What to do if I like no names??

[SpringCrane]

I'm really struggling with baby names this time. With my son (and we knew about sex) I had a few names I really liked, as did my husband, we discussed, and we settled on one on the way to the hospital.

This time... there isn't a single boy name I'd use without hesitation and only one girl option I would--and my husband doesn't love it.

I'm feeling very stuck! Any recommendations for dealing with a naming rut? We have a book we look through, we use online lists, we try "testing" a name for a day, we take breaks from discussing to get fresh perspectives... But I feel pretty much "no!" on everything, and at best I'm sort of "eh."

I really want to love a name and have no hang-ups with it!

 

[Amygdala]

Have you tried looking more systematically? Ie think about what it is you like in a name (traditional, cool, Greek roots, exotic, strong, cute...) and then either ask here for those things or google? Maybe you like certain sounds, like a -ia ending or names with a "th" in them...

If all else fails, think about someone you really admire and name baby after them?

I pinched the name of my youngest from a relative stranger I bumped into at a second hand sale. Heard it and thought "yep, that's the one".

 

[penelopejones]

Have you tried this namefinder tool?

https://nameberry.com/namehunter/

I'm finding it hard too (and did for my first as well). There are names I like but not many that I love, and those I do love my husband doesn't usually love either.... I wasn't 100% sold on my daughter's name when she was born, though, and now I love it and think if suits her perfectly.

What is your son's name? And are their any general characteristics you are looking for? More modern? More traditional? Many syllables vs. shorter names? etc. Maybe we can give you some suggestions.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I didn't like any names till I had any 3rd x

 

[kerrymom]

Wow, it seems like you two are doing everything you can to find the perfect name and will stumble on the right one any day now!

I feel like you with boy names. There aren't any that I really like. We had lists for our two girls but didn't decide until they were born and we got a good look at them. Maybe that could work for you- get a short list of names you like a lot, and then when you meet the baby one might stand out. It could take the pressure off finding THE name before baby gets here.

My husband loved Scarlet, but I wasn't too sure. It was on our short list and when she was born with a ton of dark hair (I have blond) it seemed to fit. The other names were more fitting for a blond, in my mind.

Good luck!

 

[SpringCrane]

Thanks ladies.

My son is Cameron James. I really liked that it could be shortened to "Cam" (which we call him about 75% of the time) or CJ, and that it's familiar but not overwhelming popular. I also like that the pronunciation and spelling won't be an issue for any reasonable English speaker. (My husband is Stephen and it gets mispronounced and misspelled very frequently. Makes me crazy.)

For boys, the names I like:
Milo
Max
Cooper
Jack
Reed

For girls:
Lily (the one name I'd use without hesitation)
Emma
Eleanor

My husband's list for boys:
Theodore
Jonathan
Benjamin

For girls:
Claire
Abigail
Mae

For my boys list, all the names have been vetoed by my husband, except Jack but he doesn't love it. I like it, but even if he agreed right now I'd still have to think about it. I'd consider going Jackson so Jack could be a casual name and he'd still have a full "business" name. Some others he and I are both iffy on are Daniel, Oliver, Archer, and Parker.

I really love the name Lily. My mom and I both have floral names (Laurel and Heather), so I love the idea of continuing that. He really likes Claire. I think Claire is OK, but I get stuck on Cameron and Claire being too matchy or something. I like Abigail, but it was my dog's name growing up (and he's vetoed Zachary/Zach for the same reason!).

I'm not sure if there's a method to the madness of the names that I like. I think I like "sweet" girls names--especially ones that lend themselves to an easier shortened casual version (Em from Emma, Lil from Lily, etc.) For boys, I like names just beyond traditional. I like -er, -o, and -x endings.

I like the idea of names that can be casually shortened and are unambiguous in spelling/pronunciation.

If it's helpful, we're more or less set on the middle name William for a boy and Reilly for a girl. (I actually LOVE Reilly for a girl's first name, but again, vetoed.)

 

[penelopejones]

It sounds like your DH's preferences for boys are just a tad more traditional than yours. Just throwing some out there...

Boys:

Alexander --> shortens to Alex, easy to spell, ends in -x
Arlo --> no short form though?
Baxter --> could call him Bax
Felix
Lennox --> shorten to Lex
Maddox --> shorten to Max?
Asher --> Ash
Dexter --> Dex
Xavier --> has the -x sound and ends in -er... but short form? Xav?

I like Theodore from your husband's list and it shortens to Theo (one of your -o endings).

William is a great middle name and goes well with a lot of first names, I think!

Girls:

There are lots of sweet names on the UK top names list for girls... it seems like maybe you and DH are closer in name preferences on girls, since his are kind of sweet and vintage-y and so are yours.

Lucy (Lu)
Eloise
Sophie
Maisy
Amelia
Ruby
Molly
Rose (Rosie)
Ivy
Clara

Not many of those go with Reilly though because they end in an -ie/y sound...

But, a lot of the names from your list and DH's would go together, like:

Emma Mae
Lily Claire

Maybe you could find a compromise that way?

 

[SpringCrane]

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I'll show him and we'll discuss!

 

[Amygdala]

Going by what you said, I can think of:

Girls:
Alice (nn Ali, Lizzie or even Lily!)
Penelope (nn Penny or Poppy)
Charlotte (nn Lottie)
Heidi
Daisy
Violet (nn Vi or Lettie)
Mary (nn Mae)

Boys:
Nevis (nn Nev)
Alistair (nn Al or Ali)
Lucas (nn Luke or Lou)
Leonard (nn Len, Leo or Lenny)

 

[george83]

It sounds like your DH's preferences for boys are just a tad more traditional than yours. Just throwing some out there...

Boys:

Alexander --> shortens to Alex, easy to spell, ends in -x
Arlo --> no short form though?
Baxter --> could call him Bax
Felix
Lennox --> shorten to Lex
Maddox --> shorten to Max?
Asher --> Ash
Dexter --> Dex
Xavier --> has the -x sound and ends in -er... but short form? Xav?

I like Theodore from your husband's list and it shortens to Theo (one of your -o endings).

William is a great middle name and goes well with a lot of first names, I think!

Girls:

There are lots of sweet names on the UK top names list for girls... it seems like maybe you and DH are closer in name preferences on girls, since his are kind of sweet and vintage-y and so are yours.

Lucy (Lu)
Eloise
Sophie
Maisy
Amelia
Ruby
Molly
Rose (Rosie)
Ivy
Clara

Not many of those go with Reilly though because they end in an -ie/y sound...

But, a lot of the names from your list and DH's would go together, like:

Emma Mae
Lily Claire

Maybe you could find a compromise that way?

I think lily Claire is very pretty and arrest compromise, growing up Claire was super popular where I'm from but not so much now so it would be a great choice for a middle name