My wife and I are expecting, and thus we have to pick a name for our new baby. We’ve perused baby name websites and tried the Freakonomics tactic of predicting popular names, but to be honest none of it was really working.
As a Googler, though, the answer should have been obvious – let the Internet do it! So that’s what we’re doing, opening up our baby’s name to an Internet-wide vote.*
In the next couple days I’ll also put up a live graph of the results. If you’d like to learn how to use Google Docs and Spreadsheets to put a poll on your site (or name your baby), check out this post.
Feel free to send this link to your friends, put it up on social news sites, or write about it on your blog – the more votes the better.
If you can’t see the poll, follow this link to get to it.
EDIT: Here’s a little preview graph, with the most popular boys’ and girls’ names so far. I’ll add a graph with user-suggested names soon too.
DOUBLE EDIT: I’ve moved the graphs to the next page, so as not to influence the voting.
TRIPLE EDIT: The form isn’t working for some readers, it looks like all the visitors from neatorama have taken Docs by surprise. I’ll talk to some folks at work tomorrow. If you can’t see the form, please try back again a little later. If you subscribe to my blog you’ll see an update when I’m sure everything’s okay.
* We do reserve the right to ignore the results of the poll completely. Otherwise we’ll end up with a kid named Mr. Splashy Pants. Actually, that has a nice ring to it…
go with Jude – boy or girl it’d work
Sydney people are stuck up snobs…go for melbourne
I have suggested, for a girl, Alice Fiona as these are the names of my own daughters, who tell me they love their names/
I have suggested, for a boy, William Dane, the name of my uncle who lies in Flanders fields (Polygon Wood actually) in what is now Belgium and who left his home in Invercargill, New Zealand to fight in the First War and died 19 February 1918. If I had a son I would have named him William Dane.
As a random internet stranger, I’d like to offer my congratulations on your lovely baby. I’ve chosen Althea and Alexander on your list.
However, as a mum of two (they’re strapping young men now), I’d like to make a suggestion that you might find helpful. Like you and Ann, my husband and I couldn’t really attach to a name during the pregnancies. We decided to wait until each one was born, trusting that something important would happen in our hearts. It did. Each time. My older son was premature and took four days to tell us his name. It came to us as we stood yet again over his crib in the hospital on the fourth day. And it suits him perfectly; he has adopted his own version of it as he has grown older and we respect his choice. Our younger son was more dramatic: ten minutes after he was born, I heard myself say “his name is ***** ****”. And just then my husband brought his 6 yr-old brother in, who said, “Mummy, why don’t we call the new baby “*****?”
I haven’t told you my boys’ names because I respect their privacy. I don’t mind you knowing mine. Anyway, the gist of my message to you is not to worry if you can’t decide on a name before your child is born. You may find that whatever you had been thinking of beforehand, you now have a strong sense of what fits your child now that you can see and hold him/her.
All the very best to you.
Hi
Don’t choose anything too popular (believe me there is nothing fantastic about being one of 20 million Jennifers on the planet) but don’t choose something that is too tacky and modern either.
I have added Alegre to your list of girls names as it was similar to some of your other choices and means “happy” in Portuguese (and maybe in spanish too).
My daughter is called Lily, after her great grandmother. I like flower names for girls: Rose, Poppy, Daisy, Violet.
For boys, Oliver would be a nice choice too.
Hi again
Another idea: you have put Ada on your list but what about Ava? It reminds me of Ava Gardner- a strong attractive woman
love ‘sunday roast’ – LOL!!!
‘sidney’ – unisex…
‘darwin’ – reminds me of dingos…
sorry – ‘malaika’ i’m pretty sure in an asian language is an insulting word…
Guys,
Never named a kid, but wih a bit of luck I’ll get to do it eventually…
I’ve given it a bit of thought and igure you should keep these “rules” in mind:
1.Don’t have rhyming first name and surname, so ErIN MorrisON, JasON morrisON etcetera are OUT. They just sound silly.
2.Don’t go with a first name that can be slurred into the surname when speaking quickly and then the person at the other end of the phone mis-hears it and you have to start over… eg “Mat Stilton”, when said quickly, becomes “Max Tilton” (you get the idea)
3. “Splashy McMansion” is a bad idea.
4. “of the Overflow” would be a great middle name. Aussies will understand it. :)
Good luck!
Woops, totally didn’t mean any offence with the Jason Morrison thing! I was just looking at your surname and thrying to thinkof a fist name that ended in “ON”. Sorry dude!
matt
I *hate* the idea of an internet poll to name your baby! Names are so subjective, different people will have wildly different opinions so a bunch of internet strangers don’t have a chance in hell of coming up with something ‘just right’.
Nice idea for a bit of a laugh though, and obviously you won’t be going with the result unless it’s what you wanted anyway…!
