Naming a Child

[Rheghead]

I just wondered what influenced you to name your children and why? Choices, choices, such responsibility. What is in a name???:confused

I see there is an Arab name in the Big name book, 'Eyup'. "Eyup, mate, how's it goin'?"[lol]

Maybe not...

[changilass]

As you already know mine came already named, but we have decided to give him William as a middle name, it was hubby's dads name and also my dad's middle name, so it will be as simple as giving him something of our family in his name for when we legally become family.

[brandy]

we used surenames as middle names for the boys..
we never actually had a first name for sam, as i was convinced he was a girl!
but we had thrown samuel around as a name when i was preg. and when he was born we thought about it.. and knew we just wanted good solid names that would stand the test of time .
thats how we ended up with sam ben and tom.
was trying to keep with the short names as well..
sams is a bit more prestigious.. as his name is Samuel Donald Nottingham Miller
donald is for hubby
Nottingham is for my God-Father.. its his middle name and it was to cary on the surename of his granny who was the last of her line.
ben is Ben Mackenzie
the Mackenzie is hubbys mums maiden name.
Tom was Thomas Archibald Lewis Miller
the archibald, is a family name on hubbys side, he was named for his uncle archie.. Lewis is my Grandfathers surename..
so its just a hodgpodge of dif. things.

[Bobinovich]

We were in a strange situation where we sensed we were having a boy and had only considered boys names - we'd have been really stuck if we'd actually had a girl :eek:. Strangely when it came to our daughter we'd only chosen a girls name that time too.

Our sons name was choosen from a book of unusual childrens names, while our daughters we just simply agreed on after a wee discussion.

As for middle names I was unfortunately burdened (IMO) with a truly awful one, and my wife originally wanted to pass it on to our son (it was from my paternal side of whom I now have nothing to do with). However when push came to shove she went with John - after members of both families. Our daughters middle name is Jane after my mum who died between the births of our two.

[percy toboggan]

Just don't land the lad or lass with something they'll resent in later life. Avoid temporary, transient faddy names. Fine auld names are always good. Consider gravitas. Eschew the popular. Consider alliteration. Dig into family history for a suitable middle name.

We did none of the above. In the early seventies less thought was given to such things I think. We have a Gina , and a Paul. They like their names, and I love them. So we're all happy !

[emszxr]

my oldest daughter is tegan and i seen it on a lassies name tag in tescos in inverness a couple of years before i had tegan and it stuck with me. i just couldnt find i name i liked as much. and good job she was a girl as i never had a boys name i truely liked. her middle name is danika which means morning star.
my youngest is enya, and that took me a few months to find a name we loved. we also decided on it as it has 2 initials from each mine and hubbys first name. her middle name is shay with means a gift.

i am really proud of my kids names

[North Rhins]

All my offspring have Scots names, of course! Used mainly family names, past and present.
There is a Scots tradition of naming children after parents. I can only remember that the first born son is named after the father, after that it all becomes a bit confusing. I’m sure someone could put me straight on the protocol.
All my grandfathers had the same Christian name going back to the 1700’s.
Talking of faddy names, I was at school back in the 50’s with a kid called ‘Cheyenne.’ Poor sod, we all used to fall about laughing when his Mam came out to call him home.
I was also in the forces with a bloke called Wayne Royston Faraday Wilkes. You wouldn’t wish that on anyone. :lol:

[brandy]

*grins* saying that cheyanne is very common in america..
my name isnt uncommon, and people over here get a giggle cause ive a cousin named candy and an uncle named Randy.
my brother is named kelly, and ive heard a few times over here.. oh if he lived over here he would get done in all the time.. i just laugh my butt off.. as most boys and young men here are on the scrawny size and my bro. arms are bigger than me.. he can bench me!
they use to have fun by tossing me back and forth!
my mum had seven and we were named
brandy
kelly
joseph
josh
cody
kyle
kara
she just picked names she liked the sound of...

[karia]

I have noticed a proliferation of 'freya's' & 'megans'...no offence.
my school was full of 'gillians', caroline's & alison's,...long time ago!:roll:
Tiegan is a lovely name, ..round here all the wee boys are called 'conner'

I hate my name, so I remain,..yours.. Karia!:)

[Cinders392]

My friends friend was called Lachlan and I had never heard it before. I just liked the sound. Means from the lochs. He got a middle name only because he was a male, both his grandfathers are donald and him being their first born grandson kind of had too. If he was female there wouldnt have been a middle name. I only had boys names picked so lucky for us. This time we have Sutherland and have been refering to 'the bump' as Sutherland. Thats it. So male or female thats their name. I saw this name in the place I work in. Sutherland is due to arrive in 10 weeks. Will keep you posted if Sutherland has a pee pee or not! ;)
My partner also has a 3 year old daughter called Tegan. Nice name. I think it was chosen as it was different but names have a habit of coming back into fashion. mine never did and most likely never will.

