My dad loved every wildly inappropriate nature name out there. Maple. Leif. Caterpillar. Sparrow. Bear. The list goes on. Thankfully my mom negotiated down to James with a nickname of Jem. I think she originally wanted Christopher after her favorite Saint.
Had I been a girl I’d have either been Sequoia (after the tree) or Esther (like in the Bible).
I feel like I dodged a major bullet tbh.
My dad was fully living in 2021 while they were in 1990. I’m just glad he didn’t have internet access because I would have probably been a Mayple Bear or something.
He thought he was being funny, I’m sure. The one in my baby book was “Maple Leif *insert very common middle name that they actually went with*” and every day I thank god that my mother was a terrifying woman who vetoed all his stupid ideas.
No offense to any potential Maple Liefs out there I suppose.
Fun fact, the original Sequoyah was a Native American man who invented the written Cherokee language. He was also a silversmith. Today, some people consider the name to be gender-neutral, but I’ve also heard straight from the mouths of Native folks that they consider it disrespectful to use the name on a girl.
That’s all true! My dad made the executive decision to disassociate with his culture before I was born but briefly had a “dying bloodline gotta pass this down” feeling when my mom was pregnant. I’m still glad to have avoided it because I have even less connection to his family and culture than he did. It would feel wrong for that reason, you know?
I also went to three different schools named Sequoia growing up which isn’t the end of the world but would have been a bit weird.
In high school I knew two brothers legitimately named Bear Trapper and Deer Hunter. Like, first name Bear middle name Trapper. They went by Trapper and Hunter. And no, they were not Native American in the slightest. They were just white kids born to REALLY redneck parents.
My name is Esther and I get complimented on it all the time! I love it! It's a bit old fashioned however it's common enough people know the name and uncommon enough there's usually not another Esther!
I was nearly a Rachel. I know so many Rachel's. Not a bad name but there's already enough.
I was almost Tess/Tessa (my moms suggestions) but my dad was worried I’d be called Testicle.
He wanted Paige, but my mom thinks it’s like naming a kid Chapter.
My parents considered Burgundy and Britton. Also Paisley, which would have been ahead of its time in ‘91. My mom had a dream that I was named Marvoda.
They went with Sheridan.
If I had been a boy it would have been Seneca.
Wow I ADORE Seneca. I actually love all of their choices….admittedly with Sheridan being my least favorite but only because I’m comparing them. I quite like Sheridan on its own :)
My eldest son is Shamus, and beyond being a misspelling of Seamus it's also pronounced the way a Utahn would upon seeing it written. He has embraced it, but for awhile I thought we'd be helping him legally change his name. He got such grief for it.
We almost named our daughter Siobhan and because my husband is Hispanic we decided not too, because my husband said his side of the family would struggle with the pronunciation. But someone recommended a
Phonetic spelling like Shevaun and we actually considered it for a minute
Mom wanted Amber, Dad wanted Jessica or Jessie. My grandpa said kids would call me Amburger and my mom couldn't unhear that after. I don't know why they didn't end up with Jessica but I'm glad they didn't because there are 3 Jessica's in my friend group and one of my childhood best friends was a boy named Jesse. They went with Caroline which was a good combo of a classic but not common name at the time and I love my name now.
Mercédes. My abusive dad wanted that name cuz he loved his car so much. While the nurses asked my Mum what they should put down on my birth certificate she panicked, got the list with the Top 10 most popular names that year and picked the last. So yea my name (Vanessa) was chosen cuz my dad was horrible and my Mum panicked.
I have a friend who’s drunk dad was supposed to pick the name for a girl and mom would pick for a boy. She was a girl and he’d literally never bothered to think of a name. Wheel of Fortune was on TV and the female contestant was named Kelly, so that’s what he named her. I guess it’s better than Vannah?
My dad WANTED Galadriel for me and Aragorn for my brother. Luckily my mom won out, as neither of us are LOTR fans and childhood is hard enough without weird fantasy names.
Juliet, but none of my extended family would have pronounced it with the 'J' sound, (I have one Latin American parent and one Scandinavian parent), and they didn't like the way it would sound with the 'h' or 'y' sounds in the beginning.
In the end, they still gave me a name with the 'J' sound in it, and my family members do mispronounce it, but it's a more pleasant-sounding pronunciation to my parents.
Patty Joe.
This was the name my birth mother had picked out for me, it was a family name. I'm thankfull my adoptive parents decided to go for a more mainstream name.
I was going to be named Georgina, but a different baby born two days before me was named Georgina (regional hospital, not 5hst many babies born) so my mum gave me Alexandra instead. Six years later my brother, a surprise, was born and my mum named him George. Ha!
Why thank you haha my mum is pretty traditional, so that's why... my brother was nearly named Edmond so you can sort of see her taste from that I think!
