We got so many great stories from our first baby-naming article, we couldn’t help but share some more! From sleep talking to Shakespeare, here are more funny, touching, and bizarre stories of how some parents named wee ones.
UPHOLDING TRADITION
“My mom was Merrilee Ann and I’m Kimberlee Ann. When we started looking for names, the girl name had to end in “-lee” with the middle name Ann. My husband came up with Brynlee Ann. We had this name in 2009, but ended up having a boy. My mom passed away six weeks after my son was born. We said if we ever had a girl, we would still name her Brynlee Ann since my mom knew that name. It took five more years, but we finally had our sweet girl and got to use our name.”
– Kimberlee, 37
THINK-FAST GENDER SWAP
“My mom thought for sure I was going to be a girl, so when I showed up she had to scramble for a boy’s name. Cracked open the Bible, and came up with Aaron.”
– Aaron, 33
WRESTLING AND WESTERNS
“My daughter’s name came from several different places. Israel Augustus Lynn, but she goes by Gus. I was 17 at the time I was pregnant, and the story about Jacob wrestling an angel and then God changes his name to Israel—it really resonated with me. Because if having a baby at 17 isn’t wrestling an angel, I don’t know what is!
Augustus came from my daddy, who gave me many, many things. One of which is a love of Western movies. As an avid reader, one of his favorites was Larry McMurtry and the series “Lonesome Dove.” Augustus Maccrae, a hardened old ex-Texas ranger, was my favorite character. My daddy is always with my children and me. All of us girls, my sisters and my daughter and my niece, bear his middle name, Lynn.”
– Sharilyn, 40
SMASHING GOOD NAME
“My daughter’s name is Miranda Darcy. We wanted a name for our daughter that couldn’t be shortened to something stupid, that didn’t end in a “y/i”, had a classic feel, and had some historical significance and connection to a strong and independent woman.
Shakespeare coined, or at least popularized, our daughter’s first name. We both also loved music, so our kid’s middle name is from the bassist of Smashing Pumpkins. As a bonus, her mother liked the character Miranda from “Sex and the City,” and I liked Mr. Darcy from “Pride and Prejudice.”
– Travis, 38
OFF TO THE RACES
“I named Danica after the racecar driver. I’m not really into NASCAR, but I loved the name!”
– Christina, 30
CHANCE ENCOUNTERS
“When we found out we were pregnant, we told my husband’s older kids (from a previous marriage) that they could pick their new sister’s name as long as it started with an M, but we kept veto power, just in case. They chose Megan.
We were still undecided on a middle name at the point when we arrived at the hospital for our scheduled C-section. At the hospital, we had an awesome nursing team who took great care of us. Our receiving nurse was named Allison—my husband and I both thought that was a cool name. Add a little bit of the good hospital drugs and being really undecided on a middle name, and Megan became Allison.
Turns out the off-the-cuff name we picked had a lot of family significance. My grandmother’s name is Alison, and my husband had an Uncle Al (whom Allison, by sheer accident, shares a birthdate with). Her middle name, Claire, came from a character in the TV show “Lost,” because we had spent the better portion of the month prior to her delivery binge watching most of the show. We hadn’t yet seen the ending to “Lost” when we named her Claire—had we known Claire went nuts in the end, we may have changed our minds on that one!”
– Melissa, 31
TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP
“My husband and I wanted to name my son after my best friend Kristin, his best friend Kenny, and a man that was like a second father to me. One night in the middle of my sleep I woke up and said the name Kenstin! At the time we didn’t know if we were going to have a girl or boy, but decided if it was a girl it would be her middle name and if it was a boy it would be his first. He has three great and amazing people watching over him.”
– Jaime, 40
SHARE YOUR STORIES!
Do you have a funny, touching, or unique story about how you named your little one? Share it with us on Facebook or Instagram with #babyation.
