Okay, so there's no such thing as "Baby Fever Thursday". At least, not that I know of. I totally made it up.
But as you know, I have baby fever. Unfortunately, I need a boyfriend (or, if my mom is reading this, a HUSBAND, definitely a HUSBAND!!) to have a baby, and as we all know, I'm severely lacking in that department.
That doesn't mean a girl can't dream. And when it comes to baby names, I daydream about them often. I've been doing it since I was a little girl. I used to doodle baby names when I was bored, and even write up birth announcements for my future babies, back when I used to think I wanted twin girls named Bobbi and Billie.
(Yes. I've had baby fever for a long, long time.)
Today, I've been thinking about them an extra special amount.
First of all, my cousin Paula and her husband Jory had a beautiful baby girl on Tuesday. After the year this family has had, baby news is reason for great excitement and celebration. They named their new daughter Ryla Linda Margaret . From what my mom told me, "Ryla" is a combination of their names - "Ry" from Jory and "la" from Paula. Linda and Margaret are the grandmothers' names. Paula and Jory's unique name choice got me thinking about the names I've had picked out for eons, and re-examining them to make sure they're meaningful enough.
The same day Ryla was born, my friend Lindsay was sharing some of the "off-the-wall" names her hubby-to-be likes. I won't make fun of Ryan here by telling you what they are, but let's just say they were...umm...special. (And Linds and I both agreed that no baby should be named after a rapper! haha!)
Also adding to the "baby name fever"... Over at Mom2MemphisAndRuby, Lena answered my question about how she decided on her kids' names (which I think are totally unique and so cool). The post spawned a comment thread where other moms were sharing the reasons for the names they gave their children.
So that's my question to my readers today: Those of you who have kids, what are their names and how did you decide on those names? And for those of you who don't have children yet, what are your favourites?
Don't give me the "I'm not telling, I don't want someone to steal my name." We won't steal. PROMISE.
To prove this, I'm going to share a few of my names. One of my biggest fears is someone stealing my baby names before I get a chance to use them, so this is big for me to put it out there on the blog.
So here it goes...
My boy's name is, and always has been, Charlie, after my grandfather on my mother's side of the family. He passed away before I was born, but I remember being very young and hearing my grandma lament that none of her kids had named their own "Charlie". The closest I believe she got was my cousin Matt's middle name, and my cousin Chad. So I always swore someday I would have a Charlie for Grandma.
I got a little panicky when one of my best friends, Sara, decided to name her daughter Charlotte, but Sara assured me their girl would never be a "Charlie" and that one day, if I ever get my Charlie, she won't mind at all. (And I can't imagine Charlotte having any other name - it just fits her!)
At one time, I thought my boy would be Charles Cowan Brent - Cowan after my godson, and Brent after my dad. I still like that, but I'd be willing to consider others with my HUSBAND. ;)
Other boy names I like include Hayden (my sister ended this one, though, by naming her son Caden), Michael, John, Oliver, and Joel.
I could name boys all day - I love boy names. That's why I used to say I wanted six kids, and if they were all boys, I wouldn't care! (I've changed my mind about that since then, though! ha ha!)
But girl names are more of a challenge for me.
In recent years, I've changed my favourite girl name. It used to be Jaime Elizabeth Joan. This dates back to a high school trip, when I told one of teacher/chaperones that I wanted to name my first-born girl "Jaime Elizabeth", and she insisted I add "Joan" to it (her name), and I promised her I would.
But seriously, why would I name one of my babies after a teacher?? ;) Since then, I've come to really like two meaningful girl names. The first is Maribeth - a combination of my aunt's name, Marion, and my mom's name, Elizabeth. The other is Baylie. My dad's father's name was pretty neat, I think: Bay Turner. So I would take the "Bay" and turn it into "Baylie" for a girl. Middle names are still up in the air, but quite likely Hazel would be used for my grandma (even though my sister already used it with Danica!)
I do still like the name Jaime as well, and another favourite for a girl is Tayler.
(And deepest apologies to my Granny Young for not including her name in any of my future kids' names. Her name was Velva. I just can't come around on that one!!)
So there. I spilled. Now tell me all about your names - why you chose them; why you love them; would you change them?
GO! Feed my baby fever!!
21 comments:
ha ha aww...poor Velva Young! Don't worry I'll name my baby girl Vida Velva Woermke! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA I always loved the name Ruth (Ruthie) because ALOT of girls in my family have that name and Samuel (Sam).
I like hearing little boys called Sam but for as long as I have known, I refer "that time of the month" as Sam!
