Congratulations to me 🥳 I’ve given birth to a baby girl and I couldn’t be more happier. She weighed 7Ib 13oz and is healthy 🥰. But the big question is, what do I name her??? Choosing the right name for my baby is so important. It stays with them for the rest of their life 😱 – no pressure!
As a mum to my two other daughters I had their names picked out before they were even born. As I found out in both my pregnancies I was having a girl. With this little one I didn’t know she was a girl until she was born. See my My Second Trimester blog on why we wanted the gender to be a surprise.
The good news is the hospital didn’t put pressure on me to name her. For now we call her ‘baby Ford’. The midwife said I just need to register her birth within 42 days (6 weeks) of her date of birth. So I have plenty of time to pick the perfect name that suits her. I read online, it would be good to hear from an American that in your country you don’t register the birth, is that correct, please comment below?
Name Searching – make a list
My husband Rob and my two daughters did talk all the time about names before she was born. To the point when we watched a film we would watch the end credits. To see if any names stood out. For a boy we did like Harrison!!! Yep its full name would be Harrison Ford! And we did watch Indiana Jones as it’s one of our favourite films. Although I did have my doubts on naming a boy that. Could you imagine him going to school on dressing up as a hero day…. he could go as Indiana Jones! lol
Anyway, for a girl’s name I am struggling so need to do some looking! I typed into Google, the top 100 girls names. I went through the full list. Although I enjoyed going through this list, nothing really stood out for me.
Shopping trips helped
I would go shopping and look at everyones name badges and listen to people talk to see what there names were. It became my obsession! Then one night we watched a film my girls have been bugging me and Rob to watch, called Enola Holmes. Like with any other film we watched the end credits. Then boom the first name that appeared became a name we all liked. So before I do reveal her name I have some tips that I have learnt with baby names.
My baby name tips
Have more than one baby name in mind
You can have a certain name in mind and say yes that’s what our baby is going to be called. Then the baby arrives and it doesn’t look nor suit that name. Good news is in the UK you have 6 week to register the birth. So plenty of time to find a name.
Write the baby name down and say it out loud
With my surname being Ford, we had names that just would not go. So for example Summer Ford which I did like (yes name came from School of Rock film). But when said aloud it sounds like Somerford which is a place in the UK. Or for a boy Brad Ford or Ben Ford. Again Bradford is a place in the UK and when saying Ben Ford aloud sounds like bend forward. So my tip here is write the name down and say it out loud. You don’t want your baby to have a name that sounds silly. Oh and I also went to school with a girl called Jodie Brodie. So make sure the name doesn’t rhyme either lol.
Push backs from family and Friends on baby names
One of my close friends never revealed her babies names until they were born. The reason why she did this was she wanted to completely avoid everyones opinion. Which is a brilliant idea and I would recommend it. As sometimes family members and friends, as lovely as they can be can end up spoiling the name you and your partner like.
Unusual baby names may be an issue with spelling and pronouncing
My eldest daughter Holly we could have spelt Hollie which I do like. My husband said ‘NO’ to that spelling. And for that I am grateful for. I mean when I go out shopping and they have those kids personalised name stands containing a frame or keyring. I hardly see Hollie but alway see Holly.
Also I think about when my daughter is older. There is nothing worse when she has to repeatedly spell her name out. So for example I met someone called Marc and he told me he has to tell everyone its spelt with a C and not a K! As I said above their name stays with them for the rest of their life.
Middle baby names
‘Will your baby have a middle name?’
My answer to this is yes. I have a middle name as do my other 2 daughters so my third daughter will too. My husband doesn’t have a middle name and isn’t into middle names at all. But he lets me have my way 🙂
My tip for middle names is I like to make them meaningful. So my eldest and middle daughters are named after family members who mean a lot to me. And for this one well I do have middle name in mind!
So without further a do, let me introduce you to…..
Millie Hayley Ford
So continuing on with my baby name story. The end credits from the film Enola Holmes revealed the lead actors name was called Millie Bobby Brown. I did see the name Millie in the top 100 girls name list (see link above). But it just didn’t stand out for me at the time. Also as you can see Millie’s middle name is named after me, I mean why not. It was actually a close friend of mine who gave me the idea of naming her after me. As my fiend did the same with her daughter – so thank you Ruth if you are reading this :-).
If you have any baby name tips or advice please leave them in the comments below.
