It’s a girl!
Growing up I always imagined myself as the mother of a little girl. My first born ended up being a boy and I ended up realizing the beauty of boy names! There are actually so many beautiful, gentle boy names that I love (which I will share in a future post!). I now might even find it EASIER to name a boy. I never thought I’d say that.
Of course, finding out my second born is a girl was a cause for excitement! Million dollar family, as they say! And since I’ve always dreamed of a girl, I had a long list of potential girl names years in the making. Perfect, right!?
Well, not exactly.
When it comes to naming a girl I want something beautiful but not too frilly. Not too cutesy. Not too weak. Not too princessy. But I don’t like boy names on girls. Not too common. But also not too hard to pronounce. Why does it feel so hard to find the PERFECT name?
In this post I’ll share the names I love and the challenges and dilemmas that are coming up for me. These tend to be common issues that come along with picking a name for either gender!
Names You Love But Can’t Use
I’m sure we’re all familiar with this. You had the perfect name picked out for years but your best friend just happened to choose the same name. Or maybe even stole it from you! Oooh, I can’t believe when that happens but hear about it quite often! Or for some other reason you just can’t use the name. So you have to accept it, sadly, and move on to new ideas.
For me the names I love and can’t use are:
- Meadow
- Tabitha
- Ivy
- Mabel
- Dahlia
- Moriah
- Summer
- Autumn
Names You Love But Worry About The Association
These are names where it’s not that you know someone with the name, necessarily, but it’s associated with a negative person/event/situation or even an overly popular movie character, celebrity, brand, or something you feel will prevent the name from being appreciated as it’s own unique thing.
For me these names are:
- Fiona (Is it too associated with Shrek?)
- Phaedra (Does the story in Greek mythology make it un-useable?)
- Calla (Does the fact that it means “Shut” in Spanish and even “Shut Up” in Spain make this one a no go?)
- Demi (Is it too associated with celebrities with the name?)
- Moira (Will people just think of Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek?)
- Cherith (I think it’s a biblical name, but I’m not religious)
Names You Like But Worry They Don’t Go With Your Other Child(ren)’s Name(s)
I love and have always loved nature names. Call me hippie. You’d probably be right. Just one problem: My first born’s name shortens into a nature name. And as hippie and eccentric as I can be, I kind of worry it might be “too much”.
Here are the nature names I love but wonder how well they fit with my son’s name:
- Forest
- Willow (This one also seems too common for me – yes, I’m wild about that)
- Sky
- Cedar
Names You Love But Worry About Pronunciation
My first born’s name always causes problems with pronunciation. I don’t find it difficult to say but I have noticed that even names I find to be really straight-forward cause issues. Do you know how many people can’t say Winona properly? My own father is one of them!
Here are the names I love but worry about people not pronouncing them correctly:
- Winona (I think I’d still use it, it’s really got to be only a few who can’t pronounce this one. It’s just too easy!)
- Acacia
- Soleil (I’m in Canada I think most of us know how to say this… but I would not doubt that I am wrong)
- Alma (I always hear people pronounce this as “Elma” which ruins it for me)
- Imogen (Speaks for itself)
- Briony
- Aura & Prairie (Are they like Aurora which some people describe as “peanut buttery”- like trying to talk with peanut butter in your mouth)?
- Kynthia (Would people always think it’s Cynthia?)
- Noemi (Would people always think it’s Naomi?)
- Esme
Names You Love But Worry They’re Too “Out There”
There are some names I love in theory but could I really use them? Are they too “out there” to actually use or can I pull it off? I really don’t know. Some of these names for me are:
- Cataleya
- Sekora
- Sequoia
- Tzipporah
- Augusta
- Octavia
- Morning
- Spring
- Fable
- Cenobia
Names You Love But Don’t Love The Nickname For Them
There are a lot of names that I like the full version of the name, but don’t love the nickname. The most classic example I can think of right now is Abigail. And sure, I could use the full version all I want- but can I stop what other people end up calling her? Probably not.
Here are some other names where I love the full version, but not so much the nickname:
- Tabitha (But not Tabby)
- Agatha (But not Aggie)
- Cynthia (But not Cindy)
- Cataleya (But not Cat)
- Magnolia (But not Maggie)
Names You Love But Worry About Their Popularity
There are some names I really like but I’ve always been one to like unique names. I don’t want anyone else in the same classroom with the same name. Preferably the same town haha.
Here are names I love, but worry they are getting too popular.
- Willow
- Ivy
- Hazel
- Maya
- Maeva (I think Maeve is getting popular)
- Lydia
- Rosie/Rosa/anything with Rose right now
It’s complex yet so fun!
Naming a baby can be a challenge- especially if you overthink it all as much as I do. BUT at the same time, isn’t it so fun? I love thinking about all the different possibilities. Even if I have concerns and dilemmas left and right, I am grateful for those concerns and dilemmas. It’s a great problem to have.
In the end, we all choose a name and our little one grows into that name and it becomes who they are. It can feel like a lot of pressure, but I think in the end it’s the essence of the person that makes a name most beautiful.
Happy naming!
If you’d like to check out more of my name lists and/or you are looking for a book of unique baby names to help with your baby naming journey, check out my book Baby Names That Are A Whole Vibe – available for sale on Amazon.
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