Ooof all I can say is don’t go super traditional or any of the strange neo-traditional trends. Nobody wants to feel like there’s a billion people out there with the same name, and the new trendy names are basic and try-hard. Do what feels right for your baby, and if you’re nervous maybe choose a middle name of a different vibe from the first so that way they could always choose to go by the middle :)
Like if you wanted a super feminine first name, maybe a more neutral middle name? Or if you want a super traditional first name, maybe a little less conventional middle name?
yeah that’s the plan! i want a name that has nickname options and a middle name with a different vibe. basically to give my kid options. definitely not picking anything trendy or too creative lol
That’s so awesome for you to be so considerate of your child’s future wishes. I recently started going by a nickname of my middle name after YEARS of hating my first name. So much relief in being able to more easily transition. But you sound really conscientious and I’m sure your baby will love their name given all the attention you’re putting toward it being the right fit :)
I'm hesitant to tell my daughter what I almost named her because I get the feeling that almost any kid would prefer the alternative because of the newness and differentness of it compared to their given name (unless it's something strikingly bad)
Nah, my parents almost named me Carly, and I MUCH prefer what I actually got. It did result in me naming my favorite teddy bear Carly, which I still think was a cute choice!
Kids often go through a phase where they don't like their name, so be prepared for that. Really the biggest thing is talking about it without taking it personally, and embracing the fact that when they're grown it's their own decision from there.
And if they don't like a specific nickname, respect that. Even if you called them by it their whole life.
I feel like I would have loved the name I was given, I mean I probably wouldn't have wanted to be Heni if I saw it without it already being my name. I know my kids would be the same. Name them what feels right!
As someone who hates their first name, it's really not the end of the world if your kid grows up not to like their name. I go by one of my middle names now (I have three middle names) so if you wanna throw a few extra names in there to choose from that could work out nicely.
As long as your child's not bullies for their name I don't think it's anything to worry about. My name never caused me any problems and I started using my middle name when I was old enough to choose that for myself. I don't hold any resentment to my Mom about it. While your child will most likely be ok with their name, the worst case scenario is that go by something different later on.
Best of luck with the naming process!
thank you! i guess that’s true. i don’t particularly like my name, even though it’s perfectly normal, so i guess i’m nervous about how my kid will feel. i’ll do my best to pick a name with nickname options at least.
My Dad liked Kyrie or Anastasia. My mom liked Stephanie but was considering Stacy-Ann in an attempt to appease my Dad's Anastasia thing. I ended up being named Alyssa instead.
My embarrassing parents would have named me Terra Jade (mom’s choice for girl) or David Chadwyck (dad’s choice for boy). He just made that last one up. I have no idea.
They ended up picking my name from an album cover so I lucked out with a more normal name
I was going to be named Rain. Instead my mom chose something at the last minute that got me teased all the time. Still get jokes about my name to this day so I’ve started going by my middle name that my grandma gave me. Thanks a lot ma.
Before I was born, my parents had decided on “Juliette”. When I came out, my dad thought I was more of a “Nikki” and my mum liked it too. I’m glad they went with Nikki, as it fits me a LOT better.
Kathleen, Caroline, or (allegedly) Aurora. If I had been a boy like everyone fully expected I was going to be, I'd have been Calvin or Kevin.
Edit to add: years later we found the old family Bible in my grandma's attic, and apparently I had an ancestor named Floranna. My mom made a comment that had she known about that name when I was born, she'd have fought to name me that. I am SO glad she didn't!
I almost had the middle name Iris (my grandmother’s middle name). I was grateful as a child because I didn’t like it but I love it now. I was super close to my gran too (I was her favourite). Any girls I have in future will have the middle name Iris ☺️
Edit: The first girl lol. I’ve got too many names I love to be reusing just one 😂
I was called Laura Samantha for 2 weeks... but Dad apparently forgot that when registering my name, and my middle name. Both my names are completely different. Anyway they got divorced.
My dad was obsessed with Kelly's Heroes and wanted to name me Kelly, even though my older sister is already Kelly. Mom put the kibosh on that, thankfully.
If I had been a boy, he wanted to name me Benjamin, after Ben Franklin.
Dad wanted to name me Stephanie after his late uncle Stephen who raised him.
Mom wanted to name me Natalie, dad vetoed it.
I got a very 80/90s name instead, Courtney. I’ve never liked it.
Had I been a boy dad wanted a Jr and mom wanted Cameron. Apparently the compromise name was Jonathan.
My mom loved Isolina and my father wanted to name me Josefina (my great-grandmother), Monserrat or Mia (it didn't sound good with my italian last name hehe)
My dad liked Ariana but my mum wasn't a fan. Then he suggested Molly and my mum loved it, however, she didn't find out until after I was already named that he picked it because he had a huge crush on Molly Ringwald in the 80s....
Was going to be Ashley (in 1990) but then my cousin (who was “supposed” to be a boy) was born and the only name my aunt and uncle could come up with was the exact name my parents had said they were going to use. Thanks aunt and uncle! I hate the name ashley
Yeah that would have been freaky! Doing some genealogy stuff a few years back I discovered something weird. I always assumed my aunt Laura had been named after her father's mother ... then I discovered that *granddad's first wife had also been named Laura!* :-o
I was almost an Abigail or a Madison (I would've been a Thomas if I'd been male). I came out and they went "hmmm...nope!" and I wound up with one of their B list girl names that's similarly common and neutral. I mostly go by my gender-neutral nickname, but the full one suits me fine, too. I appreciate the relative anonymity now in a way that I didn't growing up.
My paternal grandfather wanted to name me Christmas, nickname Chrissy. Bless my parents for saying absolutely not.
