Those are two of my rules, another was not to assume your child will be attractive, could an unattractive person still carry the name?
Why did you pick out the names you used for your children?
- Thread starter Kitty 34
- Start date
Well, definitely not uncommon! Who knew there were so many spellings of Katherine! Do you call her Catherine or Cate?I wanted classic name that wasn't everywhere but not too uncommon either. I wanted her middle name after my Grandmother, Grace, so it had to flow well with that. My mother wanted me to use my middle name which is also her middle name but I nixed that very quickly- I don't like my middle name and actually dropped it when I got married and now use my maiden name as my middle name. She was fine since Grace was her mother. We chose Catherine Grace and I still think it is a beautiful name. I decided last minute on which way to spell her first name. I love cats so chose the C instead of the K.
#1 - a version of Mary/grandma
#2 - FIL/my dad
#3 - great aunt/pretty name
#4 - great grandmother/great grandmother
#5 - great grandfather/great grandfather
looking at ancestry.com, our families were both big on family names. Four of my kids have the same names as four kids in my grandmother’s family (they had eight, I had no idea).
#2 - FIL/my dad
#3 - great aunt/pretty name
#4 - great grandmother/great grandmother
#5 - great grandfather/great grandfather
looking at ancestry.com, our families were both big on family names. Four of my kids have the same names as four kids in my grandmother’s family (they had eight, I had no idea).
Wendy31
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2005
Short Version:
DD - 1st name is my favorite girl’s name, middle name is a family name
older DS - 1st name is my favorite boy’s name, middle name is a family name
younger DS - 1st name goes well w/ DD‘s & older DS’s names, middle name is a family name
Longer Version:
Our DD is our firstborn, & her first name is my most favorite girl’s name & the name I have loved for years & years, even before DH & I were married.
Thankfully, DH liked the name too because our DD was always going to be named this.
It’s classic & has been around forever. It’s both a historical & a literary name. It’s 4 syllables, & she’s always been called by a shortened form of the name which fits her perfectly.
Her middle name is my younger sister’s first name & is 2 syllables. Looking back, I really wish I had combined my mom’s & DH’s mom’s middle names for her middle name.
For our older son, his 1st name has always been my favorite boy’s name, &, like w/ DD’s name, I have loved the name for years & years. So, again, thankfully, DH liked it as well.
It’s another classic & has been around forever. It’s a historical name, but, unlike DD’s name which has always been a standard classic for decades, his name was more popular in the 1980s & 1990s than it is now & in the early 2000s when he was born. It’s 3 syllables, &, like DD, he’s always been called by a shortened form of the name.
His middle name is my maiden name & is 2 syllables.
W/ our younger DS, we had a harder time coming up w/ his name.
I wanted his name to go well w/ DD’s & older DS’s names, so I even looked at sites where, instead of just baby names, good names for siblings were also listed.
Originally, a 2nd son‘s name was always going to be Craig, & the middle name was going to be Matthew. However, Craig didn’t fit well w/ BOTH DD‘s AND older DS’s first names, DH didn’t lIke it very much, & Craig can’t be shortened. Additionally, Matthew is not a family name.
In order to match DD’s & older DS’s names, it had to be a longer name which could be shortened w/o changing the spelling (i.e., I didn’t want something like ”Dave” for ”David” because you’re changing the initial spelling when you add the ”e” unlike, “Josh” for “Joshua” when you‘re just taking the “Josh” from the initial name, if that makes sense). (As an aside, I really liked the name Joshua, but DH has a cousin w/ that name already.)
It also had to be an older, classic name, &, after doing research & realizing both DD’s & older DS’s name have English origins, it needed to be primarily English as well.
We had 2 contenders - one was 3 syllables & one was 2 syllables. DH & I both liked the sound of the 3-syllable name better, but I liked the meaning of the 2 syllable name better. (Meaning was important to me, because I really liked DD’s & older DS’s name meanings.) But I could NOT decide! When decorating our babies’ nurseries, we always purchase wooden letters that spell out their names, paint them, & then hang them in their rooms. DH was painting the room, & I went to Hobby Lobby to get a few things. I strolled over to the wooden letters, &, as I was looking at them, I just realized that his name needed to be the 3 syllable one. I came home w/ the letters & gave them to DH who said, “So we’ve made a decision.”
Like DD & older DS, he is called by a shortened form of his first name. His middle name is DH’s younger brother’s name & is 2 syllables.
So, in summary, our kids’ 1st names are longer, classic, traditional names that have been around forever - but they’re not over-used either. DD’s name is distinctly feminine, & DS’s & younger DS’s names are both distinctly masculine. They have the standard spellings, & each go by a shortened form of theIr names. Their middle names are family names.