[Jeemag_USA]

Consider gravitas.

Is that a boys or a girls name Percy [lol]

[sassylass]

We chose simple classic first names because our surname is unusual. Also we paid attention to initials, didn't want anyone making up crazy or rude nicknames later on.:roll:

[Sporran]

I just wondered what influenced you to name your children and why? Choices, choices, such responsibility. What is in a name???:confused

I see there is an Arab name in the Big name book, 'Eyup'. "Eyup, mate, how's it goin'?"[lol]

Maybe not...


The first thing my husband and I agreed upon was that our children were not going to be named after ourselves, or any other family members. As my husband is American, the next consideration was to try and pick names that would not be mis-pronounced in the USA. For instance, I rather like the name Craig, but a lot of Americans pronounce it as if it rhymes with Rheg or beg, and I don't like that! We also wanted names that weren't overly common, but at the same time, not overly weird! Careful consideration was also given to how people might abbreviate the names, and we definitely didn't want initials that would spell something silly or funny!

Both of our sons ended up with Welsh names, because they fit the criteria, and we liked the sound of them. I do have Welsh blood somewhere along the line, but that wasn't the reason for our choice. As far as Scots names are concerned, I did think of Ewan, and that was before I'd even heard of Ewan McGregor. But I thought that might get mis-pronounced outside of the UK - although I doubt if it would nowadays!

[Sandra_B]

We didn't want our children to be named after anyone in either family, then mu Mum died when I was six months along with our first...so he is "sort of" named after her.

[Ash]

my wee girl is called Ellie-Grace, nephews are joe and jack and niece is brooke......

[squidge]

Names names names

I had three boys and had names decided early on in all my pregnancies.

Good solid names as i had a strange northern surname. The only thing was we had decided on Thomas Robert for the last child and when he was born he didnt look anything like a Thomas so we had a funny day or two before we settlesd on James Thomas.

This baby seems to have settled names now so we shall see whether they stand the test of the next few weeks

[NickInTheNorth]

We decided that using any "family" names was just like declaring war, so have made sure that no names were pre used in either side of the family. We also wanted names that were not overly popular at the time, nor anything too unusual.

We too gave great consideration given to the possible abbreviations and mis-use of initials. If we were unhappy with any of those possibilities the names were rejected.

We thought we would go for 2 names for each child, in the hope that if they really hated their given name they would have another to pick from.

So we have a Caitlin Hannah, an Eilish Lucy, and a Calum Lewis. So far no-one is complaining :)

The bump so far has no name, we really need to get our thinking caps on, just 10 weeks to go!

So if anyone has any ideas that might fit nicely with the above names feel free to post.

[golach]

I was named after my grandfather on my maternal side William, as a result I have been known through the years as William at school by the teachers, Billy by my family and close friends, Bill by others, Will, Willie and Wull in other scenarios, also been refered to as Hey You quite often too

[Dadie]

i chose Lauren's name while still on pethidine while i was pregnant i liked sophie and chloe as girls names but i couldnt choose any boys names i just thought not David .. my hubby is david my dad is David my sisters hubby, father in law and her little boy is David too!i hab a hard time choosing her middle name but settled on Grace because i didnt want her initials to spell anything silly !

[WeeBurd]

Both WeeBurdies have flower names, of Victorian origin I believe. Our surname is quite harsh, so it follows that they needed quite "soft" sounding names. Mind you, they're rarely referred to by their first names - it's usually shortened versions or nicknames!

We also decided to give them both middle names, as neither hubby or I had one and were always the odd ones out because of it. Our oldest has a middle name of Jayne, after her Grandad who sadly passed away whilst she was in my tummy - obviously we couldn't call her John, so she received the female form :D.

[cuddlepop]

I had to go down the traditional route as is custumary in the Highlands,
Eldest is Iain after grandad.
Middle is after my oldest friend,(after much pleading)Evelyn,comprimised with the Margaret as middle name.
youngest is after sister in law who is called Jennifer.Which causes great confusion as they both want called Jenny .
My middle child hates her name because growing up there were never any wee gifts with her name on it.No one pronounces it right,Ev e Lyn.and not Eve lyn. Just so old fashioned,or so she say's.I still think its lovely.:D

what ever you decide they still moan about it,think its traditional.;)

[mccaugm]

We decided that using any "family" names was just like declaring war, so have made sure that no names were pre used in either side of the family. We also wanted names that were not overly popular at the time, nor anything too unusual.