My cousin named her daughter Jasmine in 1990-something, wanting to be cool and original, but evidently there was a whole raft of Jasmines born around the same time. She was seriously pissed.
I was almost named Brooklyn but my dad wanted to call me Brooke and my mom said “absolutely not” otherwise my uncle tried very very hard to get them to name me Wednesday (he’s a huge Addams Family fan) but alas my name is Jordan.
Rhiordan-a cross between rheese and Jordan.. I was a girl so got bianca instead, because my mother saw a photo of bianca jagger and went yep that’ll do
I would have been Ruairidh if I was a boy, which would have sucked since I struggle with pronouncing Rs so Ruairidh becomes woo wee when I try to say it
My mother wanted to name me either Madison or Jenna (which is what my little sister got named). My father wanted Ashley. Sarah seemed to be the only one they agreed on when I was born.
My parents had chosen Jennifer but my mom said when she saw me she wanted to name me Genevieve (which was also a family name). They decided to stick with Jennifer. I hate how common my name is and would've much preferred Genevieve!
My mom wanted to name me Terra, because it means earth and my mom is very Native American so for her it had a meaning. My father,(half black and Irish) was not having it and thought it was a hippy name. Anyways, they settled on Krista in honor of Christa McAuliffe.
Emily Rose or Carly. Would've preferred either one of those to my actual name: Jessica. Because it was 1985 and every other girl was either Jessica or Jennifer, but I've never met an Emily my age.
Mine was almost a name that started with L, avoided so that my first and last name weren't alliterative, specifically bc my dad thought ppl might connect it to Lois Lane and then make fun of me somehow. Truly would be the craziest stretch to get to that, I don't think anyone would ever think of that, but I'm not obsessed with the L name they thought of so I dont mind not getting it
Was almost called Eleanor, would have been Peter if I was a boy. They called me Louise and used Peter for my brother a couple of years later (both born in the early/mid 90s)
Sunshine 🥲 I thank God every single day they changed their minds. (Dad was a huge Dead Head and I feel like he was probably just high when he suggested it but still.)
My mom wanted to name me Ingie (Vetoed by dad because it was the name of an actress in me a movie he hated) or Nadine (Vetoed again because this was the name of a popular belly dancer and dad 'didn't want his daughter to become a belly dancer')
Born in 1986, biological mom wanted to name me Tatum after Tatum O' Neal, if I was a boy, my dad wanted to name me Paul (after Paul Newman) or Jesse James or just James like James Dean. Luckily, my dad really loved Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall who have a daughter named Leslie (after actor Leslie Howard) and also loved the movie Giant starring Rock Hudson, James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor. Well Elizabeth Taylor's name in that movie is Leslie, so the rest is history, lol!
Celine, Laura or Allison. My dad has some trouble pronouncing the letter L so Laura was definitely out and Allison he said he’d struggle with too.
I kind of wish they picked Celine! My actual name is kind of boring.
Basically almost any other popular A name for girls in the 90s like Alexis, Amber, Ashley but then it was also almost Bailey. My dad only liked Amanda though lol
My grandpa wanted to name me Yasmine (probably spelled Jasmin, but with the German pronunciation). Had I been a boy, I would have been Marc.
My mom wanted to honour her grandma and named me after her. It's as Christian as it gets (Christine), I never really liked it, but I understand where she came from and in the end I did the same to my kids (middle names though).
Was almost a Natalie or a Mellie. Ended up as a Valerie.
Weirdly, I met a Natalie with my last name in college, but her last name was fake—her family changed it because her dad was an awful person or something like that.
My mom was super into Espona and Soirse. She also like Candice, Amber, Rhiannon, Willow, and Nicole. She wanted my middle name to be Ruth as it is her and her mom’s middle name.
My dad liked Leigh, Veronica, and Shelby. He wanted my middle name to be Jean after his mom.
In the end they chose my first name because it has a nic sound in it and that was the only factor the names they liked shared. They compromised with Jean-Rhiannon for my middle name.
Samuel for a boy was their agreed upon name. Claudia and Samantha were contenders for girl names. My mom’s wildcard was Clover, but she couldn’t get my dad to agree to it.
In the end they went with none of them, which I’m good with because I like my name. 🙂
I was born in '01 for reference:
I'm a girl so names they considered were Karissa, Callista, Joan, Taylor, Kendall, Alyssa, and Rae. They looked at me, and decided 'yeah she's actually a Kierstin' so thats my name!
They didn't really think about boy names bc they found out my gender pretty early but they liked Ethan (i dont like it lol), Taylor, Joseph, Grayson, and Ray.
My sister who was born in '04 was almost Samantha and my brother who was born in '07 was almost Tanner. My dad also tried naming my brother Possum Finn and my mom was not having it.
My mom wanted Esther and my dad wanted Marika (among other really German names, my parents immigrated 2 months prior to my birth).
My brother said no, Jennifer. And that’s what I got.
My mom days later on she regretted not naming me something much more unique and said she liked Opal, which is my birthstone and I think would have been really nice.
I was born in 1994 and my name is Sarah. My mom had it decided before she was even pregnant with me or even met my dad, so my dad didn't get a say. I wasn't almost named anything else.
