By Swistle
What’s amazing is that ANY two people EVER agree on a baby name. The entire population should be wandering around nameless, their parents still trying to agree on something.
Here are a few tricks to try if you’re stuck:
1. Both parents make lists. Switch lists. Circle any names you’re willing to consider on each other’s list.
2. If it’s down to a short list of finalists, each parent rank the names in order of favorite. More than one name can be in each rank—so, for example, two of the names can be tied for your first choice.
3. If it’s down to two names, one person might be talked into going with their slightly-less-favored name by getting more say in the middle name.
4. Use a book such as The Baby Name Wizard, which sorts names into categories. You may find that one of you likes mostly Antique Charm names, while the other likes almost nothing but Exotic Traditionals. Each person can then look through the other person’s category (much like going through the other person’s list in idea #1) and see if anything appeals.
5. The idea that the name must be PERFECT causes parents a lot of stress. If you do find a name you both consider perfect, that’s ideal—but a reasonable goal is satisfaction and agreement.
Did you and your significant other have an easy time agreeing on a baby name
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Help! We can’t agree on a baby name!…
Use a book such as The Baby Name Wizard, which sorts names into categories. You may find that one of you likes mostly Antique Charm names, while the other likes almost nothing but Exotic Traditionals. Each person can then look through ……
MePregnant | November 13th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Oooh, love Baby Name Wizard!! Enjoyed reading it so much. I think we would still have chosen the name that we did for our daughter, Meegan, but it was so helpful.
We are super-lucky: we tend to agree on matters of taste like foods, decor and baby names. We even have a future girl’s name lined up just in case!
Diane | November 13th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
We have always had a harder time with boy names than girl names. It was right down to the wire with our son’s name, while our daughter’s names we knew for months.
Nowheymama | November 13th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
daughters’
Nowheymama | November 13th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Thank god we have 2 girls and our boy is a Jr. That is the only boy name we ever agreed on, and only because it was non-negotiable for Hub. We’ve always agreed on girl names, though we still fight over #2’s middle name “Renee” which I love and he hates.
Saly | November 13th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I have also enjoyed the site nymbler.com lately. You type in up to six names you like, and the nymbler computer generates similar names based on origin, sound, popularity, etc. So, if folks aren’t agreeing, you could play with Nymbler, using 3 names from each person for each list of 6, and maybe something will pop up not on your lists, but that you both can agree on.
If all else fails, maybe you/I name this one, I/you name the next?
clarabella | November 13th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
My husband didn’t enjoy coming up with suggestions for names, but he had a pretty powerful veto thing going with my suggestions. The only way it worked for us was for me to keep suggesting names I liked until I came up with one he didn’t veto. I like Swistle’s idea of exchanging lists.
Susan | November 14th, 2008 at 2:22 am
How do you agree on a baby name? ASK SWISTLE. She’s the baby name wonder woman.
pocket | November 14th, 2008 at 3:23 am
My baby-naming trick was to get pregnant with a man of agreeable disposition.
He likes but doesn’t LOVE the name I’m attached to, but he’s more interested in me being happy than in having his own way. (This makes a lot of things in our life easier, as you can imagine!) I do feel a little guilty having bogarted the first name, though, so I’m letting him be the driving force behind the middle name (although I did have to use my veto on the name Rocketship because SERIOUSLY? ROCKETSHIP?).
Leah K | November 15th, 2008 at 12:04 am
We are currently trying to name our baby boy due in March and of course not agreeing to anything. We had the same problem with our daughter and actually only came up with her name as a result of an argument where hubby suggested it (sarcasticly) and a few days later we both found we were still thinking of the name and liking it. I plan to send Miss Swistle and email at her baby name site if we don’t agree on something for this boy by January.
Dawn | November 17th, 2008 at 10:11 pm