Same name? Not okay.
Think of it as baby name etiquette. When it comes to choosing a name for your child (or future child), what are the rules?
You like the name Josh, but that’s the name your greengrocer gave his third. You’ve always been partial to Sarah, but that’s the name of your best friend’s sister. And your neighbour’s dog.
Pippa’s always been top of your list, but last week at dinner, you overheard another friend saying she’s already had the letters P-I-P-P-A stitched into a quilt for safe keeping.
It’s awkward. It’s uncomfortable. And it’s the kind of first world problem that could make or break a friendship.
And so it should probably come as no surprise that expectant mums are “bags-ing” their chosen baby names in a defensive move to stop other mums from stealing ‘their’ name.
This week The Herald Sun reported:
IT was once top secret, but expectant mums are increasingly revealing the name they have chosen for their unborn child to deter friends from choosing the same one.
Social researcher Mark Mccrindle said women were becoming more protective when it came to baby names and taking measures such as including the preferred moniker on invitations and checking if there was a Twitter account in that name.
‘‘Parents are putting more effort into ensuring their baby’s uniqueness and that their baby is the only one within a circle of friends with that name,’’ the Sydney researcher said.
But it’s not just expectant parents who are claiming names faster than medicare rebates. There’s a whole team of one-day-when-I-have-a-baby name thieves out there, claiming the names they’ve picked out for the children they might have one day.
So is this okay? Can people call dibs on a name and expect no one to touch it? And close do you have to be to that person to have an obligation to respect that claim?
I’m not sure, but just for the record…. I’m calling dibs on Lola.
Do you think it’s okay for parents to reserve a baby name? And what’s the etiquette around naming your baby (or future baby) if someone you already know has the same name – or their kid does? Have you ‘reserved’ a name yet?
Comments
327 Comments so far
A friend of mine just named her son Leo too, she asked if it was ok and it we were ok with it. It’s is a compliment. What they choose to name their child is their choice, although I know she also called her first son the same as another friends boy in the uk. We have always tried to comr up with individual and classy names, and our Leo is unique and special to us. I’ve always loved Leo as a name, and it seems to be getting more popular. So i guess we will meet more Leo’s over the next few years.
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We really care that much, goodness if someone has that name than so be it. Get over it! I like Maya, but my sister in law has Freya. I also took ‘her’ Aiden ( i didnt know) well just means we have the same taste. No big deal, she liked Gemma and our other sister in law has Jenna.
But things change people move away I had a cat Lilly she was like oh I couldn’t have the same name, I’m like if you like it who cares. She had it as a middle name we moved away a year later never to see them again. So do what you want to do forget about everyone else, unless you are actually going to see them for the rest of your life.
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My nephew girlfriend who we don’t have anything to do with, but I’ve always said if I ever have a boy I always wanted to name him after my dear father who has passed on now. Everyone knew this, so when they had a boy ealier this year she took my dad’s name, my mum told me and till this day I’ve never seen the baby he was born in Feb this year… So if I do end up having a boy can I still use the name I always wanted….
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Why so much pressure? Friends, workplaces, classmates, even family come and go – you should name your child whatever YOU want to name them, not based on the other people’s needs and wants. We have a Max, a Jack and a Ben. Jack is a very common name but he loves it and has no problems bring one of 3 in his class. Next year he will be in a different class with different kids. And while I’m ranting, I have never understood the whole “wait until you see what they look like” argument. They just look like babies when they are born. How can you “look” like a name. Does a “Max” have darker hair or a “Ben” have long eyelashes? I don’t get it!
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I picked a stunning unique name for my daughter that gets compliments wherever I go. It’s simple, different and no one else has it. I love that I stumbled across it in a movie, put my own spin on it and now I can’t imagine her as anything else. I couldn’t be happier that I chose something completely different, but I chose well and constantly constantly get the best feedback about it. My daughter is a unique and gorgeous just like her uncommon name!
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I have friends who are brothers and each have sons called John! One is just John, one is John Paul. They had their first kids at the same time and both wanted the name but one had a girl, he still ended up using the name for their son who was born two years later. They all seem fine with it. I used to want the name Xavier but that’s my husband’s brother’s son and I thought that would be too close. I have some friends who had a baby a day after me and they wanted the same boy’s name I had chosen. I have to admit I was relieved they ended up having a girl even though we are not close and do not even live in the same city, but I would have absolutely not been offended had they chosen it.
