How important is _____________ when you name your baby?

[stiletto_mom]

How important are these factors to you when choosing names?
Please put them in order (most important at top).

- meaning
- popularity/uniqueness
- used by someone you know or reminds you of someone (you know or famous/infamous)
- spelling / length and complexity
- family's opinion
- initials
- sound and flow (with last name)
- "teasability"
- nicknames
- origin (reflecting your background)

If there are other factors I missed, please feel free to put them in the list (and bold them for discussion).

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I'll get the party started.

- meaning
- sound and flow (with last name)
- popularity/uniqueness
- used by someone you know or reminds you of someone (you know or famous/infamous)
- "teasability"
- origin (reflecting your background)
- spelling/ length and complexity
- initials
- nicknames
- family's opinion

Meaning is so important to me. I want to try my best to pick secular names (avoiding religious contexts). I want my boys names to exude dignity and strength. I want my girl names to be strong and elegant as well. Which leads into sound an flow. I like boys names with hard Ks. I like girls names that have Ls and end in As. I also tend to lean towards classic and old names.

That said, popularity and uniqueness is also very important to me. For boy's name I don't mind if it's in the top 100, but for girls I want it to be more unique (not in the top 100). Unfortunately, many of the strong boy names (that have a K sound in it) have already been used b our extended family (and some of them do not have very good "reps). I also prefer traditional spellings but length and complexity were not really an issue.

I tend to prefer English, Welsh and Scottish/Gaelic names (husband's background), though Celtic, Greek and Latin have also shown up in my baby name lists.

Teasability and initialling is not something I personally weigh very highly (as long as it's not something blatantly obscene), but I have family members who won't let me forget it, so it's become a factor to consider.

I don't really like the idea of nicknames. I choose a name for my child because that's the name I like. I don't want to shorten it, though I know it will be inevitable. I never choose names by potential nicknames, but I DO take nn into consideration. As long as I don't hate it.

Finally, family opinions. I am very opinionated myself. And my family knows better than to chime in. That said, we will be keeping our choice a secret until birth. It's better for everyone that way. =)

What about you?

 

[Noodlebear]

If I like it that's that. I'd consider whether a name flows well and whether or not it'd set my child up for a lot of teasing but the other things don't necessarily come into it for me, especially popularity - if I like a name enough to consider it a front runner for my child then how popular it is, is totally irrelevant. If how popular it was put me off then I don't think it was the right name to begin with.

 

[emyandpotato]

Couldn't be bothered to put them in order. I tried but it's quite difficult to weigh it all up so:

- used by someone you know or reminds you of someone (you know or famous/infamous) I wouldn't like to use a name someone close to me has just used but a name being the name of someone I know who isn't a baby wouldn't bother me. I probably wouldn't use a name just used by someone famous. I like Harper, for example, but wouldn't use it now.
- popularity/uniqueness I prefer a name to be unique but I guess popularity isn't the end of the world. It does put me off though. I like Sophie and Elizabeth and wouldn't use them due to their popularity. It's no fun sharing a name with 5 other people in your year. And yes I know Rory is popular but I didn't realise at the time.
- meaning Unless the meaning was something awful I don't think it would bother me. I certainly would never choose a name for its meaning.
- spelling / length and complexity Not bothered.
- family's opinion With LO it mattered a lot but I am certain that if our next is a girl she will be Nola and screw anyones' opinions because I love it.
- initials Obviously wouldn't want to spell something weird but not bothered about using certain letters or anything.
- sound and flow (with last name) Isn't the whole point of a name that it sounds beautiful?
- "teasability" Not really an issue. I adore the name Humphrey and silly nicknames wouldn't put me off, though I do prefer other names more so unless I have 5 boys I probably wouldn't use it.
- nicknames Not really an issue unless it shortens to something horrible.
- origin (reflecting your background) Don't really care.

 

[wannabemomy37]

- sound and flow (with last name)
This is the most important to me, as if it doesn't sound good with the last name I'd immediately cross it off my list. In my situation, any names that end with -on/-en/-an need to be crossed off as it just clashes way too much. This is upsetting to me as I love tons of these names like Mikaelyn, Gracelyn, Emersyn, Ryan, etc.

- nicknames
There are certain names I just LOVE but would never use just because of the possible nicknames; like Genevieve with nn Gen/Jen but on the other side I also LOVE the name Freddie but iffy on Frederick/Alfred (but definitely high on my list still)

- popularity/uniqueness
I tend to like more popular boy names and unique girl names. Just preference of what sounds good to me though. I love names like Rhielyn and Neveya but then again I also love names like Aaliyah and Evelyn. For boys I LOVE the name Xavier (X-avier) which is unique in my area, but I also LOVE Tyler and Jacob which are quite common.

