The Name Game

Since the day we started telling people we were expecting I’ve gotten the same question – do you have names picked out? And we do - but sometimes I worry about telling people the names at this point. I know that may sound funny but I hate when I tell someone a name I like and they turn around and use it.

Here’s a little background to explain. A woman I used to work with did that to me. My favorite girl name has always been Hannah. I’ve wanted to use that name for my first daughter since I can remember. We were talking about baby names one day and I mentioned I loved the name Hannah and maybe Michelle for the middle name. A few months later she was pregnant and named her daughter Hannah Marie. I was shocked because she never mentioned liking that name during our conversations. I still thought “oh well, we’re not close friends so I can still use that name.” Then a woman I go to church with got pregnant about 3 years ago and what name did she use? You guessed it – Hannah. So I’ve come to the conclusion that I will not be using that name until at least a second daughter (good Lord willing).

That being said I think my favorite girl’s name at the moment is Olivia. I like the name in general and I even like the possible nickname of Livvy. DH and I are a little at odds on the middle name – I like Anne and he doesn’t – so we’re still deciding there.

Boys names are a different story. I’ve never really had a favorite so it’s been hard for me to come up with anything really great. So far we’ve had a lot of discussion on boy’s names and it’s come down to two. DH’s favorite for a while was Liam, which I didn’t like at first but the more we talked about it the more it grew on me. We were watching TV the other day and heard the name Aidan, which I instantly liked and the more DH heard it the more it became his favorite.

So that’s what it comes down to. For a girl it will be Olivia and for a boy it will be Liam or Aidan. But of course we won’t know that for a couple more months.

** If any of you would like to weigh in on this, give me your opinion, or tell me your baby name stories I would love to hear them!