I never thought I would be obsessing over baby names, but here I am having back and forths with my husband, numerous lists and well it's not getting any easier! I am starting to think that our baby will just be a no name for months. (Baby isn't here yet).
Duana maybe you can knock some sense into my husband and I, because this whole baby name thing is getting stressful. Without wanting to name our child something alienating I would like to try be a little different, but then, our favorite names really aren't so there you have it a big GD mess. The ONLY thing my husband and I do agree on is that we love old school traditional names think Maude (husband said hell no) Barnaby (I love but, maybe too try hardish?)
Anyway here are a list of other names I would love your input on:
Violet (goddamn Bennifer though)
Hazel ( I love but that amazing bitch Julia Roberts has that name so... too wierd?)
Maude
Mabel
Annabel
Euna
Felix
Harry
Barnaby ( I think I roll my eyes at this name actually)
Max (I know probably in the top baby names of 2010 to 2012 but I still love it)
Thoughts? S
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Every now and again, someone says they’re going to name their kid Eugenia or Friedrich and someone else freaks. The hell. Out. “They’re gonna be made fun of! They’re going to call him ‘Free dick’ or ‘You ream ee-a!’”
Naming culture has changed. Kids will be made fun of for everything under the sun, including their names – but not because they’re different than the others. Everyone’s name is “different”! Well, except for Sophia. You are going to have to work really hard to turn heads with a name, and even then, it’s the parents who are going to drop their monocles all “What do you MEAN you called him Virgil?” The kids don’t know the difference.
The problem I have with your list is you like names but you’re talking yourself out of them. Then, you’re casting about for names that have the same “feel”, but it’s causing you anxiety. I get it, but let’s get honest about some things.
It’s okay to like a name you’ve heard before – unless it’s not. But only you can know. Let’s separate these names into more and less familiar.
Annabel (which is medium popular, but still sweet) and Harry go here, as does Max. Violet and Hazel aren’t strictly popular, but they are bothering you because people have heard them before, and “know” where they came from. You wouldn’t be the first in your neighbourhood to have a Violet, because yes, in this case, Violet Affleck came first. Can you handle that?
I also want to make a distinction between having a Hazel like a famous person does, and having a Max, like a lot of people do. One is known in the world but not in your hood, the other is guaranteed to make your kid “Max Initial” at some point
Now let’s look at the “less popular” names you listed. Maude, Mabel, Euna, Felix, and Barnaby. All great names, but for the purposes of unusualness, Felix may be about to become the next Max; there are a lot of these in my inbox too, and with good reason -- it’s super, super cute and fresh. Barnaby doesn’t make me roll my eyes, plus there’s a bonus in that you can legitimately call him Barney. But if you hate it, why force yourself?
Maude and Mabel and Euna are one time old-lady names that are all ready for a revival. Maude would be my least favourite, because I always think of “maudlin”. But it would be chic and just right for a tween girl as well as an adult. Mabel gets me fairly neutral, and Euna is my overall favourite, I think – young enough for a kid and fun-sounding when others scream it across the playground, but passes the Supreme Court Justice Test.
So, which group of names made you feel more comfortable? Which was the one where you could actually hear your kid’s name fitting in? Personal preference says I’m always going to go with what’s rarer – that’s me. Barnaby would be my number one.
But if the only thing standing between you and Hazel is Julia Roberts?
…big mistake. Big. Huge.