-pronunciation
Names like Xavier - I LOVE it pronounced as X-avier but hate it as Zavier (because I feel it should be spelled as it sounds)

- spelling / length and complexity
I absolutely love "unique" spellings for girls names. I would take the simple "Riley" and make it "Rhieley" as that just seems cuter to me. But with boys I like to keep it pretty traditional. Although the typical "Grayson" I'd like to spell it "Greyson" or "Graysen"

- used by someone you know or reminds you of someone (you know or famous/infamous)
Exs names are off limits pretty much, and if my best friend used a name I liked I'd definitely find a new one, UNLESS it was one of my top 3 that are basically in stone. My cousin named her son the name I've always dreamed my little boy to be (Jaedyn) but now I am totally in love with the name Tyler (and went off Jaedyn purely because of her - we aren't very close.

- family's opinion
I like to take my family's opinion into consideration as sometimes they might have a valid point that I've never thought of before. I also wouldn't want to name my child something that my entire family would absolutely HATE. My family is pretty easy-going though, so I don't really have issues with them being completely turned off.

- meaning
- initials
- "teasability"
- origin (reflecting your background)
These things have NO importance to me when choosing a name. I went my entire life not knowing what my name's meaning is and I am just fine My initials are awesome but I don't care about initials so long as they don't spell STD or ASS which they won't with a surname starting with N Kids will tease/be teased about absolutely anything and I wouldn't let a name turn me off just based on the fact that kids can be cruel. I don't see any name that can honestly be teased simply because it's a name other than the ever-so-popular Richard nn Dick type thing but that's so common that it's not tease-able anymore

 

[Rhapsodi]

-family meaning- my husbands family hands down names. I didn't have anyone I was named after and feel like although I'm my own person looking up to people was difficult

-religious name- I want a name that has some historical significance in the church, a saint or characteristic that my child can look to for guidance

-popularity- I don't want something super popular (I was 1 of 5 in my grade of 52 kids) unique but not odd I like unique spellings but I'd rather have a unique name than weird spelling as getting asked how to spell it is annoying (my name has 2 main ways of being spelled even though one is more for girl and one boy I'm always asked and I hate it!)

-general meaning of a name- for example I like the name Blaise but once I found out it meant stutter I can't name my child that. There needs to be meaning

-lastly I won't pick a name that I just like. My parents did that and I hate it. I hate not having a true reason for a name just that they liked it

Ok so it all comes down to meaning...

 

[Fallacy]

To start things off, it's very important to me that our name choices are on the more...unique side of things. I won't purposely go out and search for unheard of names, but I don't want my child to be one of 5 in a class, for example. I was always one of two or three Nicoles growing up. That being said, I do love one very popular name, Sophia, but I would be wary to use it for the reasons listed above.

Meaning is important in maybe a different way - I don't usually look into actual meanings of the names at hand, but meaning as in what the name says to DH and I is important. For example, twice now we had a placeholder name for each of our children. For Micah, it was Liam. For Tobias, it was Nolan. But we didn't have that aha moment like we did with the names we ended up deciding on.

I want the sound to just be...strong, but not too harsh sounding. My last name is very much full of vowels, so I need to keep that in mind when naming too.

Nicknames is another thing I at the very least think about. I don't want Micah to really have the usual Mike or Mikey type nicknames. For Tobias, I don't mind Toby so much. Names are always begging to be shortened by everyone else, so it is bound to happen sometimes.

Spelling - I won't use a spelling variation. I'll go with what is considered the common form and that's it. Period.

Teasability - ...well, with unique and different names, which is what we like, that usually comes along with teasability. Don't get me wrong, I don't want my children to be teased, but sometimes, names will get teased even if they are quite common. Kids will be kids.

Initials - just don't want it to spell out a bad word or something that can be horribly teased. I tend to think of it even though first middle and last initials aren't used often together.

I don't care for my family's opinion. I used to, and would often cry when they didn't like a name I loved. They usually hate our taste and ridicule the names, so we aren't talking about what we are naming this baby (Tobias) until he is here. Harder to hate a name with a baby along with it. They hated Micah and love it now, couldn't see him as anything else.

DH and I don't care much for origin. We wouldn't use many Polish, Filipino, or Puerto Rican common names or any family related ones for the most part.