One of my all-time favorite memories was when we were in DIsney World. DD was 12, older DS was 11, & younger DS was 3. We were there for the Halloween Party & were dressed like Mouseketeers, so the kids had on white shirts w/ their names in black letters on the fronts of the shirts. They were standing in the middle of Main Street in front of the castle, & I was taking their picture. After I had finished, an older lady came up to me & told me that she just had to comment because she & her husband had named their 3 kids the same names, & their 3 kids were in the same order: DD, DS, & then a younger DS. Her kids were grown, & seeing our kids had made her smile. And, then she said, “Enjoy! It goes fast!” And, yes, it does! Our kids are 20, 18, & 10 now...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Oh, & my current 2nd favorite girl name is Claire. But, now w/ our “name rules,” I couldn’t use it. I’ve tried & tried to come up w/ a name that shortens to Claire. So I guess it’s good that we’re past the baby naming stage.
DD - 1st name is my favorite girl’s name, middle name is a family name
older DS - 1st name is my favorite boy’s name, middle name is a family name
younger DS - 1st name goes well w/ DD‘s & older DS’s names, middle name is a family name
Longer Version:
Our DD is our firstborn, & her first name is my most favorite girl’s name & the name I have loved for years & years, even before DH & I were married.
Thankfully, DH liked the name too because our DD was always going to be named this.
It’s classic & has been around forever. It’s both a historical & a literary name. It’s 4 syllables, & she’s always been called by a shortened form of the name which fits her perfectly.
Her middle name is my younger sister’s first name & is 2 syllables. Looking back, I really wish I had combined my mom’s & DH’s mom’s middle names for her middle name.
For our older son, his 1st name has always been my favorite boy’s name, &, like w/ DD’s name, I have loved the name for years & years. So, again, thankfully, DH liked it as well.
It’s another classic & has been around forever. It’s a historical name, but, unlike DD’s name which has always been a standard classic for decades, his name was more popular in the 1980s & 1990s than it is now & in the early 2000s when he was born. It’s 3 syllables, &, like DD, he’s always been called by a shortened form of the name.
His middle name is my maiden name & is 2 syllables.
W/ our younger DS, we had a harder time coming up w/ his name.
I wanted his name to go well w/ DD’s & older DS’s names, so I even looked at sites where, instead of just baby names, good names for siblings were also listed.
Originally, a 2nd son‘s name was always going to be Craig, & the middle name was going to be Matthew. However, Craig didn’t fit well w/ BOTH DD‘s AND older DS’s first names, DH didn’t lIke it very much, & Craig can’t be shortened. Additionally, Matthew is not a family name.
In order to match DD’s & older DS’s names, it had to be a longer name which could be shortened w/o changing the spelling (i.e., I didn’t want something like ”Dave” for ”David” because you’re changing the initial spelling when you add the ”e” unlike, “Josh” for “Joshua” when you‘re just taking the “Josh” from the initial name, if that makes sense). (As an aside, I really liked the name Joshua, but DH has a cousin w/ that name already.)
It also had to be an older, classic name, &, after doing research & realizing both DD’s & older DS’s name have English origins, it needed to be primarily English as well.
We had 2 contenders - one was 3 syllables & one was 2 syllables. DH & I both liked the sound of the 3-syllable name better, but I liked the meaning of the 2 syllable name better. (Meaning was important to me, because I really liked DD’s & older DS’s name meanings.) But I could NOT decide! When decorating our babies’ nurseries, we always purchase wooden letters that spell out their names, paint them, & then hang them in their rooms. DH was painting the room, & I went to Hobby Lobby to get a few things. I strolled over to the wooden letters, &, as I was looking at them, I just realized that his name needed to be the 3 syllable one. I came home w/ the letters & gave them to DH who said, “So we’ve made a decision.”
Like DD & older DS, he is called by a shortened form of his first name. His middle name is DH’s younger brother’s name & is 2 syllables.
So, in summary, our kids’ 1st names are longer, classic, traditional names that have been around forever - but they’re not over-used either. DD’s name is distinctly feminine, & DS’s & younger DS’s names are both distinctly masculine. They have the standard spellings, & each go by a shortened form of theIr names. Their middle names are family names.
One of my all-time favorite memories was when we were in DIsney World. DD was 12, older DS was 11, & younger DS was 3. We were there for the Halloween Party & were dressed like Mouseketeers, so the kids had on white shirts w/ their names in black letters on the fronts of the shirts. They were standing in the middle of Main Street in front of the castle, & I was taking their picture. After I had finished, an older lady came up to me & told me that she just had to comment because she & her husband had named their 3 kids the same names, & their 3 kids were in the same order: DD, DS, & then a younger DS. Her kids were grown, & seeing our kids had made her smile. And, then she said, “Enjoy! It goes fast!” And, yes, it does! Our kids are 20, 18, & 10 now...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Oh, & my current 2nd favorite girl name is Claire. But, now w/ our “name rules,” I couldn’t use it. I’ve tried & tried to come up w/ a name that shortens to Claire. So I guess it’s good that we’re past the baby naming stage.
Last edited:
I think I just always liked the names for DS-1 and DD. I don't really know why for DS-1. DD probably got the idea from liking a particular author.
DS-2 was picked out by my older DS (he was 6 at the time). I was pregnant with twins and heavily influenced the choice for DD but let him pick the name for his brother. The name was reasonable, so we went with it.