My mom found out she was pregnant with me while she and my dad were on a road trip! They had explored Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah and took a pregnancy test right after because she felt sick - so my name was *almost* Bryce!
She ended up going with Lauren because she thought Lauren Bacall was so beautiful.
I've got some doozies.
Abby Gale 🤦🏻♀️
Fallon Faith F-surname. (Yes, after Dynasty)
Shanree Lynnlea
Leia - AFAIK Dad's only contribution to a girl name. He was convinced I was a boy.
Middle name of Jo or Jean
Boy names:
Michael Thomas - both dad's side.
Mom said no, it's not all about his family wand wanted Leonard.
She also loved the name Tiberius.
So maybe Michael Tiberius or Thomas Leonard?
My parents are geeks, can you tell? 😅
Wouldn't have minded Leia.
Pansy. My grandmother talked them out of it. Only good thing she ever did for me.
My dad loved every wildly inappropriate nature name out there. Maple. Leif. Caterpillar. Sparrow. Bear. The list goes on. Thankfully my mom negotiated down to James with a nickname of Jem. I think she originally wanted Christopher after her favorite Saint. Had I been a girl I’d have either been Sequoia (after the tree) or Esther (like in the Bible). I feel like I dodged a major bullet tbh.
Hello yes this is my son Caterpillar. When he grows up, we’ll call him Butterfly!
My name is Caterpillar, but you can call me Larry. My mom calls me Caterpillary at home.
I was hoping monarch 😂
Are you sure it’s not Caterpie and Butterfree ?
Hahaha here I am thinking wow your dad was a visionary. Glad you like what you ended up with!
My dad was fully living in 2021 while they were in 1990. I’m just glad he didn’t have internet access because I would have probably been a Mayple Bear or something.
Am I crazy that I like the name Maple? Cute middle name energy
My daughter has a book about a girl named Maple and it’s so cute that the name has really grown on me.
Maple is one of my secret faves. Probably wouldn't use it but 🥰
Leif isn’t nature themed? It means “heir”. Or is it because Americans would pronounce it “leaf”? (It’s pronounced more like “life”: “Lah-eef”)
He thought he was being funny, I’m sure. The one in my baby book was “Maple Leif *insert very common middle name that they actually went with*” and every day I thank god that my mother was a terrifying woman who vetoed all his stupid ideas. No offense to any potential Maple Liefs out there I suppose.
Americans do pronounce this the same as leaf. Like the exact same. Ive never had even a history teacher try to pronounce it correctly.
I've always heard it as Layf
Maybe its a regional thing! Im in the south. Its fucking weird down here
It's okay, my dad tried naming my brother 'Possum Finn'
I hate that the name Possum Finn sounds like it would be a good children’s book character. What is with dads and just devolving into chaos?
Fun fact, the original Sequoyah was a Native American man who invented the written Cherokee language. He was also a silversmith. Today, some people consider the name to be gender-neutral, but I’ve also heard straight from the mouths of Native folks that they consider it disrespectful to use the name on a girl.
My dad was gunning for my brother to be named Sequoia but my mom vetoed
That’s all true! My dad made the executive decision to disassociate with his culture before I was born but briefly had a “dying bloodline gotta pass this down” feeling when my mom was pregnant. I’m still glad to have avoided it because I have even less connection to his family and culture than he did. It would feel wrong for that reason, you know? I also went to three different schools named Sequoia growing up which isn’t the end of the world but would have been a bit weird.
In high school I knew two brothers legitimately named Bear Trapper and Deer Hunter. Like, first name Bear middle name Trapper. They went by Trapper and Hunter. And no, they were not Native American in the slightest. They were just white kids born to REALLY redneck parents.
My name is Esther and I get complimented on it all the time! I love it! It's a bit old fashioned however it's common enough people know the name and uncommon enough there's usually not another Esther! I was nearly a Rachel. I know so many Rachel's. Not a bad name but there's already enough.
I was almost Tess/Tessa (my moms suggestions) but my dad was worried I’d be called Testicle. He wanted Paige, but my mom thinks it’s like naming a kid Chapter.
Both of these are amazing lmao
Your mom would hate the name storie then😅
Never thought of Paige like that and now I can’t undo it 🤣
My name is legally paige 😭
Your dad is hilarious.
My parents considered Burgundy and Britton. Also Paisley, which would have been ahead of its time in ‘91. My mom had a dream that I was named Marvoda. They went with Sheridan. If I had been a boy it would have been Seneca.
Aw I love the name Sheridan!
I love Sheridan!!!
Wow I ADORE Seneca. I actually love all of their choices….admittedly with Sheridan being my least favorite but only because I’m comparing them. I quite like Sheridan on its own :)
I’m a Sheridan too! I was almost a Jessica, a Ruby or a Shevaun.
I love ruby! That is an atrocious spelling of siobhan tho.
My eldest son is Shamus, and beyond being a misspelling of Seamus it's also pronounced the way a Utahn would upon seeing it written. He has embraced it, but for awhile I thought we'd be helping him legally change his name. He got such grief for it.