- popularity/uniqueness
- meaning
- sound and flow (with last name)
- nicknames
- spelling / length and complexity
- "teasability"
- initials
- family's opinion
- origin (reflecting your background)

 

[Jungleland]

Used by someone you know - not so much famous people but I'd never use a relatives or friends/friends child's name (my family is quite small though)
Popularity - I was in a class at school where the register went 'Nicola, Emma, Nicola, Emma'
Sound/Flow with last name - I'm not a fan of rhyming names
Meaning - sentimentality is quite important with some names
Spelling - if the child will be burdened with having to spell a long unusual name for the rest of their lives is a consideration
Teasability - not a major conscious thought
Family Opinion - don't think I'd announce the name til birth anyway
Initials - not a consideration
Origin - not a consideration

 

[NicaQ]

Popularity-Lack there of is extremely important to us. Our boy name was #904 last year in the US and our girl name was last in the top 1000 in 2004 (I'm really hoping it isn't going to be popular this year, or we might have to rethink it).

Sound/Flow- Very important for obvious reasons

Origin-We have a theme of Greek mythology...DH is Salvadoran and I'm Caucasian, so we do prefer names that can easily be said with Spanish pronunciation (the plan is for our children to be bilingual and it will help my mother in law feel more involved and comfortable). I'm not Greek, we're just nerdy.

Nicknames/Teasability/Initials- I'm putting these as the same. I don't really like nicknames, but I could live with a few. Certain nicknames would put me off a name altogether. I could never do a name with the nickname longer than the actual name. With teasing, kids are going to find something to tease you about if they want to tease you. Whether it's your name or that they think your eyes are spread too far a part. I'm going to avoid anything obvious, but I'm not looking for ways they could be teased either. For initials, we did cross out Olivia (even though has a lot of sentimental value) for a middle name with Calista because our last name is a Q. We are trying to not be mean haha.

Meaning-We love a strong meaning, and it is important to us. The boy names that we have picked out do have horrible meanings, but we have different connotations attached to the names I feel like and that they give off a different impression than what the meanings imply, so we're not letting that keep us from using them. I do love that Calista means "most beautiful".

Spelling-I don't want there to be a lot of confusion when seeing a name and wondering how to pronounce it, but I'm still going with what I like even though a lot of bnbers would mispronounce our boy name

Family Opinion-We care more what DH's family thinks than my own. My family has been hateful while DH's has been respectful when voicing their dislike for a name we're throwing around. My family's opinion isn't deterring us from what we like, but if his said that they would keep looking, we would. That said, either way we're going with what we like, and if our first child is a boy, we'll probably keep THE name under wraps until 3rd trimester.


Now you know more about NicaQ than you ever wanted to

 

[MrsKChicago]

- sound and flow (with last name)
- nicknames
- popularity/uniqueness
- spelling / length and complexity
- "teasability"
- used by someone you know or reminds you of someone (you know or famous/infamous)
- initials
- origin (reflecting your background)
- meaning
- family's opinion

Some of these are more tied than ranked in order.

Sound and flow is most important. I want a name that sounds good. We have a long, rare last name, so some names just sound weird with it.

Nicknames - I would like the kid to have at least one normal nickname. There are no nicknames for my name (Lindsay), it just gets randomly shortened to Linds, and it annoys me.

Popularity - I'm ok with something a little popular, but I have limits. We're considering Theodore for a boy, and that's about as popular as I'm willing to get, unless it's a name with lots of potential nicknames.

Spelling - Another Lindsay issue I've had - I would strongly prefer a name with one standard spelling (and pronunciation). I wouldn't rule out a name I love if that was the only issue, but I'd rather not do something that has to be spelled every time. I don't really care if it takes the kid an extra two weeks to learn to spell it herself, though.

Teasability - I wouldn't want to do something really painfully obvious, but I'm not going to rule out a million names just on the off chance that maybe it rhymes with butt or something

Used by someone I know - I wouldn't give a son my nephew's name, or my best friend's kid's name, but I wouldn't rule out every name that's been used in our social circle. I like the idea of naming a baby after someone, but it's not high priority for me. I have ruled out one girl name that I like because of a very very unpleasant relative with the name. I don't want anyone to think I was honoring her because she passed away this January. She wasn't a very nice person.

Initials - Our last name starts with K, so I wouldn't name a kid Francis Ulysses Caleb or anything, but if they happen to spell out an inoffensive word, no big deal.

Origin - It would be nice, in theory, to give our kids a name that reflects our origin. In practice, there are not many Lithuanian names that we both like and that fit our other requirements.

Meaning - Honestly, don't really care. It would be nice for it to have a nice meaning, but I think the everyday application of the name is more important to me.

Family's Opinion - Also don't care. If someone in the family pointed out that at one point there was a creepy Uncle Theodore who made all the girls uncomfortable on holidays, I'd reconsider, but I couldn't care less if mom just doesn't like the sound of it. She got to name her kids, I get to name mine.