(My 4 children have the most perfect names, they go with their surname and middle names, their family heritage, their personalities, their appearances, family in-jokes, the hopes I have for their futures, what impression I want them to project as children and as adults, what names they ‘told’ me when I first laid eyes on them seconds after their births, in fact I’m the proudest mother in the world for choosing such fabulous titles for such fabulous kids… Of course, I *could* tell you what you should call yours, but that’s your job!!)
Good luck x
What is wrong with this world? Is the excitement and thrill of naming one’s own child now gone cyber? How will that poor child react when, he or she reaches the age of understanding and gets told that his or her name was chosen by a bunch of STRANGERS ON THE WEB! Maybe this whole fiasco is nothing more than the parents trying to get their 15 minutes of fame or their name in lights. Come on Mum & Dad, choose the baby’s name yourself and be proud!
Say each name 100 times in a row. If you’re sick of it or it’s too long, then don’t name the kid that name. by the time they are five, you will have to say their name like, 300 times a day. you can’t find it hard to say or get sick of it. Nor should it be hard to distinguish the sounds for the hard of hearling or older people.
Good luck! All the names you picked are great. Let the baby choose. Have the baby, then call him or her by the name and see what they respond to.
Bobox has been with me since I was 14. Love it
I chose Olivia which I feel is short but pretty, and Daniel, as both seem to run well with Morrison. Both could be abbreviated and still run well with the surname, but ultimately of course, the choice is yours. The first step is to see your baby born safe and well. Good luck.
Kate for a girl
Simple and easy to text..lol…K8
As an idea…..
We used my wifes maiden name as the middle name.
Family is important to us and it was a way of maintaining the link to where she came from.
All the best for parenthood…its great fun!!!
Great idea! I am due Nov. 27th (november is looking to be a popular month!) and we still have no idea what to name our baby. Cheers and congrats :)
What an exciting time for both of you !
My choice of name for a girl – Aroha – is the Maori word for ‘love’.
Seemed appropriate, and sounded like it went well with Morrison too.
Hope all goes well
:-)
I got an error so forgive me if I’ve double-voted. I’m a random Internet stranger. I would vote for Cassia and Isaac for your lists, and pair them with middle names as Cassia Giselle or Cassia Celeste or Isaac Vincent or Isaac Martin. I named my daughter Elena Gabrielle, again with the idea of a name that could take her into the boardroom or studio or matronhood elegantly. (Gabrielle from an esteemed grandfather.)
My name is what it is and I’ve made my peace with it, but nobody ever pronounces it properly – why would they? It perfectly reflects my ethnicity, but who knows from Estonian? Good luck to you all for the home stretch, and then the fun really starts.
Well, it’s the first time my name is so popular! Actually, I don’t know if I find it bad or good…
And btw, my birthday is on November 15th!
Always a conundrum, but somehow the name mostly seems to suit the child as they grow older…like some people and their pets that tend to resemble each other as time goes by.
I chose the name Jaan (or even Ja’an) as it’s non gender specific, (and that makes a difference nowadays..? yeah, right.) and is a combination of Mum & Dads’ first letters…It should act as a reminder of his/her heritage throughout his/her unique life, in the first degree.
Just a thought…and good luck with it all.
Cheers,
Rick
Cairns, Qld. Australia.
Hi ya,
Great idea to have a poll, then choose whatever you prefer. I chose Althea and Aaron off your list – just because I liked them best from those you had an they sounded good with Morrisson. But something else might be even better Aaron Morrison has the on on thing. I suggest you avoid first names with lots of s’s because of the lisp thing (we had to do that too with our surname), and I am picking shorter names sound better with Morrisson too. Theo, Thea or even 1 syllable names like Jay. Claire etc. I personally like Alana for some reason.
With our 2 we shortlisted middle names as well, as we wanted an important family relative to be honoured there, then we worked out which our longer list of preferred first names went well with it. I agree completely with saying the name aloud a lot to see how it sounds. With Morrisson a 1 syllable 1st, 2 syllable 2nd, or shortish 2 syllable 1st name, 1 syllable middle name are likely to sound more balanced aloud.
Also think about nick names and name calling. Silly Lilly, Luke Puke are just a couple of examples of many! I am a great believer of conventional spelling to make life easy for everyone – I have friends who hate their names as they always have to spell it out. I didn’t want my kids to be one of loads of children with their name in class, but not to have something faddy and dated as soon as this decade is over. Olivia is way over used in my book.
Best wishes,
Helen (New Zealand)
Personally I think letting the baby choose the name is just ridiculous, but short short listing then waiting to see the baby is o.k.
I also tried to picture whether the names we gave our kids would fit no matter what they grew up to be. – a mechanic or a doctor/lawyer. Some names seem to pigeon hole people in our minds.
In an early post from JJ, he asked, “Will his middle name be Hendrix?”
Yeah…my second son’s name is Gideon Hendrix [Last Name]. It totally works for him.
My first son is Elijah Harrison (after the Beatle), and my youngest son is Lukas Hawkeye (after the Marvel character).