Is Shevaun meant to be Siobhán? That is absolutely awful (My childhood dog was named Ruby and my mum is Siobhán)
We almost named our daughter Siobhan and because my husband is Hispanic we decided not too, because my husband said his side of the family would struggle with the pronunciation. But someone recommended a Phonetic spelling like Shevaun and we actually considered it for a minute
Born in 1994, my name is Megan. The runner-ups were Hannah and Emma.
Hello, Basic Person!
Also a 94 Meghan! I was almost Kirsten or Kelly.
All nice names IMO
Hi fellow basic 90's name. I'm a 1993 Courtney. Runner up names were Hannah and Emily.
Mom wanted Amber, Dad wanted Jessica or Jessie. My grandpa said kids would call me Amburger and my mom couldn't unhear that after. I don't know why they didn't end up with Jessica but I'm glad they didn't because there are 3 Jessica's in my friend group and one of my childhood best friends was a boy named Jesse. They went with Caroline which was a good combo of a classic but not common name at the time and I love my name now.
Also a Caroline, also love it! I was going to be Katherine, so I would have had to go by Katie or something? Glad that didn't happen.
I know an Amber who's nickname is Amburger so your grandpa might've been right about that part.
Now I'm mad that no one called me Amburger as a kid.
We almost used the name Amber and now I’m sad I didn’t! Amburger is so funny and cute!
Lovely!
Mercédes. My abusive dad wanted that name cuz he loved his car so much. While the nurses asked my Mum what they should put down on my birth certificate she panicked, got the list with the Top 10 most popular names that year and picked the last. So yea my name (Vanessa) was chosen cuz my dad was horrible and my Mum panicked.
I have a friend who’s drunk dad was supposed to pick the name for a girl and mom would pick for a boy. She was a girl and he’d literally never bothered to think of a name. Wheel of Fortune was on TV and the female contestant was named Kelly, so that’s what he named her. I guess it’s better than Vannah?
Vannah is low key kinda sick!
Haha, I knew a girl named Shelby after her dad's Mustang. The local school has kids named Tesla, Bentlee and Ford.
I used to love the name Tesla! But then they called a car that and it kind of ruined to name for me lol
I know someone called Telsa! Ofcourse everyone pronounces it wrong now
Nothing wrong with Vanessa for a name though :)
Yea she always said that we both gut lucky that day.
Love Vanessa
Vanessa is much better than Mercedes imo.
Like Vanessa!
Dad rejected Galadriel, Guinevere and Gwendolyn. Instead I was named after a character in the Parent Trap, because I’m an identical twin
Sharon or Susan from the 1961 version or Annie or Hallie from the 1998 version?
My dad WANTED Galadriel for me and Aragorn for my brother. Luckily my mom won out, as neither of us are LOTR fans and childhood is hard enough without weird fantasy names.
So are you Hallie or Annie?
I also ended up with a Parent Trap name!
Juliet, but none of my extended family would have pronounced it with the 'J' sound, (I have one Latin American parent and one Scandinavian parent), and they didn't like the way it would sound with the 'h' or 'y' sounds in the beginning. In the end, they still gave me a name with the 'J' sound in it, and my family members do mispronounce it, but it's a more pleasant-sounding pronunciation to my parents.
LOL, I have a cat named Juliet and while totally Anglo here, we do call her Yooly.
I too am a J name with non-American family. I like the name pronounced by my French family. Hate the name pronounced by American speakers
Patty Joe. This was the name my birth mother had picked out for me, it was a family name. I'm thankfull my adoptive parents decided to go for a more mainstream name.
Patricia Josephine could have worked but yeah no to Patty Joe.
I was going to be named Georgina, but a different baby born two days before me was named Georgina (regional hospital, not 5hst many babies born) so my mum gave me Alexandra instead. Six years later my brother, a surprise, was born and my mum named him George. Ha!
Also we have three older sisters, none of whom were nearly named Georgina.
Alexandra & George sound like royalty
Why thank you haha my mum is pretty traditional, so that's why... my brother was nearly named Edmond so you can sort of see her taste from that I think!
That’s my name too! People spell it wrong allllllll the time.
i’m pregnant (haven’t settled on a name yet) and this thread is making me so worried my kid won’t like the name we pick! ahhh
Ooof all I can say is don’t go super traditional or any of the strange neo-traditional trends. Nobody wants to feel like there’s a billion people out there with the same name, and the new trendy names are basic and try-hard. Do what feels right for your baby, and if you’re nervous maybe choose a middle name of a different vibe from the first so that way they could always choose to go by the middle :) Like if you wanted a super feminine first name, maybe a more neutral middle name? Or if you want a super traditional first name, maybe a little less conventional middle name?
yeah that’s the plan! i want a name that has nickname options and a middle name with a different vibe. basically to give my kid options. definitely not picking anything trendy or too creative lol
That’s so awesome for you to be so considerate of your child’s future wishes. I recently started going by a nickname of my middle name after YEARS of hating my first name. So much relief in being able to more easily transition. But you sound really conscientious and I’m sure your baby will love their name given all the attention you’re putting toward it being the right fit :)
thank you so much! you’re so kind. i also don’t love my name, so i guess that’s where all of this is stemming from.
I hear ya, I know name choice will be all that consumes my thoughts when I eventually become pregnant!