We too gave great consideration given to the possible abbreviations and mis-use of initials. If we were unhappy with any of those possibilities the names were rejected.

We thought we would go for 2 names for each child, in the hope that if they really hated their given name they would have another to pick from.

So we have a Caitlin Hannah, an Eilish Lucy, and a Calum Lewis. So far no-one is complaining :)

The bump so far has no name, we really need to get our thinking caps on, just 10 weeks to go!

So if anyone has any ideas that might fit nicely with the above names feel free to post.

I agree with not using family names...usually causes strife somewhere along the line. Like the American way of naming kids, ending up with them being known something like, John James the third!!
I named my eldest Michae,l as I liked the name and didn't know any other kids called Michael at the time. Mark - cannot remember why that came about. My ex wanted to name him after himself...told him that was totally ridiculous and no way was my kid going to be saddled with his name. (Bad enough they had to take his surname)
With my youngest son Alex (ander), I asked my older two what names they liked, they both liked the name Alex so that was that.
I like names that kids can grow up with. Its all very well given cutesy names but it can be embarassing when they get older, hence the good "solid" names my kids have.

[Victoria]

I hated my name when I was at school - Victoria Jane, It sounded so formal to me and everyone called me Vicky.

Now eveyone calls me Vicky when I've finally learnt to appreciate the name Victoria!!! [lol]

[itsteven]

ive got three kids my wee boy is conlan my middle girl is cara and my smallest is ella all three has family middle names :D

[Alice in Blunderland]

My oldest three have no middle names as my mum gave me two horrible middle names one of the m being gardener my youngest two both have middle names......we have a Maryuam ( Miriam ) Maree and a Sara Michelle. :lol:
Maryuam only gets her full name when she is naughty otherwise she is known as Meme and Sara calls herself Poby . :eek:

[percy toboggan]

Cheyenne? I've been there and it's a bit of a dump really. Hope that doesn't offend.

Great trains though and lots of fast food joints, and macho pubs.

I s'pose the UK equivalent would be to call yer kid Crewe.

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

Oor oldest is named just for two names we liked at the time.Oor youngest is named after Grandad and his middle name is mine.

Wish ma mither hadnae called me Cedric.:lol: :lol:

[r.rackstraw]

We stuck with tradition and used family names. First son was named after my grandfather. First grandson was named after my father.

[Julia]

I wanted a name that was Scottish and could not be shortened for my daughter. so named her Skye after the Island.

My youngest is Haaris (who is not named after the Island although most folk think he is), his name is Arabic and means 'watchful' or 'vigilant', Haaris' middle names are Walter Dunnet which was my Grandad's name.

I prefer unusual names.

[Tilter]

I don't think you should have to name children as soon as they're born. You should be able to watch them grow and they come into a name that suits them. Like you call a puppy "Puppy" for a while and then the name comes to him. And that's what he is.

I had no idea what to call my son when he was born because me and my husband couldn't agree on a name (or anything else much). There was a dragon registrar lady at the hospital bugging me - it was like they wouldn't let me go home till I'd found a name for my child. Since it was Christmas we called him Nicholas (and he likes his name - Nick).

My daughter was named for my favourite character in Vanity Fair. Which she liked till she read a "name the baby" book which informed her that Rebecca meant heifer in Jewish. I should have read those books. Never mind. She seems to like her name now.

[sassylass]

Another thing when you choose a name, try to imagine the baby as an adult with that name...will that name suit an adult? Not too many adults would appreciate a diminuitive Snookypookums label [lol]

[JAWS]

I think one thing to bear in mind is how cruel children at school can be and try to stay away from names which are likely to give other children the opportunity to use to tease and mock.
I suspect that is where most people who end up disliking their names start to feel that way.

[crayola]

Mine are called George (after Georgemas), Thor (after Thurso) and Reiss (after the golf course).

Only kidding. :D

[Rheghead]

How will i know how cruel names will be at school?:confused And should I bow down to such standards??? Is there a list of names that kids shouldn't be named??

[crayola]

Ask a teacher. :roll:

[cullbucket]

Ask Dr Donald Duck whose name was in the highlands and islands phone book years ago, based in Ullapool or somewhere out west if I remember.
I also knew a Pam Flett at college, we used to joke her brother was called Lee.....

