For some reason I always get stressed out picking baby names; it's just so IMPORTANT! I always want a name that comes to me like a thunderbolt and I just know it's the one. But, so far that hasn't happened. Instead we have a list of about half a dozen names where I think, "Yeah, that one could work..." So we decided to just pick our top one and try it on for size for a little while.
Sam was instrumental in deciding which name was #1. He has very strong opinions on baby names. In fact, he hasn't liked a single one we've suggested. I often ask him, "Do you like this name? How about this one?" And the answer is always "No!" Until we suggested Vivian. And he is adamant that the baby's name is Vivian. We were driving home from Idaho, talking about baby names and asking Sam for his input. Vivian was the first name he's ever answered "Yes!" to. We asked him several times, in various ways and he always insisted on Vivian. Now if you ask him what the baby's name is, he will tell you unequivocally, "it's Vivian!" I'm open to the idea that perhaps he has more insight than we do into the baby's preferences, and so we're trying out Vivian (Vivi for short) for awhile. What do you think?
Have you tried out Name Voyager? Even if you're not shopping around for a baby name, it's fun to see the stats on your own name. Another source for name inspiration that I've been turning to is the Social Security Index. You can search by decade to find the top names all the way back to the late 1800s.
For a good giggle, check out Utah Baby Namer, especially the "best of" page, or the book Bad Baby Names