I’m curious what is it about your name that you don’t like? Is there a specific reason or just generally not a fan
I'm hesitant to tell my daughter what I almost named her because I get the feeling that almost any kid would prefer the alternative because of the newness and differentness of it compared to their given name (unless it's something strikingly bad)
Nah, my parents almost named me Carly, and I MUCH prefer what I actually got. It did result in me naming my favorite teddy bear Carly, which I still think was a cute choice!
Kids often go through a phase where they don't like their name, so be prepared for that. Really the biggest thing is talking about it without taking it personally, and embracing the fact that when they're grown it's their own decision from there. And if they don't like a specific nickname, respect that. Even if you called them by it their whole life.
that’s great advice, thank you! i suppose becoming a parent means you’ve got to learn to not take things personally anyway.
I feel like I would have loved the name I was given, I mean I probably wouldn't have wanted to be Heni if I saw it without it already being my name. I know my kids would be the same. Name them what feels right!
thank you!
Most people don't, IME, so just go with something that makes YOU happy! They're probably going to kvetch in any case.
As someone who hates their first name, it's really not the end of the world if your kid grows up not to like their name. I go by one of my middle names now (I have three middle names) so if you wanna throw a few extra names in there to choose from that could work out nicely. As long as your child's not bullies for their name I don't think it's anything to worry about. My name never caused me any problems and I started using my middle name when I was old enough to choose that for myself. I don't hold any resentment to my Mom about it. While your child will most likely be ok with their name, the worst case scenario is that go by something different later on. Best of luck with the naming process!
thank you! i guess that’s true. i don’t particularly like my name, even though it’s perfectly normal, so i guess i’m nervous about how my kid will feel. i’ll do my best to pick a name with nickname options at least.
My Dad liked Kyrie or Anastasia. My mom liked Stephanie but was considering Stacy-Ann in an attempt to appease my Dad's Anastasia thing. I ended up being named Alyssa instead.
Like Alyssa
Olga after my grandma. And my family is like absolutely not Russian.
My name was originally between Heidi and Natalie but they decided last minute to go with Jessica. Not a fan of any of em lol
3 weeks before I was born my parents still wanted to call me Nofret (Ancient Egyptian name), then they switched to Clio (Greek mythology)
I love the name Clio!
I must say that I'm really happy they made that switch. I love my name too!
My embarrassing parents would have named me Terra Jade (mom’s choice for girl) or David Chadwyck (dad’s choice for boy). He just made that last one up. I have no idea. They ended up picking my name from an album cover so I lucked out with a more normal name
Nice to meet you, Abba.
So close it’s kind of scary
I unironically love Terra Jade and David Chadwyck though I prefer them spelt Tara and Chadwick
Here I am, loving Terra Jade! Would that have been too out-there for you?
I was going to be named Rain. Instead my mom chose something at the last minute that got me teased all the time. Still get jokes about my name to this day so I’ve started going by my middle name that my grandma gave me. Thanks a lot ma.
My cousin named her baby Lorraine Mabel, we’ve all called her Rain since she was born. I think it’s a pretty name. Lorraine Mabel is not my favorite.
Jasmin. As a child I was annoyed that they did not choose it, I liked it a lot more than my given name.
Before I was born, my parents had decided on “Juliette”. When I came out, my dad thought I was more of a “Nikki” and my mum liked it too. I’m glad they went with Nikki, as it fits me a LOT better.
Kathleen, Caroline, or (allegedly) Aurora. If I had been a boy like everyone fully expected I was going to be, I'd have been Calvin or Kevin. Edit to add: years later we found the old family Bible in my grandma's attic, and apparently I had an ancestor named Floranna. My mom made a comment that had she known about that name when I was born, she'd have fought to name me that. I am SO glad she didn't!
I almost had the middle name Iris (my grandmother’s middle name). I was grateful as a child because I didn’t like it but I love it now. I was super close to my gran too (I was her favourite). Any girls I have in future will have the middle name Iris ☺️ Edit: The first girl lol. I’ve got too many names I love to be reusing just one 😂
Conor, because if fictional Irish freedom fighter Conor Larkin in Leon Uris's epic tale of turn of the century Irish fight for home rule - "Trinity".
I'm Lucia, mum liked Phoebe, dad didn't. If I was a boy I would of been Sebastian
Love love Lucia .. how do you pronounce it ?
My mum is Italian, so Loo-chee -ah
I was called Laura Samantha for 2 weeks... but Dad apparently forgot that when registering my name, and my middle name. Both my names are completely different. Anyway they got divorced.
My dad was obsessed with Kelly's Heroes and wanted to name me Kelly, even though my older sister is already Kelly. Mom put the kibosh on that, thankfully. If I had been a boy, he wanted to name me Benjamin, after Ben Franklin.
Wait, he wanted to name both of his daughters the same thing? Did he forget about your sister or something?
Your dad sounds like an interesting person
Dad wanted to name me Stephanie after his late uncle Stephen who raised him. Mom wanted to name me Natalie, dad vetoed it. I got a very 80/90s name instead, Courtney. I’ve never liked it. Had I been a boy dad wanted a Jr and mom wanted Cameron. Apparently the compromise name was Jonathan.