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My sister and I used to both want the name Lexie if we ever had a a girl. I used to joke around saying that I was older so would probably have kids first and so would beat her to it and get the name. As it turns out I will be the first to have a child, but won’t be using the name because it will ryhme with my childs last name, so its a no go! Hopefully my sister doesn’t gets to use it so there is at least one Lexie in the family!
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i’m having this problem right now. I’m pregnant and me and m boyfriend can’t agree on a boys name. The only name we both like is Jack but he doesn’t want it because a friend of ours has a son named Jack. I can’t see why its a problem. I wouldn’t care if every second boy born this year was named Jack, if its what we like then I think we should use it!
A friend of mine was told by her sister in law that she couldn’t use the name she had picked out for her daughter, as the sister in law had chosen it for her daughter. So my friend spent the last few months of her pregnancy desperately trying to find a new name she liked as much. A few months after her daughter was born the sister in law gave birth to her daughter and called her something completely different! My friend never got to use her name and it was all for nothing! Use whatever name you want and to buggery with everyone else!
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You’re right every second boy is called Jack. Go with what you want but from someone who was called Jessica and went to school with five other Jessica’s in every class it was painful. I tried for different but easily spelled names for my kids for this reason alone. But if you love it do it.
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I hear ya, Jess! My mum thought she was very clever naming me after a restaurant her and my father went to while they were dating and then Jessica was one of the most popular girls names for the year I was born!
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Do it but I know a lot of Jack’s super common but if your cool with it than why not.
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One of my fave dad stories was when we were discussing the names my husband and I had settled on when we were expecting our first child. After saying them out loud, my dad paused for a moment and calmly said “I hope you’re having a girl”. Bwahahaha!
As it turns out, we did
. Her name suits her down to the ground and set a good precedent for name choices for the four siblings that followed her. 
That said, nope I don’t believe in “name-bagsing”. Yes there’s more to a person than their name, but when you hold them that first time and look into their eyes you suddenly know whether that name you’ve hung on to since you were 10 and saw Ladyhawk for the first time and fell in love with ‘Isabeau’ (yeah, that’s me) is their name or not. 4 daughters and nope, it wasn’t the name for any of them.
Name-bagsing … good grief …
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my friend was two months away from giving birth when her sister called her new puppy Matilda.
My friend had to say… “um, no you can’t”.
It took a while but the sister understood…
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I’m a nurse at a baby hospital and we have had some rather interesting name choices. I dont know what it is about this generation and trying so hard for their child to be so unique and special. Their personality and qualities don’t come from their name, they come from you! A name isn’t everything and if no one can pronounce it its a pain in the neck! Traditional spelling is also the best! stop putting in random H’s and Y’s please!
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Hear, hear! I second that.
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A relative used the feminine form of our sons name, for her daughter. They’re both under 4yrs old, so it’s a bit too close for comfort.
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We named our daughter “Tess” and hadn’t heard or come across any others until she started school. Tess and Tess became friends because they shared the same name and are now in the same class at school and are the best of buddies! Just goes to show it’s not the end of the world if you do have the same name as someone else – might just be the start of a lifelong friendship!
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That’s the name we have picked out for our baby if it’s a girl!! With so many friends pregnant I wait with bated breath every time a new baby arrives!
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This is exactly the sort of divisive titter that makes us look a bit silly. It’s an obnoxious first world problem and if this will break a friendship, maybe you shouldn’t be friends in the first place?
We’re lucky to have clean hospitals and decent schools in Australia. Knowing the sex of your baby and having your hand held by a gynaecologist throughout the pregnancy is a luxury that many (including some in Australia) can only dream of. Why not just wait to meet your baby, then pick a name that you think suits them? Who cares if there are two in the same class?
And if someone took your name, surely that’s just an opportunity to be creative? There are millions of good names out there, without having to resort to pieces of fruit or days of the week.
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Nothing wrong with fruit names
I’ve had mine for 31 years and I’m happy with it!
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Ah! The “High-Horser”. A regular at every comment section.
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My then-wife and were keen on calling our son Max. However, my brother’s partner was five months ahead in her pregnancy. They liked our idea, so they named their son Max. Lucky for us – Max is one of 10 at his school. We named our son Zachary. There is only one other at his school.
Also – I know woman named Meladel. She was conceived on the train between Melbourne and Adelaide.
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My kids have real names that people can read and spell correctly. After several years of teaching I had decided it was the only way to go. I felt sorry for the kids who always had their name called out wrong when they had a substitute teacher and it is uncomfortable for the teachers too.