ETA: Middle names for the boys are DH's and FIL's first name (same name for both boys). Because of that, I decided to do MIL's name for DD's middle name, it is also my best friends middle name. (I didn't think my mom's name or any part of my name goes with the first name we chose for DD)
DS-2 was picked out by my older DS (he was 6 at the time). I was pregnant with twins and heavily influenced the choice for DD but let him pick the name for his brother. The name was reasonable, so we went with it.
ETA: Middle names for the boys are DH's and FIL's first name (same name for both boys). Because of that, I decided to do MIL's name for DD's middle name, it is also my best friends middle name. (I didn't think my mom's name or any part of my name goes with the first name we chose for DD)
SC Minnie
I'm no quitter - Are we there yet?
- Joined
- May 18, 2001
She goes by Catherine, no shortened version.
I actually like Catherine with a C best, but not when going by Cate/Kate.
Our children were adopted when they older so we did not feel comfortable changing their names and their birth names were good names. However when we got a dog I got to name her since I did not get to name our children. LOL So when I yell at her the neighbors think I am yelling at a child, Isabella Marie quit eating that, Isabella Marie get in the house.
soccerdad72
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2012
We just liked the names. Our older son's middle name is my FIL's name, but otherwise, none of our names have a family tie.
luvsJack
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2007
We had a little girl in our daycare whose name was Catie. It wasn't shortened from Catherine, just Catie. At the time a popular children's books was Catie Caterpillar . So of course she became "Catie Caterpillar" for the 4 years she was there. She was a sweetie.
mumto3girls
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2008
My middle daughter’s name is just plain Kate. Both DH and I loved it and couldn’t agree on a longer version. We both liked Kaitlyn, but it was too common. He preferred Katherine and I preferred Kathleen so we just named her Kate.
Doesn’t keep teachers/coaches or parents of her friends from calling her Kaitlyn though. She says it happens all the time. We did call her Katie when she was little, but she prefers just Kate.
DH feels strongly that nicknames shouldn’t be formal names, son3 of them go by nicknames that aren’t on the birth certificate (2 are obvious, 1 is a completely different name which is starting to become problematic with resumes, banking, etc.). We’ve always called them by the nickname and everyone else does too. Dd had a scholarship written out to Kathleen, since no one seems to be named that anymore she was confused (and forget about Kathy).
Christine
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 31, 1999
I can't tell you why but I feel like your husband. I just feel really strongly that your given name should not be what was once a nickname/shortened version. My friend has two siblings. His mother named both the boys formal names (Thomas and Michael), but the daughter was name Betty. Not Elizabeth. Not the end of the world, I know. I'm not sure why it bothers me and I'm trying to get past it!!!
mumto3girls
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2008
I’m kind of with your DH on that. I would have preferred a more formal first name. She is the middle of my 3 girls and the other 2 have 3 syllable first names and their nicknames are the first syllable of the name. Her name doesn’t seem to go well with the others. I still love the name though. And it suits her well.
My mother had an unexpected pregnancy when I was 10 and my brother was 6. He decided that the new baby should be called Comanchero!
We do still call him that from time to time!!!
(For our UK viewers my brothers are Phil and Grant. Thank the lord they didn't call me Samantha)
We do still call him that from time to time!!!
(For our UK viewers my brothers are Phil and Grant. Thank the lord they didn't call me Samantha)
tcufrog
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2012
You just reminded me that my DH's older brother actually named him. Apparently, everyone was clustered around my husband debating about what to name him. His older brother came up and matter of factly said, " His name is ____" and that was that. DS12 actually chose DS8's middle name. My DH was going through an ancient Rome phase and wanted to choose the middle Augustus and nickname him "Gus" which my older son and I absolutely hated. I liked Aiden until I realized how popular that name was. My older son wanted to name him "Adam" after President John Adams. My older son won because DS8 was born on President's Day.
eileenjez
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2008
We sort of had a family conference on our oldest DD's first name but I gave her the middle name filling out the BC at the hospital. Second DD we never really discussed names so I named her at hospital. First one's name is associated with pioneers while the second is more French, we're Irish and Eastern European, and is married to a Cajun. Both names worked out great with the husbands.
Being Irish my parents named us in the Irish way of parents, grands and other family members. My oldest DD has her kids with initials on AEIO, GTO,MNO but the youngest got MJO.
Being Irish my parents named us in the Irish way of parents, grands and other family members. My oldest DD has her kids with initials on AEIO, GTO,MNO but the youngest got MJO.
FlightlessDuck
Y kant Donald fly?
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
Daughter was named after a book character
Son's name was just, I dunno, picked. His middle name is my first name, which is has been a tradition in my father's side of the family going back at least 3 previous generations.
Son's name was just, I dunno, picked. His middle name is my first name, which is has been a tradition in my father's side of the family going back at least 3 previous generations.
FlightlessDuck
Y kant Donald fly?
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
YouTuber/Musician/CEO/Author Hank Green's actual first name is William. William Henry "Hank" Green II.
This has actually been a problem with him in the past with depositing or cashing checks
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