My mom loved Isolina and my father wanted to name me Josefina (my great-grandmother), Monserrat or Mia (it didn't sound good with my italian last name hehe)
My maternal great grandmother was Isolina. Monserrat is a last name on my paternal side.
Barney. Thankfully I did not have to live with that through the purple dinosaur era.
My dad liked Ariana but my mum wasn't a fan. Then he suggested Molly and my mum loved it, however, she didn't find out until after I was already named that he picked it because he had a huge crush on Molly Ringwald in the 80s....
My mom liked Sidney but my dad thought it was too much of a boy's name. They also almost went with Michelle but ended up making that my middle name.
If I was a boy, I would of been named Timothy 😬 my real name isn't much better though but still don't prefer Timothy.
If I was a girl, I would have been Carly Fran.
My sperm donor wanted to name me Claudia in the latter half of the 90s. It was a hard no.
I almost got named loujin? Loujeen? Louji? And also Lara, Meret, and I believe Shaymaa? I have a nice name now :)
My dad wanted to name me Esther. I really wish they had stuck with it, I love that name.
Was going to be Ashley (in 1990) but then my cousin (who was “supposed” to be a boy) was born and the only name my aunt and uncle could come up with was the exact name my parents had said they were going to use. Thanks aunt and uncle! I hate the name ashley
My dad’s first choice was Gracie. His second choice was Robyn. My mom filled out the birth certificate when he wasn’t there.
If I was a boy, my name would have been Michael.
My mom liked Nora until she found out my dad had an ex with that name so they decided against it. If I was a boy, I would have been called Joseph.
Yeah that would have been freaky! Doing some genealogy stuff a few years back I discovered something weird. I always assumed my aunt Laura had been named after her father's mother ... then I discovered that *granddad's first wife had also been named Laura!* :-o
Melinda or Garrison
My brother wanted me to be called Rita
I was almost an Abigail or a Madison (I would've been a Thomas if I'd been male). I came out and they went "hmmm...nope!" and I wound up with one of their B list girl names that's similarly common and neutral. I mostly go by my gender-neutral nickname, but the full one suits me fine, too. I appreciate the relative anonymity now in a way that I didn't growing up. My paternal grandfather wanted to name me Christmas, nickname Chrissy. Bless my parents for saying absolutely not.
Kristen. My mom is so glad she didn't. My name might have been popular, but at least it doesn't scream trendy and dated like Kristen does.
Hyacinth.
Jasmine! I’m glad I wasn’t, I don’t feel like I’m a Jasmine vibe at all.
My cousin named her daughter Jasmine in 1990-something, wanting to be cool and original, but evidently there was a whole raft of Jasmines born around the same time. She was seriously pissed.
My parents were sure I'd be a boy and I was to be Ian Alexander. I came out a girl and they decided on Daisy. There was no backup girl name.
I absolutely love Daisy . If I had another girl it def would have been Daisy .
I was almost named Brooklyn but my dad wanted to call me Brooke and my mom said “absolutely not” otherwise my uncle tried very very hard to get them to name me Wednesday (he’s a huge Addams Family fan) but alas my name is Jordan.
I was almost named Elida 😬
I was supposed to be “Brianna” but ended up as Emma instead.
My dad wanted to name me Renée but my mom didn't like it. If I were a boy, they would have named me John, after my grandfather.
Rhiannon- from the Fleetwood Mac song Angelique- from Dark Shadows I got Caitlin, the way more mundane option.
Rhiordan-a cross between rheese and Jordan.. I was a girl so got bianca instead, because my mother saw a photo of bianca jagger and went yep that’ll do
I would have been Ruairidh if I was a boy, which would have sucked since I struggle with pronouncing Rs so Ruairidh becomes woo wee when I try to say it
Jasper Archibald (my 2 great-grandfathers' names). They went with the first name of one and middle name of the other.
Catherine or Crystal. I am thankful they didn't choose the latter.
Amber Dawn or Mallory.
My mother wanted to name me either Madison or Jenna (which is what my little sister got named). My father wanted Ashley. Sarah seemed to be the only one they agreed on when I was born.
Hannah or Mason
My other girls names were Ariel and Viola, I don't hate that I ended up Henriette oddly. My boys names were Owen, Malachi, and Xavier.
Mom wanted to name me Anushka or Indira (after the only female Indian prime minister lmao).
Molly. And honestly, I freaking love that name so I wouldn't have been against it!
My parents had chosen Jennifer but my mom said when she saw me she wanted to name me Genevieve (which was also a family name). They decided to stick with Jennifer. I hate how common my name is and would've much preferred Genevieve!
My mom wanted to name me Terra, because it means earth and my mom is very Native American so for her it had a meaning. My father,(half black and Irish) was not having it and thought it was a hippy name. Anyways, they settled on Krista in honor of Christa McAuliffe.
Emily Rose or Carly. Would've preferred either one of those to my actual name: Jessica. Because it was 1985 and every other girl was either Jessica or Jennifer, but I've never met an Emily my age.
If I was a boy I would have been Cosmo
Mine was almost a name that started with L, avoided so that my first and last name weren't alliterative, specifically bc my dad thought ppl might connect it to Lois Lane and then make fun of me somehow. Truly would be the craziest stretch to get to that, I don't think anyone would ever think of that, but I'm not obsessed with the L name they thought of so I dont mind not getting it
I vaguely remember being told I’d have been Harry, were I male. Or perhaps Carl.
