The Name Game

I've known parents that have taken days to name their newborn baby. I've read stories about mothers and fathers hating the name they picked for their child so much that they legally changed it. Most parents-to-be that I know, can't pick just one name, so they wait until they meet their little one to make the final decision.

Our story...

As soon as I found out I was pregnant I started thinking about baby names.

Who am I kidding? Years before I was even married, my best friends and I spent many afternoon drinking champagne and talking baby names.

I started list titled, Names I like, on my computer; one column for girls, one column for boys.

Girls:
Ava
Leah Renee
Sophia
Leila Renee

Boys:
Dylan
Isaiah
Ethan
Nathan

My mom bought us a baby name book. Betsy sent me daily texts of names she had heard. It was the most popular topic for conversation when I was around. But we still didn't know the gender of our baby.

I'm sure I didn't sleep the night I found out I was having a girl. The name game had officially begun.

Jeff and I started "trying out" names for our unborn baby girl. One week we called her Sophia. One day we called her Nadia. Valerie and Betsy refused to call her anything but Valeriebetsy.

Leila was the last name we had to try.

To this day, Jeff and I know we picked the perfect name for Leila. Somehow it just fits her personality! One of the meanings of Leila is "night beauty" or "born at night". Turns out she was born in the middle of the night, 12:26 a.m. to be exact.

We wanted a family name for her middle name. Renee is my cousin...the last one of us girls born, the first one to have a baby. I admire her family values, trust her advice, and love her positive spirit.

And I have to say, Leila Renee has a beautiful ring to it.

This is Renee with Leila Renee!July 2011

I'm linking up this week with Mama G over at Growing up Geeky. This Tuesday's topic was baby names! Check out some other TAT posts or link up a post of your own.


Naming your little one(s) can be fun and stressful. There's a lot to think about...

How did you decide on your baby's name?