Well we don't have anything special about Maddy's name - Madyson because it was the ONLY name we both agreed on, even though it was a toss up between that and Jayla...anyhoo...I wanted Savannah but Hubby said it was too long of a name for when she started school and learned to write (Madyson is just as long)...anyways her middle name is Gail, after Hubby's mom who passed away when he was only 7.
I have a secret list on my computer and I keep adding names to it...I have always had a hard time choosing boy names but honestly, after reading some blogs, I have to say, I would steal some of their babies names (sorry)
Right now I am loving Amelia (but another friend informed me that was her girl name so I would let her have it seeing how she is pregnant now)...I am also loving Emersyn!
Boys...don't really have a favorite...but I have a unisex name that I am loving now that I would name a girl or a boy...Quinn!
DON'T STEAL THEM...I WILL HAVE ANOTHER BABY SOON...I hope :(
awww, I love this post. I can talk about baby names all freaking day.
I've always loved the name Piper, from the time I heard it on the TV show Charmed!!!! I was really happy and excited that Chris thought it was great name too. Piper's middle name is Colleen after my mom. I thought it would be cool to name Piper after my mom because my middle name is after my grandma. Now, my problem is finding a new girl name that I love just as much as I love Piper's name... some of my favorites are: Eliza, Ivy, Willow, Cordelia, Clover, Alice - Chris likes the name Alison and I have already veto'd it...I can't have a Piper and a Alison it just doesn't fit. Also, if we do have another girl her middle name will be Francine, after Chris' mom!
As for boys names.. I'm completely clueless... Chris has his heart set on the name Cole - which is a nice name, I don't have anything against it, I just don't love it and I don't think it has the 'it' quality like Piper's name. The boy name that I love is Dawson. And we have no idea what name we would use for a boy either.
We chose Emma because we both liked the name, it's biligual, and it can't be shortened into a nick name that would be used to make fun of her.
Her middle name, May, is after Waynes maternal grandmother who passed away when his mom was really young.
I've always said, if I have a boy, it will be Hayden James Gardell, to incorporate the grandfathers. Wayne's not to keen on that one, the middle names anyways.
I don't want to share the names we have picked for our baby, not because I'm afraid somebody will steal them, but because I want it to be a surprise for everybody. We have it narrowed down to a few for each, but I couldn't imagine picking a final name until we actually get to see the baby to know if it's going to suit him/her. We've got our middle names though, Ann if it's a girl because it's my middle name plus it's a tradition in my mom's family, and William if it's a boy because it's Chad's middle name. And I agree with you, it was much easier deciding on boys names than girls names. I think part of the reason was because Chad wants a boy so bad, he just kept rejecting all the girl names I came up with! Anyways, you will find out our baby's name in December!
ha ha Stacy, Amelia was a name I always liked, and it was my great aunt's name and we shared the same birthday, but I can't say for sure it made it to our list. ;) But my chances of having a Brownlee baby girl are about 2%, so you will likely get the chance to use it if you have another girl.
Okay, Priscilla, I give you permission to keep your name a secret ;) So much more exciting when we don't know ahead of time!
Ryan chose the name Cole and I was sooooooo not on board with it (not sure why this name was decided upon at the time?!), however, it's obviously grown on it. His middle name is Robert after my Dad and brother. I wanted to name him Connell, but we have a nephew named Connor so it's a little close.
I have loved the name Lauryn for such a long time and it was perfect for our little girl as my Mom's name is Laurel and Ryan's Mom is Robyn so we combined the two. Her middle name was Jae after my sister Meegan's middle name, her Godmother.
Future boy name is definitely James Ryan (reverse of Ryan's) and other than that we have none.
Is that a Canadian thing to give your child 2 middle names? I've always wondered what's the point of having a middle name... no one uses it... oh wait, in my case, what's the point of having a first name? I go by my middle name :).
And Mark's daughter's name is Victoria Lynn (Tori not Vicky for short) after Leathal Weapon, Mel Gibson's character's late wife. Mark got to name her and he loved that name. I told him if I have a child with him, I don't want my child going by a nick name or their middle name :)
I don't know if it's a Canadian thing, or just women who can't choose between names, or have more than one person they want to honour. My siblings and I all have one middle name (Kara Marie, Jillian Elizabeth, Luke Brent). A lot of people on my dad's side of the family go by middle names. I always just thought the middle name was to honour or pay tribute to a relative or someone meaningful. My Aunt Linda once told me to make sure my kids' had special middle names. She gave my cousing Paula the middle name "Kristine" just because she liked the name, and now wishes it was a family name instead. (But Paula does have a meaningful name anyways, as Dad = Paul, Mom = Linda, hence: Paula!!)
