What might you name your children?

[ryan]

Hi Margaret,
What fantastic names!! You and your family obviously have great taste

Ryan.

[wotty]

I would have named my sons after their grandfathers but Norman and Arthur seemed too cruel for kids of the 90's (no offence to any Normans or Arthurs out there).

Oddly enough one of my sons has a friend called Arthur (he's . Arthur's younger sister is called Edith and these names have grown on me.

I didn't set out to name my sons after any of my ancestors but number one son has the same first name as his ggggrandfather and number two son has his gggrandfather's name as his middle name.

I called my second son Sean because it was what I would have been called had I been male. My mum hates it but she was prepared to accept that because Dad's first suggestion was Seamus Patrick!

Wotty.

[Davy Boy]

My father was David Wright Smith, his father was Wright Smith and I have a nephew called Staurt Wright Smith. I thought that Wright was a unusual Christian name until I went to the churchyard where my grandfather is buried. I discovered there are a number of persons christened Wright in Kirkburton churchyard.
David

[Shaztoni]

My eldest son was named (his first name) after a great uncle who died a month before he was born STEPHEN his middle name was suppose to be AUGUSTUS but the registrar recorded it as AUGUST, he was baptised with AUGUSTUS though.
My youngest has his father's middle name PETER, and yet again we went mad with the middle ones calling him SEPTIMIUS, I do hope they appreciate it when they get older.

[Jaguare]

Naming kids is really difficult, because often family members feel that they have a right to offer their opinions, or feel put out if you choose to call your child after another relative.

I called my first son Jamie Lee, not necessarily after Ms Curtis but because it could be used for a boy or girl.  When it came to registering him my husband insisted that we register him as James so that he can choose when he is older.  I wasn't researching my tree at the time but have since found we have several James' in the past.

My second son is Ashley Mark, we rarely call him Ashley and would have just registered him as Ash, but again felt that it should be his choice.  I have also found a Mark in the family tree in the last year.

If he had been a girl I wanted to call him Lucy Clare after my great gran and my sister in law.

[KarenM]

My girls are Sarah Marie, Clare Elizabeth and Laura Ellen.  Their middle names are after grandmother's and great-grandmothers. 

If I had a boy I would of loved to call him Mick or Jack, I think they sound very strong. 

I feel sorry for children when there parents give them funny names that no one has every heard of.  Friends of mine just had a baby girl and I had to have him repeat himself about 3 times before I could say it properly and I still couldn't tell you right now what is was for sure.

Karen

[apanderson]

My three girls are called Gayle Elizabeth (the Elizabeth after both her grandmothers), Erin and Robyn.

Erin & Robyn are twins and at the time we were convinced it would be 2 boys or a boy and a girl. We had chosen Erin and possibly Gareth or Gavin for a boy (or both for two boys) but couldn't decide on a second girl's name. We ploughed through every 'naming book' we could find but nothing really appealed. It's bad enough picking out one or two names but when you have to cover umpteen options, anyone with twins (or more) will tell you -  it's a bit of a nightmare.

It was almost 'D-day' and I happened to be watching a programme on TV about Fred Astaire whose wife was called Robyn . . . . and the rest is history.

This was 21 years ago and unlike now, there were'nt very many Erins or Robyns about then!!!

You've probably guessed that we didn't even consider middle names!

Anne

[billy56]

Naming children is such a difficult task, first you have to think of names you like and which will suit a child throughout its life, then names which fit with your surname and initials. Then you inevitably think of people you associate with that name and that can strenthen your like or dislike of it. Then you think of all the other reasons why you should or shouldnt give your child that particular name..........
We spent hours thinking of names for our two 'lumps' and often shouted out names as if calling children in the park - just to see how it sounded !
We both liked Kathryn / Catherine but realised it would be shortened and I like Kathryn /Kate, husband like Catherine / Cathy. Stalemate as we both liked the full name but hated the shortened version.
Boys names were no trouble we both wanted Richard David.
Two weeks before our first daughter was born my friend from ante-natal visited with her baby named James and we had James Taylor playing on the record player. We commented on James being married to Carly Simon and how much we liked both of their music when my husband and I looked at each other and both said 'Carly'. Carly loves her name, it was very unusual in 1980 and not too popular now. She finds it useful in her profession as she is instantly recognisable and has always loved it - I always feel sorry when people say they hate their name.
Second daughter gained from the research done the first time ! my husband was reading out names and said 'Heather', we both loved the name and the implication of strength and Heather she was. She also loves her name and loved the fact she was the only one at school etc.
I wasnt obsessed with family history at the time but if I had been I may have chosen more traditional names with family association but I think my daughters are glad we chose their names.

[ozwendy]

My first child, a boy, was named Tomas Emilio. Tomas after my grandfather and several other ancestors, but spelt the Spanish way as my husband is originally Spanish. Emilio is after his father and grandfather.

My three daughters are Ines May, Olivia Estefania and Isabel Esther. Their first names were traditional names we liked and which are pronouced the same in Spanish and English. Their middle names are from their great grandmothers.

I like it when all the children in the family have names of a similiar 'genre'. such as all traditional English names, all victorian names, all trendy names or all biblical names, somehow it just seems to sound better. I don't like it when phoenetically a name is the same as one you know but the parents have thought of some way out spelling believing it is different, I think they just make it difficult for the child and everybody else.