Thinking up names for our baby has been difficult. I’ve read (yes read…not skimmed) three baby name books so far! I’ve visted countless web sites. For awhile, I was hoping by some miracle the kid would be born wearing a nametag. Knowing my luck, it would read something like “??????”. And what in the world would I do with that?
There are a few names that I sorta like, but they would sound terrible with our last name.
Here’s our naming criteria:
::Name cannot begin or end with “A”
::Preferably, name will end with a consonant
::Name must be easy to spell
::Name cannot be in the top 20 most popular baby names according to the Social Security Administration
::Cannot have a “acks” or “ecks” sound in the name. Example: No Jackson, Maxwell, Alex. Sounds too sing-songy with last name.
::Not too unique, since our last name is. But not too common either.
::Names cannot be nouns (other than simply a name) and cannot be verbs
::Must go well with our last name
::Cannot look or sound like “Shane” or “Kacie”
::NOT gender-neutral
::We like classic, sort of “old-fashioned” style names
Want to leave suggestions?
I want to name my future children “old fashioned” or Biblical names!
I’ve always loved the name Elizabeth (it seems to fit your criteria). One of my brothers is marrying an Elizabeth (she goes by Liz, which is what I wanted my future daughter’s nickname to be!) next month.
So, here’s a question for you: do you think I could name my child Elizabeth if her aunt has the same name???
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Wow….that is some criteria! I was pretty picky with names too, so I ‘get’ it.
Girls: Wendy is my fave girl name (and also my oldest daughters name!) I also have a “Lauren” and a “Rachel”. I also like Elisabeth….
Boys: I like Will, Christian, Anthony, Brian….
Isabelle doesn’t end with a consonant but doesn’t have a strong vowel ending. Samuel for a boy?
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You’re so funny. You have lots of time to find a name. You were born on a Sunday, named on Tuesday. We kinda had names pick for you (but when you showed up) didn’t seem to fit you. Then when the boy name didn’t have a boy to attach it to I felt like someone was missing. Took awhile for me to get over that feeling.
Love you, Mom
Since I know your last name, this makes it a little easier… though your criteria definitely narrow it down. I suppose that’s good. I can’t believe you read the name books
I think these meet all your criteria…
Peter, Thomas, Jeremy
or
Naomi, Danielle, Bethany
I don’t know if an ending -N or -M sound would work, or a prominent short-A sound so I avoided those, too.
Do you care about the meaning of the name at all? Are there family names you’re considering? Are you going to find out if you’re having a boy or girl, to narrow down the list even more (among other things)?
this is my first blog to anyone. Kacie you know that i named you after a city in Indiana and then reminded myself that i was from Kansas city Kansas. so continue to sing to the baby and when you see him or her you’ll know that this unnamed baby is always going to call you and Shane mom and dad. oh yeah, street names may offer a choice for the baby. love dad
wow…i got lost in your list of criteria
my favorite baby name is a gender-neutral one, so it won’t work for you (Riley for a boy…Ryleigh or Rylee for a girl).
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For a boy, I love the name Ronan. For a girl, Flannery.
We’re really concerned with the meaning of the name and I like “old-fashioned” ones too. Ditto on strange spelling, poor kid, having to explain that each time. If its a girl we’re going with Liberty Ann but we’ll call her “Libby”. I’ve always liked that name and I’m a US History buff so it rang true with me.
We’re stuck on boys names, I actually like Shane but Tim not so much. And Benjamin is good and has a great meaning but alas its been popular forever. My name means “abounding with life” and my parents named me that because I was so active in the womb. Good luck!! 
i like Grace. i can imagine Gracie (your last name) would be a very cute name.
Caleb would be a nice boy’s name, too.
i’m going to be brainstorming for you. i LOVE thinking up kid’s names, but i’ve had mine picked out for so long (i still have two more names picked out, for two more children i hope not to have) that now i have to fantasize about other people’s kids names:)
Henry, Kathleen, David, Rachel, Pam, Ben, Charlie, Lauren, Kristin, Bradley, Theodore Wispy Reginald Taylor III
My suggestions:
Girls: Juliet, Bridget, Carmen, Susannah, Lilah, Cecily
Boys: Spencer, Byron, Gabriel, Simon, Lucas
Good luck!
You’ll figure out the right name. In the meantime, here are some ones I like:
Scott (too similar to Shane?), Grant, Hank, Brad, Phinneus, Bob, Milkshake, Wayne, Waldo, Pilot Inspector
For girls, Lynn, Kate (too much like Kacie?), Colleen, Handbag, Faith, Heather, Barbarella
Dinners this week have been much better, btw.
My boys are William (Bill) and Samuel (Sam) We had many of the same criteria as you do for picking names. I can’t help you with girl names. We never came up with one–God’s way of telling us we were having boys I think.
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I love the names Lily or Claire for a girl and Gavin for a boy (though Gavin might rhyme too much with your last name). Jordan and Taylor are cute names for a girl or boy…though maybe too unisex. You are a little picky, but hey, this is a pretty big decision!
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