If a friend decided they wanted to use the same name for their child, I would be flattered. There were 4 Rebeccas in my year of High School and it really didn’t bother me in the slightest. I think so long as it is a friend and not a family member, who cares? The person who becomes your friend next week might already have a kid with that same name.
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Yeah, who cares if someone has the same name as you? I like it!
As a netball coach it’s a annoying though. On my daughter’s team there are 2 Clares, 2 Zoes and 2 Erins! Makes coaching harder
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Yep never bothered me having a gazillion Rebecca’s around. Only gets confusing at work now, as my boss is also called Bec, and when I answer the phone no one is sure which one they are talking to, but that’s more amusing than anything.
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I think the main issue for me is when you’re pregnant and looking at names, possibly have picked one, and a family member then has a baby a few months before and happen to chose the same name although no names have been discussed amongst the families.
It makes you feel a little sad as you might have connected with the name over the months.
It’s just bad luck, but still sucks.
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When my son was born we had two names in mind. Stupidly my husband shared this information with everyone who visited in hospital. Everyone had an opinion!
My brother in law said that we couldn’t use one of the names because the initials would spell OD (I think he meant like an OD – over dose. Who thinks like that??). Anyway we went with the other name which was the better choice.
5 years later my brother in law has a baby boy and guess what name he went with…..Oliver…..making his initials OD!!
At the time I forgot to mention what he had said 5 years earlier.
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My daughter and son both have very unique names which are a combination from their very mixed heritage. My husband is mixed Indonesian/Australian and I am Swedish. As their names are so unusual and do have cultural meaning for us, I have to admit I probably would be annoyed if someone I know used them, as it just wouldn’t have the same meaning for them.
Saying that though, if you call your child a relatively common name, I don’t think you can expect others not to use it. Two of my friends were recently pregnant at the same time, one having a boy and one having a girl, and my friend having the girl had her heart set on the name Isabella. My friend having a boy also wanted this name and was a bit upset she used it, but she’s not even sure if she will have a 3rd child, and after having 2 boys and her husband being 1 of 4 boys her chances of having a girl are quite slim! I thought it was totally unreasonable for her to upset over that.
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Out of interest because I’m pregnant and Danish and short on names this time around, what did you name your children? I’m also after Scandinavian names
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I named my son Soren which is a Scandinavian name and you are quite welcome to use it!!
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Uuh, can’t have a Søren, I went to school with one, haha. But thanks anyway, I love having a different background to pick names from. My girl is Naya
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Husband is Danish. He likes Bulwyf (I have said no), Erik, Knut and Bjorn and I’m borrowing his mother’s name for a middle name for any girls, Inge-Lise, as I think it’s beautiful.
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BULWYF??? WTF??? I’ve never heard that one before? Must be Viking-age, but so are the others I suppose. My brother in law’s mum is Inge-Lise. It does flow nicely in English.
I’m curious now, how long has your husband Benin in Oz?
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Yep, Viking. It’s pronounced bull-veye, which doesn’t sound nearly as bad as it’s spelt!
He is of Danish heritage, born in America & I couldn’t tell you exactly how long he’s been here, as he lived US, here, UK, Denmark, here, US, here….
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Our daughter took a very long time to concieve and when we found out it was a girl at the 19 week scan we shared this with everyone including her name because we were so bloody excited. I don’t care if other people try and ‘bags’ a name by announcing their intention to use it. If they were already pregnant and had chosen a name then fine, but if they aren’t pregnant and someone else uses that name then its just tough luck. My husbands coworker was expecting a baby with his wife 8 weeks after us and they had also chosen the same name. Neither couple cared when we found out, we just congratulated each other in choosing a beautiful name!
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One downside of being a teacher……….Students you teach “ruin” names you like!!!
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People who ‘bags’ names really need to learn to cope with more important things in life. No one ‘owns’ a name. Our group of girlfriends at school consisted of 6 x Georgie’s and 2 x Michelle’s and a few other randoms for good measure – they all got a version of their name, a nickname or surname – they didn’t become the same person. One of the Georgie’s and I had little boys within a week of each other, she announced early that she liked the name “Charlie” as they were having a boy. I confessed later in the night that we too were having a boy and were considering calling him Charlie and would she mind? No, she didn’t mind because she was an amazing friend who grew up with 5 other Georgie’s and knew who ‘she’ was and that a name is only part of who you are. YOU define your name. We remain the best of friends and if baby no 5 is a girl, I may just name her Georgie…….
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Both my daughter’s and my son’s names are very rarely used (not made up or unusual spellings, just days-gone-by / foreign names).
