Did/Does a name's meaning influence your decision?

[KRH]

We have 2 children already and twins on the way. We have chosen our children's names on 2 counts - the fact that we like them and the fact that they have meanings which are important to us. (the meanings are like our hope/prayer for our children later in life.) The meaning of a name is of vital importance to us, although we would never choose a name JUST for the meaning if we didn't actually like it! Having spoken to lots of other people however we seem to be in the minority in being influenced by a name's meaning. SO - did a name's meaning influence your decision? If it did - what kind of meanings did you like/not like?

If it was a name I truly loved, I don't think I'd be put off by a meaning, and I don't think I'd choose a name solely because of a meaning either.

If I was feeling unsure about a name and then it meant something really lovely or really unpleasant it might help make up my mind. IYSWIM.

Our kids' names were chosen either because of Biblical characters (and their characteristics) or because the meaning was related to having a relationship with God.

(eg. our son is named after 2 Bible characters with characteristics such as being faithful in prayer and obedient to God.
our daughter's names mean "Devoted to God" and "Grace".)

It depends on the meaning.

Names that mean sad/negative things (e.g. Claudia = lame/disabled, Cecilia = blind/dim) I would avoid.

However a neutral meaning wouldn't bother me if I love the name. In fact ds1's name is derived from the number 5, and while he is not our 5th son, we used it regardless .

The name meaning was certainly one of the factors we considered. The meanings of her name fit my DD perfectly. 'Light' (she's our ray of sunshine!) and 'Little red one' (she is red haired).

Yes, it was one of the factors which was important to us. Obviously we needed to really like the sound and look of the names too, but meaning was important. For instance, there were some names we liked which had negative meanings, and that put us off. It's amazing how many ancient or biblical names have horrid meanings - eg 'cow', 'noose or rope', 'blinded' etc. I just couldn't bring myself to give a child a name that carried a horrible meaning!

No, it wasn't really important to us. Having said that I wouldn't call a child Noel or Holly if they weren't a Christmas baby, or a girl autumn or summer or April if they were born at the wrong time of year. I wouldn't use a name like Melanie or Ebony on a fair skinned child either. So I guess it might have been a little bit of an issue. Thankfully as I've gone for fairly classic names, they usually have quite bland meanings.

(My name means "ewe" and it's never bothered me)

I oculdn't tell you the meaning of either of my dds names (or any of their middlenames, either, come to that)

But I am sure I probably read them at some point when browsingname books for inspiration.

But I kind of gloss over that part. It's not what is important.

We need names that would work in 3 languages, and that was key for us.

I wouldn't NOT choose something like Claudia, just because of its meaning. That seems a bit superstitious to me.

I would choose a name if it was that of someone admirable, or a relative

I also quite like "virtue" names - like Hope, Faith and Mercy

I would think twice before choosing Grace though, in case the child concerned might turn out to be not very

Sorry - I should point out Jamie that we chose "Grace" not because we hope/pray she'll be gracious, but because we hope/preay she will accept and live by God's Grace! I do agree though on other names. (Not that I like it anyway, but something like Chastity would be a no-no for that reason!)

The meaning of the name was of really high importance when I chose dd's name - Sophia (wisdom)

What does Claudia mean save me looking it up?

Sorry I just saw the post where Claudia's meaning was explained

Not at all. Wouldn't occur to me to even check. It's not going to change my child.

Meanings influenced our choices, but equally important was whether we liked the names. I think meaning was probably more important for me than for dh.

I like the fact that our children's names mean things like 'god-given' and 'father's joy'.

I find it odd when, say, a Jew is named Christopher, and only marginally less odd when a Christian is named Judith! But I suppose that's a matter of personal taste.

I got put off Molly because the book said it meant "bitterness". But also because MIL's cat was called Molly it got crossed off the list anyway.

Also I love Jonah but the meaning isn't very good (can't remember it now and would still like Jonah for a DS).

ooh - Jonah means Dove, which in turn means Peace. I really like the name and the meaning! We considered it too!

Name meanings are really important to me too and while I would never choose a name soley for the meaning I have taken names off the shortlist because I don't like the name meaning.

I love my names meanings and just find them symbolic and fun in my head (though obviously it's different for plenty of others!).

I love that DD's name means God's grace and is a bible character she can look up later on.

DC2 is en route and his name meanings are vital to me too.

Love Jonah as a possible middle name and it means Dove or Peace which I like a lot. I know 'a Jonah' used to be used for someone who was seen as bad luck but that association doesn't bother me as it's obvious why from the story - the ship nearly sank because of Jonah!

Yes.

DD is called Carys Angharad. Both names mean Love (from the Welsh word Cariad).

We had a lot of problems during the pregnancy, I was told three times that I was very likely to lose her. I was also told that there was a high chance that she would have a disability. We wanted a name that would show that no matter what happened she was very much loved.

As it was they were wrong and she is now a bright and bubbly 4 year old. But she is still very much loved

helyg that's beautiful- my dd's middle name is Hope, for a similar reason - she was a prem baby and nearly didn't make it.

HRH - didn't read your post - sorry I was referring to a more corporeal definition of Grace . I appreciate it is a lovely name for other reasons ....

Nope. I have a Jonah!

Weirdly, one of my favourite boys names is Christian, and I'm an atheist

For DD2 her name was decided by it's meaning; she's Miriam, one of the meanings of which is 'wished for child'. She was very much wished for and rather unexpected after a series of miscarriage, a life-endangering ruptured ectopic and the news that I was unlikely to carry another baby to term.

Her middle name is Hope because, cheesy though it may be, that's what her arrival returned to our family's life.

Ooh good news about Jonah...I can't find my book but think it said something like "unlucky". Must get new book with "Dove" meaning if pregnant again!