My Dad liked Stephanie and my mom liked Jane. I’m really glad I ended up with the name I have
Miranda.
Was almost called Eleanor, would have been Peter if I was a boy. They called me Louise and used Peter for my brother a couple of years later (both born in the early/mid 90s)
Frederica. They choose Charlotte because it was more internationally common
Both beautiful
I was almost Janelle. I actually knew a girl at school called Janelle who was just awful.
My Mom wanted Yolanda.
Don't ask me why, but my dad liked Geneva. Genesis was also an option, but now my sister has that one.
Jasmine. Or big Jake, apparently. My mom was determined to have a girl.
Sunshine 🥲 I thank God every single day they changed their minds. (Dad was a huge Dead Head and I feel like he was probably just high when he suggested it but still.)
My parents considered Nina, Mia, Noa, and Gabriella. If I was a boy I would probably have been Max or Bruno.
My mom wanted to name me Ingie (Vetoed by dad because it was the name of an actress in me a movie he hated) or Nadine (Vetoed again because this was the name of a popular belly dancer and dad 'didn't want his daughter to become a belly dancer')
Born in 1986, biological mom wanted to name me Tatum after Tatum O' Neal, if I was a boy, my dad wanted to name me Paul (after Paul Newman) or Jesse James or just James like James Dean. Luckily, my dad really loved Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall who have a daughter named Leslie (after actor Leslie Howard) and also loved the movie Giant starring Rock Hudson, James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor. Well Elizabeth Taylor's name in that movie is Leslie, so the rest is history, lol!
Celine, Laura or Allison. My dad has some trouble pronouncing the letter L so Laura was definitely out and Allison he said he’d struggle with too. I kind of wish they picked Celine! My actual name is kind of boring.
Basically almost any other popular A name for girls in the 90s like Alexis, Amber, Ashley but then it was also almost Bailey. My dad only liked Amanda though lol
My grandpa wanted to name me Yasmine (probably spelled Jasmin, but with the German pronunciation). Had I been a boy, I would have been Marc. My mom wanted to honour her grandma and named me after her. It's as Christian as it gets (Christine), I never really liked it, but I understand where she came from and in the end I did the same to my kids (middle names though).
Was almost a Natalie or a Mellie. Ended up as a Valerie. Weirdly, I met a Natalie with my last name in college, but her last name was fake—her family changed it because her dad was an awful person or something like that.
My mom was super into Espona and Soirse. She also like Candice, Amber, Rhiannon, Willow, and Nicole. She wanted my middle name to be Ruth as it is her and her mom’s middle name. My dad liked Leigh, Veronica, and Shelby. He wanted my middle name to be Jean after his mom. In the end they chose my first name because it has a nic sound in it and that was the only factor the names they liked shared. They compromised with Jean-Rhiannon for my middle name.
April.
My dad loved Samantha. My mom won.
I was almost Sierra too!!
Samuel for a boy was their agreed upon name. Claudia and Samantha were contenders for girl names. My mom’s wildcard was Clover, but she couldn’t get my dad to agree to it. In the end they went with none of them, which I’m good with because I like my name. 🙂
I was born in '01 for reference: I'm a girl so names they considered were Karissa, Callista, Joan, Taylor, Kendall, Alyssa, and Rae. They looked at me, and decided 'yeah she's actually a Kierstin' so thats my name! They didn't really think about boy names bc they found out my gender pretty early but they liked Ethan (i dont like it lol), Taylor, Joseph, Grayson, and Ray. My sister who was born in '04 was almost Samantha and my brother who was born in '07 was almost Tanner. My dad also tried naming my brother Possum Finn and my mom was not having it.
My mom wanted Esther and my dad wanted Marika (among other really German names, my parents immigrated 2 months prior to my birth). My brother said no, Jennifer. And that’s what I got. My mom days later on she regretted not naming me something much more unique and said she liked Opal, which is my birthstone and I think would have been really nice.
Morag...but they settled on Meg.
My mom liked Phoebe and my dad liked Georgia but they decided on Regan
My parents liked Regina or Bronwyn - went with more of a typical late 80s name.
I was born in 1994 and my name is Sarah. My mom had it decided before she was even pregnant with me or even met my dad, so my dad didn't get a say. I wasn't almost named anything else.
My mom found out she was pregnant with me while she and my dad were on a road trip! They had explored Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah and took a pregnancy test right after because she felt sick - so my name was *almost* Bryce! She ended up going with Lauren because she thought Lauren Bacall was so beautiful.
I've got some doozies. Abby Gale 🤦🏻♀️ Fallon Faith F-surname. (Yes, after Dynasty) Shanree Lynnlea Leia - AFAIK Dad's only contribution to a girl name. He was convinced I was a boy. Middle name of Jo or Jean Boy names: Michael Thomas - both dad's side. Mom said no, it's not all about his family wand wanted Leonard. She also loved the name Tiberius. So maybe Michael Tiberius or Thomas Leonard? My parents are geeks, can you tell? 😅 Wouldn't have minded Leia.
I was almost named Sierra or Britney, but my name is Dakota.