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Baby names

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

Original poster

So how did you/do you find your names?

28 replies

cyteen · 19/04/2008 16:34

We're halfway through this pregnancy and so have another 18 weeks or so (hopefully!) to come up with some boys' names. Typically, we had loads of girl names but couldn't think of any for boys. I'm really looking forward to the whole process of making shortlists and arguing with each other about it (please don't redirect me to this post in 4 months' time when I am tearing my hair out in rage and threatening all sorts because DP won't agree to my PERFECT PERFECT CHOICE ).

My question is, where do you all take inspiration from? Do you use baby name books/websites? Family names? Suggestions from friends? Do you keep an ear out and note down names you hear out and about or on tv? Have you had your names picked out since you were a child? Is the meaning important? Do you have beliefs which influence your name choice?

We've got loads of people lending us name books, which is cool, but I'll be interested to hear other people's methods

TIA

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southeastastra · 19/04/2008 16:37

closing credits of films, hence my sons have butch american names

hatrick · 19/04/2008 16:39

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gagarin · 19/04/2008 16:43

Fantastic baby book - and dead family members

I wrote my list (as many as I wanted)

He wrote his list (as many as he wanted)

We exchanged lists.

I crossed all on his list I couldn't bear.

He crossed out all on my list he couldn't bear.

WE had a very short list after that

surprise · 19/04/2008 23:17

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Spidermama · 19/04/2008 23:19

I just obsessed on names throughout the entire pregnancies. I watched credits go up on films, bought books, went online and asked everybody about names they knew.

I found boys names particularly hard and couldn't settle on any conventional ones (i have three boys).

Purplepillow · 19/04/2008 23:20

Only had one name for a boy and two for a girl.
When dd was born i looked at her and said totally different name but it was just her

dizzydixies · 20/04/2008 09:40

I asked for help on the antenatal thread I was on

SNIFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

same here, tv credits, books, friends advice then ignored the lot, family names for dd1 and one we liked for dd2 with family names for mns

this time its by our choice as family names all done

tbh - if we hadn't liked the family names we wouldn't have used them and they were slightly varied more to our taste anyway

poppypinkcheeks · 20/04/2008 09:46

Looked anywhere I could think of. Books, family names, discussion with friends/family/random people on buses! TV, cinema (was the only one sitting through the credits with dh trying to pull me out) Street/town/city/state names. I even went with my mum to visit my Grandma's grave and pretended I needed some air and wandered off looking at names on gravestones

Nbg · 20/04/2008 09:50

Well for my first and second it was books mainly but theres a nice little story behind my 3rd.

We knew that my dd's name was a famous place in New York but we also knew that it was another place in America so we thought we would have a look on the map.
Sure enough it was in Dakota.
Whilst looking we also found that DS1's name was a place there too so we thought we'd see what other name places there were and we came up with ds2's name.

And weirdly when you look at them on a map they are all in a little Triangle shape and are very close to each other.

I like that

dizzydixies · 20/04/2008 09:55

that is nice

macy,barney and tiffany?!?!

LaComtesse · 20/04/2008 09:55

I dreamt my little girl's name - I had dozens of girls names, only about 6 boys names, but I had read it in books years before (spelt differently). As well as it featuring in no less than two TV series, one American, one English . Fortunately I don't get too often if that was where I got it from.

TheProdigalShow · 20/04/2008 09:58

DD's name was easy as it was the eponymous heroine of my favourite book as a child and the decision was made aged 4ish. Middle names are relatives names.

Boys (should we ever have one) names already picked by dh from his favourite comic. Normal if unusual names fortunately and I like them (the names that is, the comics I could happily burn in a fit of pique). DH has a family name that would have to feature as a middle name.

DH andd I thankfully have similar tastes.

jeanjeannie · 20/04/2008 09:58

I searched everywhere....and, like Poppypinkcheeks, resorted to graveyards for inspiration...and old relatives (stopped at finding my great-grandfather was called Horace and dps grandfather was Konstantin!!)

