Essex Mums

Sorry if I got anyone excited but no, I'm not pregnant! Jon and I desperately want to start trying for another baby but we are trying to time it with the end of summer term next year (I teach), plus someone very close to me is having fertility treatment next month so trying to be sensitive.

We are probably going to start trying in September, so to tide me over until then I'm working on baby names! We aren't doing to bad with girls names we have a few we like, but I'm struggling with boys, probably because I just can't see myself having one. I generally like names that are either simple or slightly more unusual but not too 'out there'. I have real trouble finding names I like though, because I often teach naughty kids with a name I like and it totally puts me off the name!

Here are some of the girls names we are thinking of, any suggestions for either gender are greatly appreciated:

Grace
Beth
Isobel
Bella
Evelyn
Lauren
Juliett

Hmm, I'm going to suggest Nymbler again as it's really good for getting ideas. You can put in girl's names you like but search for boy's names if you want to: http://www.nymbler.com/

So are there any you can think of that you do like, just as a starting point? From your girls' names it seems you like pretty but not-frilly, fairly classic names (and obviously you already have a Sarah!), so boy's names I would think of as falling into a similar 'boyish but not macho, fairly classic' category, as well as being simple and slightly more unusual but not wacky would be things like:

Sebastian
Leo
Noah
Toby
Dominic
Nathaniel
Henry
Elias
Lucas
Dylan


Do any of those appeal? I tried to get a bit of a range so that we'd have more to go on!

Oh and for girls:
Annabelle
Audrey
Eliza
Alice
Eleanor
Matilda
Callie
Florence

Hmm, I like Noah. Possibly Alice or Annabelle. I tried the nymbler the other day with the name 'Grace' and it was coming up with some of the most random names, some of them were just objects! I really like the name Ava but Jon is not so keen.

Keep the ideas coming peeps!

KJ xx

Hmm, what about:

Jonah
Owen
Logan
Oscar
Jacob
Eli
Ethan
Reuben
Elliot


Adelaide
Phoebe
Lila
Hannah
Daisy
Georgia
Erin
Beatrice

For boys:
Charlie
Harry
Louis (said as Loo-iss or Loo-ee)
Reuben
Daniel
Jack
Samuel
James
Matthew
Bobby
Gregory
Scott
Percy
Edward
Freddy
Oscar
Oliver

Girls:
Lily
Laura
Ella
Emily
Lauren
Sophie
Estee
Rachel
Danielle/a
Natasha
Eva
Eve
Hannah
Francesca
Kimberly
Rebecca
Katie
Harriet
Anneka
Bethryn
Sian
Layla

Oh blimey lots there I like! That's really helped thank you. I like James, Ethan, Oliver, Logan, still really like Lauren. There are others there I like but that Jon isn't so keen on! I'll just have to get to the registry office before he does!


KJ x

Unfortunately Jon has just put a dislike next to almost all those suggestions, grrr. I think when we get pregnant I will just find out the gender then let him chose the name for the gender I know it isn't going to be, he is such a pain!

KJ xx

How about asking him to do a big long list of names he likes. At least 10 or 20 for each gender and see if you like any of them. If its him being fussy, it may be easier to get him to reel off names otherwise you'll go through hundreds with him saying no to them all. My partner was pretty much the same with boys names. We didnt agree at all, and the names we did both like, i didnt really like for a first name. Our son ended up being 3 days old before we agreed on a name!

I can tell you our very long and labourious but quite fun process if you want!

We are having the same thing, names i love he thinks meh ok and names he loves I think meh ok, can't win! Go on Louise, Indulge me, what is this method then?


KJ x

LOL! Louise - please time how long it takes to write out your name selecting method! It is excedllent and thorough and certainly comes up with the perfect names but i agree - it does sound very labourious!

Mike was unable to even discuss names before we got pregnant. he just found it too hard. once we were pregnant tho he was able to think about and like them but before. i don't know why. maybe he didn't want to get his hopes up - just incase?

Right (for Jenn's amusement strat time 15.59)

We started off by each going through the name books and writing down names we liked, regardless of how out there they were, whether we thought we'd definitely use them etc, just based on 'ooh, I quite like that'.

We then sat down with our lists and chose five each to put forward to a list of ten. We independently scored these either -1, 0 or 1 depending on 12 factors (I'll see if I can remember them all!)

In no particular order:
1. Gut feeling
2. Meaning
3. Popularity
4. Namesakes
5. Pronounciation (so taking into account other people getting it wrong etc.)
6. How it sounds with surname/other kids' names
7. Initials (so no BJ, IT, STD etc.)
8. Spelling (McKensie, Mackensie, Mykynsy etc)
9. How it sounds
10. How gender specific it is (obviously this is more important to some than others, but I wouldn't want a boy sounding name on a girl etc)
11. Is it too weird?
12. Nicknames

Once we'd done this we went through each one discussing what we'd scored them and why. It was interesting because it gave us more of an insight into each other's naming choices than just 'I like it' or 'I don't' and came out with some surprise winners.

We then arranged them into order according to scoring, then taking everything into account both scored them 1-10 ourselves, as we realised gut feeling still won out overall. It was good doing it like this as it meant we didn't just automatically rule out ones we'd previously said no to because we'd had more time to think about them with the scoring process etc.

THEN, we took the top four into a new round, added three more names each and did it again.

I think we did it twice with Felix and three times with Iris. With Felix it was really useful because Felix had been a name we both thought was okay, but I was gunning for Barnaby and Kester for Phineas so we both got kind of blinded by that. Actually sitting down and looking at the names made us think of them in a less emotional sense, whilst still taking into account which ones we loved etc. and Felix emerged the clear winner. We still toyed with the top five until birth but I think we knew it would be Felix from then on.

I do realise this is a really long-winded process and not everyone's cup of tea but we both really enjoyed it and it was a nice way of getting round the name stalemate that often seems to happen! I'm looking forward to doing it again!


(Finish time: 16:08)

Jon is going to love doing that! Well done Louise, 9minutes definately well spent!

Let you know how we get on,

KJ xx