(no subject)

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

Not that we are in any way ttc but my boyfriend and I did start talking about baby names the other night.  I have had my names picked out since pretty much forever, and I'm kind of stuck on them.  I would love to have 5 kids so I have my main 4, plus a backup for each sex...
Claire Margaret
Audrey Elena
William Richard
Henry Stephen
Bridget/Eleanor Francesca
Robert Nicholas

My boyfriend says those names are pretty, but too fancy for our kids (not really sure what that means lol).  His picks?
Lisa
Stacey
Maria
Joe
Frank

He did say that I could name them because I will go through the trials of carrying them and giving birth... but I feel kind of bad now.  We did have a good laugh about how completely different our choices are, considering we're pretty easygoing/evenly matched in like everything else!  We did, however, agree that we don't want any double names (I don't really know what they're called in English... noms composés in French, like Jean-something or Marie-something, which is super common in Quebec).

Comments

[behindgrey-eyes.livejournal.com]

Haha, wow your taste is names are very different.

I like Claire Margaret and Audrey Elena a lot :) I think the only one I like from your bfs is Maria. Joe would have to be Joseph for me and I know a Lisa and a Stacey and they are not the nicest of people :p

Thats sweet that he'd let you name the kids but I guess if you feel bad, when the time comes, you could try combining some of your names with his. I think Maria would go nicely with some of the girls names you have and Joseph or Francis would fit well with Robert, Henry and William I think :)

[lutine.livejournal.com]

Lisa and Stacey feel very 80s to me. Your names are more classic, I love them. :)

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

I like your name choices much better. Most of his sound dated.

[r0ck-y0ur-s0ul.livejournal.com]

Some guys have strange tastes...my SO wants a future daughter we may have to have the middle name Serenity...just, no.

[dustthouart.livejournal.com]

The hilarious thing is that the names that your husband thinks of as "plain" are actually much more likely to stand out. I've met <5 year olds with all your names; I've never met a <10 year old named any of his.

What you might do is show him some provincial (are you in Canada?) or national (if you're in the States) popularity data for names. Show him that William is in the top ten, whereas Stacey is... not.

I've noticed that men tend to be more concerned on average than women with children's names fitting in, not getting made fun of, etc, so if you can show him that your choices really are very conventional, he might feel better about them.

[jeweledvixen.livejournal.com]

You have much better taste in names. They're not fancy, just elegant and timeless. His seem dated. Don't feel bad about giving your children beautiful names.

[cremepuff.livejournal.com]

Claire Margaret is really quite lovely.

And I'm sorry, no offense to your man, but his name choices are right out of the 70's. :)

[hermione-vader.livejournal.com]

Your names are fantastic! Beautiful, but not over the top. I think I like Claire Margaret and Eleanor Francesca best for girls and Henry Stephen and Robert Nicholas best for boys. Your boyfriend's picks are kind of dated, though I like Maria.

I do get what he's saying about "fancy" names, though. When I read posts and forums on Nameberry, people string names together like "Imogen Beatrice Cecilia" and "Isabel Aurora Grace" and while they sound beautiful in theory, they don't seem very practical if a mother is yelling them down the aisle in a grocery store. Over-the-top names can be just as bad as yooneek names or trendy ones like Brylee or Jayden. Yours don't fall into that category.

We did, however, agree that we don't want any double names

I know exactly what you're talking about: common American ones are Mary + Middle Name. Mary Anne, Mary Elizabeth/Mary Beth, Mary Ellen, Mary Jo, Mary Claire, Mary Katherine/Mary Kate. They're considered very Catholic/Midwestern/Southern here, but they still get used. It'd be nice if they were more common here---then people would know to call me Mary Grace and not just Mary.

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

It's rather funny he picked such 80s names since he's only 25 (but they definitely make me think like, Babysitter's Club, Lisa Frank...)

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

Catholic - exactly! The native Quebecois who are typically quite religious all give their kids Jean and Marie names... My sister's boyfriend has 5 brothers and 3 sisters and they are all John and Mary: Jean-Roland, Jean-Gilbert, Marie-Diane, Marie-Suzanne etc... a bit ridiculous! I also know Simon-Pierre and Raymond-Pierre and Anne-Cecelia for example.. it's very popular to have double first names and hyphen last names! It makes things a bit crazy.

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

Which is hilarious because's he's only 25 lol

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

I graduated in 1999 and I think we had like 7 Lisa's ... Oddly I was the only Sara. I actually only know 1 Audrey (she's 2), no Claires, a ton of Sofia/Sophia/Sophies, and one William (he's about 10). I know my names are probably more on the popular side but I'm ok with that. :)

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

oof ... at least it's only a middle name :P

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

I kind of like Stacey as a nn for Anastasia, but I think of that as such an exotic name that I don't think I could logically name my daughter that (another fave of mine is Svetlana, nn Lana, but since we aren't at all Russian...)
Maybe combinations are the way to go... I supposed I can consider a compromise lol

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

Thank you :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

Love your choices! Claire Margaret is gorgeous. I like Margaret, and Claire--but I prefer the Clare spelling. I love Audrey Elena, Henry Stephen, and Bridget/Eleanor Francesca (I think Bridget is under-rated personally! but Eleanor is beautiful too, just more popular).

As for your boyfriend, well, I see nothing wrong with Maria or Joseph nn Joe. Lisa and Stacey seem dated, but Frank could work as a nn for me for something like Francis or Franklin.

[cremepuff.livejournal.com]

I have to confess that I have a soft spot for French hyphenated names like that...and I'm not even Quebecois or French! My favorites are Jean-Luc (my Star Trek love is starting to show...) and Marie-Sophie. But I can see how it can get out of hand.