However, since naming my daughter, two other families in our extended circle of friends have used her name, and we have had approx 3 or 4 other families say to us – upon hearing our daughter’s name – that they were going to call their son that were he a girl or that it’s on their list for a girl. I think it’s an up-and-comer (although doubt it will ever be top 100).
And my son is only 3 months old but already one family in our extended circle of friends has used the same name!
I am nothing but pleased : ) I think the other families have great taste
and I feel it is a huge compliment. I also feel a little validated – as it is always a risk using an unusual name and great to hear other people genuinely like it too.
As for bags-ing: I remember having conversations with my best friends when we were all in our early twenties, not pregnant and nowhere near trying to be, where we sort of bags-ed names (jokingly). At the time I was obsessed with Niamh for a girl (as in the Irish name pronounced Neeve for those that don’t know the name) and I do still love it to this day. Of course when I was actually pregnant: (a) my husband didn’t love it; (b) it felt like the name of my imaginary daughter and not the real one I was about to have!
So that’s the trouble with bags-ing: you prohibit others from using a name you may never be able to use! I must remember to email all my friends and release “Niamh” from over a decade of bags-ation
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Welllll….My Mum was clearly high or something when she named by siblings and I (Neil, Noleen and Sharon….Gross, Gross and Gross).
However, she initially wanted to call me Sheena. When she told the neighbour, the neighbour called her dog Sheena (and i became Sharon). I would love to meet that lady and say thank you.
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Hilarious, but strangely complicated. Surely imitation is the highest form of flattery?
My now husband and I have loved the very popular name Jack for years, which was also my grandfather’s name. However, a member of my immediate family has a son also called Jack…so when we were expecting our first (and 2nd) child, both my mum & sister were against us calling any baby Jack. When our 2nd child was born…a son, we spent 2 hrs waivering over whether he would truly be Jack…my mum was so excited about his arrival that she forgot all her resistance, and encouraged us to call him whatever we liked! And it barely caused a ripple in the family….seemed to land more as a compliment?
Interestingly, one of my cousins named his daughter the same first (and last) name as our grandmother…who was actually horrified as she’d never really loved her name! I thought it was an amazing way to honour her. The only time I thought it must have been weird for his little girl was when we all attended my grandmother’s funeral – she was old enough to understand everything and shared the name of the “guest of honour”.
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i remember going to Bali in my teens and our driver was called Gatut (sp).
It means male child number 2.
perspective???
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Lol, I think you might mean Ketut
which is fourth born child. The Balinese do have a very complicated naming system, particularly as they have a caste system, but one of their names depends on their birth order, regardless if they are male or female. But totally get your point, no such thing as reserving names in Bali! 
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that’s probably it.
I remember the name 22 years later bc we made a mnemonic for it bc we kept forgetting it.
Ke sounded a bit like “gars” (bloke in French) and ‘toot’ for the sound the car make. And he was our driver.
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We were presented with this issue when we had our second child. We always wait to find out the gender at the birth and we never share our name choices (if we’ve managed to settle on one, which we often don’t) until they are born. But when I was pregnant with no. 2 my sister fell pregnant a couple of months later – they found out the gender (a girl) and announced their choice of name for a girl AND a boy. The boy’s name was one that we had been tossing up and when our son was born my hubby and I talked about whether we could ‘steal’ the name since can you really ‘bag’ a name for a possible future baby? We ended up going with another name but now that we are pregnant with number 3 we are having the same discussion, especially since she’s not even sure if they will have any more. Not sure how it will go down if we do decide to go with that name in the end.
We have no problem using names that belong to cousin’s kids or friend’s kids etc, but we choose not to double up on names from immediate family (parents/grandparents/siblings/nieces/nephews). Everything else is fair game.
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You have to have a baby to name it – that is my only rule. Pretty simple really! And by have a baby I mean a real live, born into the world baby, not a possible baby or 32 weeks along baby.
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I made a deal with my husband, if I changed my last name I got to pick the names for our kids. He agreed, but I think thats only because he knew the names I love.
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I was one of the last in my group to begin having kids, but was married for years longer, so I’d had plenty of time to think up names. So I wrote down all the name groups, boy /girl/ boy boy/girl girl/ boy girl twins- and posted it to myself in a sealed envelope. Then if the day came and one of my names was used in my circle I could prove I didn’t copy it. As it was no body did use them. But funnily the names we thought about when first got married proceeded to be overly popular names in the following few years, so I was glad I rethought it later on, I couldn’t have a Lachlan, Emily, isabelle or jack!