Ended up finding dds name in the credits of a knitting pattern

dripping · 20/04/2008 10:01

me and dh wrote list each, crossed off those we hated, and marked the rest out of 5, highest won! not sure it will this time - when i saw the winning name i thought

Roskva · 20/04/2008 10:10

We needed names that work in Russian and English, and are not difficult to spell/pronounce in both languages. That limited our choice somewhat . But if the one I am carrying at the moment is a girl, she will be named for my Gran.

Psychomum5 · 20/04/2008 10:12

I obsessed with thinking of names throught my childhood as I hated my name, so when I finally fell for DD1 I had in my head names I liked and that could not be attributed to anyone I had ever known that was in any way horrid!!!!.

DD1's name in fact is the same as a gorgeous baby I babysat for as a teen.......utterly gorgeous baby, but DH was so against the name...probably because I had babysat for said name....

anyhoo....when DD1 was born, I held her and the name popped back into my head and fitted immediately....and so she is called it (megan).

the others were from ........ DD2 was from dolls that DD1 had (ie, she had a 'holly dolly' for the xmas that I was pregnant with DD2) and she then referred to my bump as 'holly bump', and then the baby when she first met her sister as 'holly baby'....luckily it suited and fitted and so she is!

natasha was from the sunday papers when I was in labour with her......I had been certain that I was carrying a boy and suddenly knew that I was in fact having a girl and we needed a name (we only had a boys name at that point)......DH read names out while I was breathing thro contractions and he stopped when I started screaming for more pain relief.......and that name was chosen. good job we both loved it and it soooooo suits her.

max was DH's choice that in fact came from the film 'liar liar'.....he loved the name for the little boy in it and when DS1 was born, it was him!!

Jacob however literally popped into my head as I held him for the first time....twas like he was 'telling' me him name. it wasn;t even one we had considered, let alone had on one of our many shortlists anywhere.......we shocked the entire family with his name .

BellaBear · 20/04/2008 10:37

I went to a Seth Lakeman concert when 6 weeks or so pregnant and was utterly entranced by the music and inspired by the name

film credits were also a lot of fun

Original poster
cyteen · 20/04/2008 10:49

dizzy - I did ask! And got no reply...

Great stories everyone, lots to think about here

OP posts:
dizzydixies · 20/04/2008 10:52

cyteen must've been lost in all the chat

ask again, anytime!

Psychomum5 · 20/04/2008 11:04

cyteen......

best bet is, think of the names you like (even if it is a list of 50), and then go into waitrose and test out Cods 'bacon aisle' name testing theory.....

yell out each name in turn (of course, people may then start tutting at you with your gazzillion kiddies that you clearly cannot raise properly as you have lost them all), but the name that raises the least tuts is propably the one you should consider.....

TheProdigalShow · 20/04/2008 11:10

BellaBear, I heart Seth Lakeman!

ImflightbutIcantlogintoday · 20/04/2008 11:18

I don't know. Try brainstorming with friends or family - long conversation with my mother at one point led us to 'Walter'
She and I have different views on many things..

In the end I'd known his name from the start, at the back of my mind, and went along with it but somehow it didn't seem to fit him when he arrived. Also it was a fairly standard name, and I wanted to have my father's name in the middle (in case I have no more boys) and that is also boring - so I needed something a bit different for the first name iyswim.

I still don't know where it came from but it suits him and I don't know any others - for some reason that's important to me. I've always felt like the odd one out so it feels like my child if he has an odd name I suppose! Not just a child of the era in which we live, but my child. And I need him to because I often feel undermined as a mother, being single means people can be quite overbearing and patronising at times.

Sorry, ranting a bit

ImflightbutIcantlogintoday · 20/04/2008 11:19

He may not forgive me for it though - those reasons sound quite selfish don't they?

BellaBear · 20/04/2008 11:20

TheProdigalShow:

TheProdigalShow · 20/04/2008 11:22

I can't believe I actually typed 'I heart' anything. Apparently I'm 13 again but I stand by my convictions. He's a hauntingly good singer/songwriter and if we ever have an army or boys, Seth is number three on the names list after DH's silly comic book choices that I agreed to in a fit of pregnant insanity.