[sassylass]

One of my son's best friends is an East Indian male named Cherubb. It's always interesting to watch him introduce himself to people. People usually start to smirk, but with a slight smile, he looks them in the eye and says "Yes, Cherubb, with 2 b's" as if he had just said his name was Alex or some other ordinary name, and he cannot for the life of him imagine why it would be funny. It stops people in their tracks every time.

[Echidna]

There is a Scots tradition of naming children after parents. I can only remember that the first born son is named after the father, after that it all becomes a bit confusing. I’m sure someone could put me straight on the protocol.


The tradition is First son after paternal grandfather, 2nd son maternal after grandfather, third son after father, fourth son after father's eldest brother, fifth son father's next eldest brother etc.

for daughters, first after maternal grandmother, second paternal grandmother, third after mother, fourth after mother's eldest sister and so on...

the tradition generally holds well in my Scottish lines until they came to Australia, then they were usually named after the father first, sometimes getting a surname into the bargain.

It is a very useful genealogical device for predetermining unknown ancestors names in speculation until you have the right line. In other words if you have the names of all the children you can sometimes pencil in the grandparent's names until you have specifically determined them by the correct knowledge (old register entries etc)....

My 2x great grandfather Andrew Bremner Alexander of Keiss was named after his maternal grandfather Andrew Bremner of Freswick being the second son. His older brother was Thomas, named after their paternal grandfather.

I find it a very useful device when looking at my Scottish lines and am grateful to those who followed the traditions. Sometimes, it appears, instead of following it strictly, some families were inclined to opt for naming a child after a close uncle or aunty, out of the traditional order.

I like it particularly when a certain surname is used either as a first or second name. My grandfather, great grandmother and great great grandmother on one of my northern English lines all had the same middle name, a surname from my 3x great grandmother, only last week, we found her full name and forbearance, and thus, the direct link to a name that had intrigued us for ages. My nephew carries the name as a first name and so on it goes.

My sons' names are based on certain numerological principles both enumerating to the same 'power' number. One has a distinctively Scottish first name from my maternal ancestors from Forfar who according to tradition gained the name from Robert the Bruce after the Battle of Bannockburn, the other has a middle name named after his maternal great grandfather a decorated veteran of the battle of El Alamein. Thus there is meaning in both their names beyond mere words....:)

[Saveman]

"Lionel" is a big no no, as is "Alowishious" and "Obadiah"

[cuddlepop]

"Lionel" is a big no no, as is "Alowishious" and "Obadiah"
My mother confinced her best friend they named my brother ".Alowishious"
You imagine the helarity of opening up the back close landing window and shouting that out the back:lol:
Kenneth sounded so tame after that.

[justine]

well i came up with the names for my kids by chance and knowledge...I have a daughter called cheyenne after the american indian tribe....I like the peacefullness of there way of life....Shoalin was named after the Monks..They are also a peacefull part of society....Xenon...well his name came from a program that iwas watching at the time...His twin sister cobi, well the name was unusual for a girl....Zuleika-autum keita translated means pretty girl in the autumn woods....Zuleika is arabic, and keita is an old scottish word meaning wooded area....Theah-saffron phoenix is the youngest and was named after the planet that collided with earth that started evolution....saffron as you no is the red spice and phoenix comes from the fire.......It took some time to come up with these and i am proud to think that they will be proud of their names and meanings when they are old enough to appreciate why they are called what they are....

[linnepinne]

my daughters name is georgia lisa and she is named after both my sisters whom are called you may ask how she is called georgia lisa well the lisa is part of one sister called sara and the other is called lisa but she is named after both of them li from lisa and sa from sara and makes lisa and the georgia is after her papa george who is sadly now passed. :)

[mccaugm]

Ask Dr Donald Duck whose name was in the highlands and islands phone book years ago, based in Ullapool or somewhere out west if I remember.
I also knew a Pam Flett at college, we used to joke her brother was called Lee.....
He was the doc in Mallaig..his son also became the Mallaig Doc...unsurprisingly his name was also Donald Duck.
I like the French system whereby you are given an extensive list of names and you choose the ones you like. Saves bairns being saddled with embarrasing names like the Geldof kiddies.

[horseman]

What a strange convoluted way of naming your nearest and dearest..

If I had not seen for my self, I would have had to ask my wife,Hiawathia, :) not true, she is Jo, but my G, daughter is marrying into that family, the name thing seems dopey to me,but what the hell do I know..