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Jack has been in the top 10 boys names in Australia for twenty years or something. A long time anyway…
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I have an unusual name and LOVE it, so I want my kids to have unusual names too (not out there letter-vomit but just not Sarah A, B and C). That being said, my husband and I made a deal that we would not tell ANYBODY the name before the child is officially named. That way there can be no ‘stealing’ because no one else knew it. If somebody did use it we would probably pick something else. (which is the reason my name is not Siobhan (?), cos a friend of my mum’s got in first… haha)
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When I asked my Dad what names he liked out of the ones I told him, he said ‘a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…’
A lovely way to not be hurt by others ‘stealing’ your names!
My names were Olive for a girl and Jude for a boy. He’s a beautiful boy and his name is Jude. Perfect. Another friend named her bub Olive so I let go of that name. No big deal.
I’m just happy to have a healthy, lovely little child in my life. Whatever his name is.
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oooh i love the name Olive. Might put that on my list of possible future names if I have another child.
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If you want to be special choose something unusual. My children are Clancy and Bliss. We didn’t tell anyone the names we had chosen until after they were born. I’ve met two other boys called Clancy in 15 years and no other girls in almost 12 years called Bliss. Someone recently asked if they could use the name because they loved it. I said we would be honoured.
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Can I suggest that hopefully the aim is to bring up a child who has their own personality and knows their own mind (as well, of course, as knowing right from wrong and how to be a contributing member of society). If your child has these attributes they will be unique/special. They don’t need an unusual or made up name to make them unique. Just a thought…
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…My dog’s name was Bliss! And as a result I just can’t think of it as a ‘human’ name
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I mean this with all respect – I don’t think an unusual name (or any sort of name) makes somebody special. It just means they have an unusual name. I think anyone can be special and it is their particular personality traits that makes them special in their own way.
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If someone calls dibs on a baby name it puts me off the name anyway. Some people at a party last year asked “what names are you thinking for your son?” and we rattled of a few half-hearted suggestions until someone said of one of the suggestions “that’s our name – you can’t use that one”. She wasn’t even up the duff let alone pregnant with a boy, and the name in question is in the top 5 boys names for the last year, but she was still determined that that name be exclusively hers. Somehow, the very fact that the name had “dibs” on it turned me right off it. I’m not sure why.
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I chose the name Natasha for a girl. I had a boy …. Ten years later my sister had a girl – named her Natasha who shares my birthday as well!
My Mum had the name Catherine picked for my sister. Her cousin was having a girl and she liked the name and decided she wanted it to! My Mum was not happy. Anyway my sister was named Catherine and her second cousin Cathryn. They are both known as Cathy. 
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When I was 18 I chose names for my kids. I was adamant I was going to have three girls, named Cassandra, Lucinda and Madeleine.
Ironically, I went on to have two boys! LOL And Madeleine, which was unheard of in 1988, went on to be the most popular name when my sons were born. It wouldn’t have been a contender anyway.
I come from a big family, and we have a lot of cousins with the same names. Imagine if my aunties did dibs on names? Even though as family you’d think they’d be entitled.
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I love those girl names you picked! I had a boy too.
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I like the name Madeline. Would consider it for a middle name for my unborn child, except Adelaide is going to be her first name (if its a girl) and Adelaide Madeline is just too much!
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This topic reminds me of the Seinfied episode when George reveaed the baby name he had kept secret for years and the couple expecting stole it. It was a pretty cool name, Seven.
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Oh my god yes! So funny!
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And all these years later, the Beckhams decided to go and STEAL it!!
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When I was 6 months pregnant with our first child my SIL told me that she had “reserved” two names (one for a boy and one for a girl) and that we were FORBIDDEN to use them. As she didn’t even have a boyfriend at the time, I laughed in her face! When I told her that Husband (her brother) and I knew the sex of unborn baby and had already chosen the baby’s name, she was furious with me until I would promise that we weren’t going to use HER names! (we didn’t even want to, but I couldn’t believe that I had to promise). If she was pregnant, married or even engaged I might have taken her more seriously, but as it was I found her demands absolutely ridiculous. The real kicker is that 10 years later she is finally married with a baby, but her husband hated the names she had “reserved” so their daughter is called something else now anyway…!!
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Wow! I cannot believe I have hit 40 without knowing the sacred rules of baby naming! Who knew names were off limit because they had been ‘claimed.’ I haven’t baggsed anything since primary school.
