loved. I do now though.

DC3 was a girl and was the only name that I can honestly say I really loved. DH and I went through a very rough patch when I was pregnant with her. She was planned but he changed his mind and told me he didn't want her. So frankly I thought there's no way he was getting a say in naming her. She needed to be named by someone who loved her so I named her. He didn't like my choice but I didn't care. He likes it now.