Hello all,

I have about a week to go before baby #2 is due, and we haven't got a name that I am passionately in love with. We chose DS1's name long before he was born, and there was only that one option because I loved the name to bits. With DS2 (due very soon), we've settled on a common name (Matthew) because we couldn't come up with anything else. I feel very guilty that I can't come up with something that I love, like DS1's name. I like it enough, & it's a name he wont get teased with, doesn't sound too strange with our last name, goes with DS1s name, nothing wrong with it etc.... but it still doesn't feel quite right. I'd really like to have a name before he's born otherwise the stress will be too much for me, but at this rate it doesn't seem like we'll be able to find a name that is better than the one that we've chosen.

Just wondering if anyone else has settled on a name that they liked & didn't love, & then ended up being very happy with it? I'd hate to be changing my mind about his name when he's few weeks old or something.

yes with my daughter name i liked but was not in love with it but looking at her it suits her so well.

Yep, my DH and I both had names for our DD that we loved, but we each loathed the others choice. We settled on a more common name than I would have liked but it suits her so well It was not one that we both loved, we thought it was ok but it was the only name we could agree on!!

I think Matthew is a lovely name There actually aren't that many around now

Lisa

We settled on Ethan because we couldn't think of anythign else, and now I think it suits him perfectly. My only regret is that it's abit common but thats ok

I had a name that I LOVED for DS2 but hubby got to choose the name Tom. I liked it but did not love it.

My only thing was it was NOT to be Thomas had to be Tom.

It suits him to a Tee and I dont regret calling him that for 1 second.

I love the name Matthew and would choose it myself except it is my Godson's name.

Throughout the entire pregnancy before my DD was born, we could not agree on a girls name! We had boys names sorted, but it turned out they weren't needed!

I had always wanted easy-to-spell, not-too-common names, and for a girl, a feminine name or a boy - a masculine name.

After she was born the midwife asked if we had a name - I said no, not yet, but DP said yeh - Charlotte! And it stuck! It met two of my three criteria - but I rememdered it to be in the top ten names. However, we could only think of one other Charlotte that we knew - and she was 11 at the time. I thought I would just sit on it for a couple of days - we could always change it if it really wasnt going to work.

But it suits her to a tee! My baby name book said it meant 'little and strong' and that is exactly what she has been her whole 22 months! (Strong physically and mentally!)

Three weeks after she was born, two other Charlotte's were born into our small town - I was not too pleased because there was a very high chance that they could all be in the same class at pre-school, school etc. But now the other two have moved away, so my Charlotte is the only one (that I know of, anyway)! So even though the name is in the top ten, it is still pretty uncommon here...

My recommendation is to keep the name up your sleeve and see if it suits when bubs is born - you never know another name may just pop up, or he may just be a Matthew!!

Sorry, it got a bit long-winded there

I didn't even think my son's name was 'average' when I went into labour with him, I hated it!
By the end of the 5 nights in hospital, I couldn't imagine naming him anything else. I used to sit there staring at him in the bassinetty thing whispering 'the name DH picked that I loathed/and variations of the name' and in the end it just fit.
His name is Kimbal.
I think you will grow to love Matthew as much as your DS1's name, or Matt or Matty or whatever you end up calling him. It's just a name afterall

Elizabeth was named only the night before I went into hospital. It was a compromise for both myself and DH, as we just couldn't find a name we agreed on. Now I can't imagine a better name for her!

I think Matthew is a lovely name. Classic but not too common at the moment.

I really wanted Elly as a nn for my DD, I loved Eloise, DH thought it was too posh and he suggested Ellyse. I didn't love it, but thought it was ok. When she was born and we were asked her name we said Ellyse, I still wasn't sure.

It didn't take me long to fall in love with it. I love names that are uncommon, not unusual and I think Matthew fits that perfectly. Your child will own the name and that is what makes it special.

Andrea

This is how DH and I "do" names - I write list after list after list, scouring websites and name books for meanings and cultural backgrounds and variations - and he methodically crosses off each one as disliked or not suitable!
We've done this 5 times now!

Except this time, when I was about 6 weeks pregnant, DH woke up one morning and told me 2 names - a boy and a girl. He said he thought they were "the names".

And while I didn't mind the boy's suggestion, the girl's was not just "average" but something I really did not like!

But guess what? 14 weeks later I cannot tell you what those names were, (or not for another 20 weeks anyway!) because they are most likely the final choices for this new bub! and the girl's name in particular has grown on me. I have strong "girly" vibes this time, and I think I've just accepted and associated this particualr name with this child.

And given I love the child already - it follows quite naturally that I love the name as well!

I've had to compromise with each of my children's names. All names I liked, but, they were not the ones I really wanted and LOVED. However, I love them all now. Most probably because they are my children's names

That being said, I am still a bit disgruntled for having to compromise LOL

I like Matthew, but it's not one of my favourites.

Do you mind if I ask what DS1's name is - perhaps we could suggest some others for you if your still not so keen on Matthew.

Me, kind of, with DS1. All the names I initially liked such as Liam, Jack, Lachlan were in the Top 10 popular names at the time so we scrapped them. Apart from that DH and I couldn't really come up with anything that we both loved. In the end, he suggested Iain,and not being able to think of anything better, and not hating it, I agreed.

I really like Iain's name now. It really suits him, and I am glad that we went with something that is classic, but not overly popular. I certainly wouldn't change it if I had my chance.

I like Matthew too, and think it is a really nice sounding classic name, and it's not over used now either.