I'm loving hearing about all your name choices and reasons behind them. Keep it coming!! :)
I just remembered my other girl name from high school. It was Madelyn Hazel Grace (Hazel after Grandma, Grace is my mom's middle name) - but I chucked it after Stacy had Maddy, because my plan was to shorten her name to Maddy too! haha!
I love names, too.
Caden Christopher incorporated a name I liked with his Daddy's name. As I remember, we did not agree on Caden's name, as Chris had always wanted a Jonathan - but after going through a long labour - I won - lol....
Danica Hazel - a friend of mine happened to mention while I was pregnant that she had a Danica in her step dancing class and Chris and I both instantly fell in love with it, as other names we had chosen had been used by others or no longer seemed right. Hazel was my grandmother's name and would have been the only surviving great-grandparent when she was born.
We refused to use grandparents' names as we did not want two middle names and didn't want to pick one grandparent over the other.
Definiely keep the name a secret Priscilla - it is so much more exciting when the baby arrives.
I LOVE Charlotte with Charlie for short, and it's on my list of baby names. I've got a pretty good list of names, but I don't like thinking about it because I feel like I'm going to jinx myself, haha
I think boy names on girls are super cute... Charlie, Frankie, Max... I've even seen James on a girl and it's so cool {as long as it was paired with a girly middle name, I think}.
I wish I could have a ton of kids just so I could use some of my fave names!
Knox would be a top contender if we ever have another boy, and I really love Winona, Wednesday or Harlowe for a girl. For now. I always have a ton floating around!
I like it! I would maybe add to it and go with Lovelva. I like quirky and different.
I do the same thing!! :D
I wrote a list (I still have it) when I was 12 years old, of baby names (including ones I'd now never use, like Atreyu, Felicity, and D'Artagnon).
I like unusual ones which can also be shortened to be less wierd (like November, for a girl, and she can go by Em or Emma...or Onyx, for a boy, and he can go by Nyx, or Westerly for a girl, and she can go by West).
I really wanted to name a future daughter 'Rain' and a future son 'Bear', but apparently celebrities have done that now. Boo.
When we found we were pregnant with Walker! I remember telling Matt that i saw a name at a daycare that I thought was neat! I told him Walker and he said ya it different! And than, when people ask What we were naming the baby I said Walker, and never went back! Love the name! I tell Matt all the time we can't have a baby I don't like any names! He Jokes and says thats fine with him! lol...but I can see maybe a baby belly in 2012!
Thanks so much for all of your comments, everyone!! Loved reading about your names and the reasons behind them!
I had twins, so we had many combinations of names in case we had girls, boys, or one of each. Cara because it means my beloved in Italian (cara mia)then Marie after my aunt Rose Marie. Her twin brother is Simon (Shhh, don't tell Reggie...because I had a huge crush on this rich kid Simon when I was in high school and I loved that name ever since). James as my father and brother were both William James. Reg's dad's name is James although he went by his middle name, Gordon. I REALLY wanted him to be Simon James Arthur Best as my maiden name is Arthur. My mother in law thought it was too snobby, so I didn't and have regretted it ever since. (And she named her son Reginald Charles, that sounds snobby to me!!!)
Almost 10 years after the twins we had Olivia Margaret Irene Best. We had a list of names...Reg did his list and I did mine, but no name would have superceeded Olivia. I had chosen Olivia at about 5 months. I had an amnio and had been encouraged to abort my baby because of genetic abnormalities. I named her early because I loved her and was determined that no matter what was the matter we wanted her. I also liked Olivia on the Y&R. Margaret is after my grandmother and Irene is Reg's mother's middle name.
Livvie is just fine, so thank God we did not listen to the genetisist. They told me she could have had an identical twin sister with the abnormalities that had been absorbed or miscarried very early or the sample had mutated in the lab. Funny, but when Livvie was little she had an imaginary friend/twin sister she called Caitlin. We has Caitlin go everywhere with is!! I wonder if Livvie remembers that, I'll have to ask.
Thanks, Jill, for the good memories of when my kids were babies.
Nancy, thank you so much for sharing the reasons behind your names!! So interesting and fun to read about. This has to be one of my favourite comment threads ever on the blog! I keep coming back to it, re-reading my own post and everyone else's names and meanings. Love it!!
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