My mum and her bestie both coped with using the same name for their sons and I don’t remember anyone being confused or upset. More recently, my cousin gave her son the same (unusual) name as my son. I had no idea I was supposed to be upset – I just thought she had exceptional taste!! (But what was she thinking with her daugher’s name? That one wasn’t on MY list – lol)
Definitely a first world problem!
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I found this very interesting. I wouldn’t personally dibs a name. If some one chose one I did like it would depend on whether or not I would use it. We named our 2 children Leigh and Zoe. Leigh was going to be Matthew but we didn’t name him that because SOS
Said don’t call him Matthew my mathew has “poppy eyes” meaning don’t wish your baby to have bulging eyes lol. As it turned out mathew didn’t have poppy eyes and our Leigh prefers Matty or Matt anyway. As for Zoe we moved to our old home town when she was nearly two and through her while school life there has been Zoe b and Zoe s. Just goes to show doesn’t really matter anyway.
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Do u think the creators of “Get Smart” are angry at Jessica Simpson naming her DAUGHTER Maxwell? Sometimes celebrities need their heads read. Maxwell, now and forever, is not a sweet baby girl name!!!
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I was wondering whether all the parents of little boy Max’s out there at the moment are mad about that too.
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Its actually a real tradition in the South (in the US) to name little girls after family surnames.
I think Maxwell is the sweetest name for a gorgeous little girl! Each to their own I guess.
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IMHO I think reserving names is ridiculous – I am TTC and if it is a boy for cultural reasons I have no choice about the name – it’s ok I like it – my husband has the same name as four if his cousins for the same reason – they are all very different people. As for if we are lucky enough to get a girl well whatever floats our boat at the time. At this stage having a baby is the focus and the name thing well maybe I will get there just not yet
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When I was 11, I bagsed Camilla. I am officially unbagsing it if anyone wants it.
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Camilla reminds me of that old bat married to Prince Charles. You can keep it!
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I love the name Camilla, but agree that Camilla Parker Bowles has kind of ruined it…
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I also loved the name Camilla when I was little. Mainly because the crimping irons I owned were Camilla Crimpers! Oh the 80′s.
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Not so much a first world problem as a first child problem. Once a child arrives, they’ll find out how trivial the name thing is in the scheme of things – as first time parents it will be the least of their worries. Bet second pregnancies don’t result in the same angst!!!
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I have a fairly common name for my generation, Rebecca, and when i was married, 2 of my 3 bridesmaids had the same name as me!! My husband and I have the same initials now
and on an aside, my sil and I had our eldest kids a few weeks apart, both childrens names start with E and when our second children were born, we unknowingly called our children names that start with H. A name is just a name!!
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Nobody owns a name or has dibs to it. I don’t have children yet, but say for example one of my friends had their baby before me and named their child my favourite name (atm for a boy, it’s Jude), it wouldn’t deter me from naming my baby something different. I think if you really really like a name, you shouldn’t have to change it based on someone else ‘taking’ the name first.
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My son’s name is Jude – you have lovely taste
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Jude is a lovely name, I think I might start calling my 19 year old son Jude. Lol
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Whatever you decide to name your child….you don’t actually own the name. So what if someone else takes a fancy to the name you’ve settled on and they give their own child that handle.
You can still give that name to your bundle of joy.
If you are determined that absolutely no one else on the planet shall be given this name….copyright it ! Sue the backside off anyone else who dares to use it.
Mum & Dad happy. Copyright lawyer happy !
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This certainly can get tricky! I would go by the rule,first to deliver gets the name. If someone else still wants to use it later, no worries. But people talking about maybe having kids and using a certain name? The name is absolutely not off limits.
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My mother and I spent an hilarious night together a few years ago drinking wine and trying to come up with unique names for my yet-to-be-born at the time niece. We went through a hippy phase of Meadow, Saffron and Honey Tree and a classic literature phase of Elizabeth and Juliet but our favourites were when we were just saying words. Recliner and Face Wipe were definitely at the top of our list.
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Awesome!! Thanks for the laugh!!! Face Wipe has me rolling on the floor! I’m pregnant with our 3rd, and honestly people name your child whatever the hell you want – including Sophia & Samuel which are my daughter & sons’ names – if anything it’s a compliment!
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My sister in law lives in a very small rural community. She and her husband named their daughter a very old fashioned and extremely uncommon first name with a lovely but more common second name. A neighbour used that exact name a few months later! Now the girls are in the same year in a school with 25 kids.
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