My husband and I have got to decide a name for Baby Bean, or the unfortunate child will be left with that nickname for rather longer than we had hoped. We are now in the third trimester, or Creme Egg Season, as it so happens. My bump is still so small I have to tell people I am expecting – and in just 10 weeks. There are surprisingly few reactions to that.
It is not easy naming somebody, but there are some great internet resources these days. Take NameVoyager. You type in a name, or part of a name, and see how popular it has been in the States over the past 130 years. Ok, so it’s not the UK, but it is instructive. And the website has more to help too, such as feedback on lots of names, and what sibling names people have had.
I also think the site Nymbler is a fantastic resource and great way of coming up with new ideas without having to trawl through books of names listed in alphabetical order. It puts us firmly in the Boho Chic category.
That said, our usual trick is to try and think of something everyone will like. It was easier the first time. Now we have to think of names that don’t clash with Elizabeth or Lily. And I am not the kind of person who likes names to run in patterns in families, so no more obviously royal or floral names, and nothing that rhymes with Lily. We are also trying to avoid certain initial combinations now, which rules out lots of lovely E-, L- and M- names. And I love a good nickname. Not easy. Do we want a name that may rule out Bean’s future in politics or medicine on the grounds it sounds too quirky or trendy, or that rules them out of making friends with everyone, because their name is a little ostentatious? How many everyman names are there that are easy to spell and not so common that our common surname renders them ungooglable? Or untextable?
jam and giraffes 
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