Naming a baby has got to be one of the hardest things I’ll ever do. I was never the type of girl to grow up dreaming of future baby names, but now that I’m pregnant with baby #2 and in the thick of choosing names, I’ve seen a whole bunch of ’em. This time around we’re having a little girl and we already have an 18 month old boy so we’ve covered all our bases and kept a combined list of all our favorites.
We know we’re done after two kids, so these are basically our final options. The problem is, girl names are WAY harder for us because we just don’t looove anything we’ve seen — at least not anything we can agree on.
Its also tricky because this time around I have more restrictions…
First off, I don’t want a name that sounds like Alex, Emily or Leo (such as Alice, Ellerie or Theo) because that’s just confusing. It also needs to be a name that sounds good with Leo (something we didn’t have to consider the first time). Lastly, I’m also avoiding names that start with A, E or L because I want everyone in our family to have different first initials. I know it sounds silly, but if I’m labeling things around the house (say Christmas stockings, towel/coat hooks, or anything else that could be monogramed) I want everyone to be different. Hello type-a personality!
So after all that, we’re left with just 2-3 girl names that are actual contenders for baby #2. But, I still want to throw the whole list out there because I still love some of them. And if I happen to “ruin” the surprise of saying baby #2’s name on here, that’s fine! Because really, we don’t know her name yet. It may be on this list or it may not.
Baby Boy Names:
Boy names are pretty easy for us. We both like classic, traditional names that aren’t trendy or too vintage-sounding. Basically, a lot of the names that have stuck around for years and years. Like with our son, Leo, we were able to agree on his name almost immediately. But we also had plenty of backup names that I would have been completely happy with too.
Preston: I like this name a lot, but I couldn’t get over Preston from MTV’s Jackass.
Harris: This is probably the name we would have gone with if we were having a second boy. My mom asked if it was short for Harrison, but nope! Just Harris.
Leo: Obviously a name my husband and I both loved — and used — since this is our son’s name. This was my grandpa’s name.
Weston: I like it, but I think its cuter as a toddler/kid name than for an adult.
Matthew: Classic, simple, and Matt isn’t the worst name to go by either.
William: Same as Matthew. I like Will more than Matt, though.
Elliot: My husband didn’t like this name, and I didn’t looove it either but it kept popping up on lists.
Lawrence: If we had three boys, I’d want a Lawrence for sure. I think it’s such a strong, classic name but still not a name I’ve ever heard someone use.
Sawyer: I actually prefer this as a girl’s name, but would be happy either way.
Nolan: Another one of those “cuter as a kid’s name” type of names.
Henry: Super classic and works well for a baby, kid and grown man. I think of King Henry (lol), but that doesn’t sway my opinion in a positive or negative way.
Andrew: It’s nice but doesn’t stand out in a special way and I wouldn’t want him to go by Andy.
Baby Girl Names:
Girl names is where it gets hard because we don’t agree on many of them. And even if we do like something, there isn’t much we love. I like southern sounding and grandma-y names or even some “boy names” for girls, and my husband likes cutesy names that I don’t think work past the toddler stage. Also, everything longer than one syllable “sounds like they’re trying too hard” according to him.
Reese: For the longest time this was my favorite girl’s name, but my husband doesn’t like it. The only reason I’m not obsessed with it is because ‘Reese Smith’ doesn’t flow.
Elena/Helena: Such pretty names that are unique but not modern sounding. I like Elena more than Helena, but I wouldn’t want to have a name that starts with E.
Ellerie: Again, a very pretty and classy sounding name. My husband liked this one too.
Camille: I’m not sure I love Camille for an adult woman, but for a kid it’s adorable. I had a friend Camille when I was younger and she was nice enough to not ruin this name lol.
Rosalie: This is my current favorite. It could be Rosie or Rose depending on whatever she wants to go by, and I like all of those names. I think if I had to name our baby today, this would be it.
Caroline: I’m not sure about this one, I love it one day and then the next day it reminds me of the Coraline movie.
Madeline: Super cute and could work for her entire life, but I hate Maddie.
Bailey: One of my husband’s favorites, and I think it’s cute for a young girl, but I also know a lot of dogs named Bailey lol.
Sadie: Another one of my husband’s favorites. I like it more than Bailey, but it I get the same vibes from it.
Addison: This was my favorite for a long time but then I realized how popular its gotten — not that I’m aiming for something unique but I definitely don’t want a trendy name.
Eloise: Another E name that was a favorite for awhile.
Alice: I actually love Alice, but it sounds way too close to Alex (my husband’s name). I don’t want to call someone’s name and it’s not obvious who I’m yelling at.
Meredith: I love how this name sounds, but I don’t want to think of Greys Anatomy. And Alex doesn’t like the name Mary.
Evelyn: Super pretty and Evie is cute for a girl’s nickname. But I also think of Evelyn from League of Legends and that’s just a weird place for my brain to go.
Halle: My sister suggested this name and it really grew on my husband and I. The only thing holding me back is I feel like the baby I miscarried was supposed to have this name. I don’t know though, we still love it.
Jules: Super cute as a nickname but I don’t know what her full name could be besides Julie/Julia and I don’t really like that name.
This is a little more personal than a lot of content I write, but I wanted to put this list in a more permanent place than the notes in my phone. Plus, it’ll just be fun for me to look back on in the future when our kids ask, “if I wasn’t named _____ what would my name have been?”
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