Anyway, I wrote in “Oona” for a girl (which could be a good nickname for “Ramona”), and I was torn between Levi and Isaac for a boy…
Call a girl Chiandra and a boy Xern
name her google.whats the harm anyway she will probably be the most popular girl around.if that fails try vonneta
i vote for Daniella One or (Daniella 1)… that will be the name of my daughter, so there will be two of them… good luck
i voted for olivia and levi. but i really love ada too and think it sounds lovely with morrison. olivia is a little too popular for me, but its still very pretty, and has some great nickname possibilities. something to consider are how you feel about nicknames, and if you are big on it, think about what the most likely nickname would be for the name and make sure you like it. does that make sense?
some more suggestions for a girl…
india/indiana/indie
francesca
pippa
for a boy…
max
samuel
milo/miles
august
but i really love levi for a boy.
Heey, cool idea I must say! I pray for a boy ;) Greetings from Croatia!
First of all I wish good health and happiness to you and your child.
The girl name I suggested (Nefeli), relates to an ancient Greek cloud nymph. The boy name (Epameinondas or Epaminondas), relates to one of the greatest (although not so much known) men of ancient Greece, the man who beat the Spartans, a great warrior but also very well educated and cultured.
Stories of both you can easily find at wikipedia. Good luck…..!
Olivia is very, very overused right now. She would be known as Olivia M. for her whole school life. Don’t do it! Actually, one cool thing about that would be that her initials would be OM – cool if she turns out to be into yoga. I am voting for Ada because one of my favourite teachers of all time was named Ada, it is simple, classic, easy to pronounce and pretty.
For a boy, Erik is nice. Or Erick. Or Eric. You can see there would be spelling issues, though! Sydney with the “y” is often a girl’s name these days.
I’ve been teaching preschool for 25 years, so I have seen a lot of names come in about out of fashion. Just be sure it is something your child can live with past age 5!
well i have four of my own and most of the time the right name just comes along my chilldren have fairly common names except for my youngest which we made up his name is tanin jamie but he does het called tj a fair bit but i always call him tanin and then theres my name shasta i have never ever in my life met anyone with my name i think it is very uniqe and i never realy got teased as a child exept for shasta pasta my childrens middel names are also diffrent my daughters is immoen and my sons are perrin maitland and averie fell free to use any of our name i would love to know another shasta out there in the world and as far as i know here in australia shasta is a daisy and in america there a lake called lake shasta which from pictures ive seen is beautiful goodluck in your search and something eles that may help is when i was choosing my childrens names i imagined my self standing on the back veranda calling my kids in for dinner and the right name just felt right mabet that would work for you
Hi All the best to your beautiful wife with the delivery, good health to both you and your baby.
As far as names goes I myself like to go for unusual names, as common names are to familar and were as unusual name allows them to be more of an individual from the day 1.When I pre chose my names of my daughters as suggested above , though uncommon, I changed them slightly to make tham a little bit more different.
As a suggestion avoid names that might be turned into a bad nick name, (Like Dick most common or Pat you would constantly get pats on you back or head etc).
Good luck
This is a fantastic read!!!!
It is so funny how people can have such different opinions – especially when it comes to something as personal as the naming of babies. I think this poll is a great idea – would have done it myself if I’d have thought of it!!!
Anyway, I had to vote for my children’s names as i think they are both wonderful names. As a teacher, I have seen so many terrible names and it took great thought for us to choose. My son is Hunter – which is aparently a gender neutral name – but i have yet to meet a girl Hunter (here in Australia anyway). It is a strong name, and very masculine I think.
My daughter is Layla, a name that is beautiful and sweet, yet not overly common. My husband and I wanted to choose uncommon (but not weird) names for our kids and I think we did a great job. We always receive comments on how nice their names are – especially Layla.
They are both easy to spell, easy to say, and their names go well with their middle names. Hunter Isaac and Layla Grace. I kept the biblical names for middle names and I think they work perfectly.
All the best for your new little miracle. I knew my babies names before they were born and it suits them beautifully. As other have said though, if you dont know for sure, once you have him/her in your arms you will know the right name.
All the best.
i love the name savannah eden as i i feel it is strong ,yet pretty for a girl ! and i have always liked nate for a boy,s name which you dont here of a lot of nate,s cheers julie
All the best for you and your baby!
How did you name it then?
What is the name, please?
what ever you name your Baby, Remember that someday they are going to be on a playground alone with a bunch of other kids and what you name him/her will effect whither they play with or beat the living **** out of your child.
Please, Please what ever you do, don’t do to your kid what these celebrities have done to theirs.
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article2130988.ece
these unique names may seem wonderful to you but your child will have to live with this choice for the rest of their lives (or until they get emancipated and have their name legally changed)
Arabic names are super & most have beautiful meanings. so decide on the qualties you would like your child to have – & search for an arabic name that has that quality. Good luck!
MacKenzie is a awesome baby girl name. i think hunter is a great baby name fr a boy