July 25, 2012

Finding Unique Baby Names

Oh my.  Don't get me started on the baby names.  Ok...I've already started.  And since my baby is almost three months old, I think it's safe to talk about this.  ;)

I will admit, I've been a little obsessed when it comes to naming my children.  Can you blame me though?  The name is something they will most-likely carry with them through their entire life.  My husband and I have had pretty specific requirements for the names we have chosen (ok..it's been mostly me, but he's in agreement).  And no, I didn't walk around with this list in front of me...it's just something that has grown and stuck with us through the years.
And for the record, we are not superstitious or religious...this is just for fun...and possibly because I'm an artist and a bit of a romantic.  :)

-  The name must be fairly unique - we are not the types to choose from the "top ten list of baby names of the year".
-  We lean towards older, more uncommon or unpopular names.
-  The first name, middle name and last name must flow together.  We consider spelling, syllables, sound and rhythm.
-  Each child must have their own unique set of initials.  Two of our four children have the same initials as us though.  
-  The name must flow with the sibling names.
-  It must have 'el' anywhere in it.  'El', stands for 'God', signifying that God is stuck to them like glue, wherever they go in life.
-  The name must mean something significant or be associated with someone significant.

Keeping up with our requirements came quite easy with our first and second child, especially since they were opposite genders.  But then when boy two and three came along, the naming got significantly more difficult.  I think I wrote down every "el" name that has ever existed when we were choosing a name for Abel.  Funny thing is, we've had his name on our list since I was pregnant with my first child!  We just kept shuffling it on down the line until it matched the right kid, I guess.

We've also always kept our names a secret until the baby was born.  We are quite aware that not everyone "approves" of the names we have chosen.  But isn't it true that the person makes the name, not the other way around?   I have never regretted any of the names we've chosen (obviously).  Their names just belong to them now, you know?

So, I guess I don't need to keep my favorite names much of a secret anymore since we're 99.99999% sure we're done having babies.  :)  (ok...I admit, I am still keeping my ultimate favorite girl name a secret *just in case*...lol)  So if you need any ideas for a unique name, feel free to use one of mine below.  Maybe I'll post the unabridged version when I have my journal in front of me.  It happens to be in the same room as a sleeping baby at the moment and I'm not about to risk waking that sleeping baby.  :)





Are you as obsessed with names as I am?



2 comments:

Christina Durksen said...

I felt just as obsessed as you. I wrote a whole blog post about names when I was pregnant, just to let off some steam! http://christinas7wonders.blogspot.ca/2011/12/whats-in-name.html

I like your criteria! I like your other names too - "Joel" especially :)...and "Bellamy" because it's the last name of the lead singer of one of my favourite bands: Muse.

Debbie said...

I just realized that Zeke has an EL in his name too- Ezekiel
:)