Weβve come to the end of BBβs first half term at school and never in all of her four years have I been asked about her name so much. ‘Where does it come from?’ ‘How did you get the idea for that?’ and ‘Is that actually her real name?’
For those of you who donβt know, sheβs called Bluebell. When people first hear this responses tend to range from the enthusiastic βwhat a lovely name!β to polite silence to clear disapproval. Often, when strangers ask BB her name and she tells them, they turn to me for confirmation with a look on their face that says βdid she just say Bluebell?β
When Misery Guts told his granny – in a voice Iβve only ever heard him use when speaking to his grandparents – she simply said βoh’ in the most disapproving tone you can imagine (think Hyacinth Bucket).
But I didn’t care. With a βboringβ surname like Brown (that’s right, BB’s blog name is very imaginatively her initials)Β we thought her first name should be something a bit different. I think Bluebell Brown has a ring to it, andΒ sounds like someone youβd like to be friends with. I can’t imagine her being called anything else.
So how do you pick the perfect baby name? While some people don’t likeΒ our choice, others have said they wished they were brave enough to go with the name they really liked but ‘daren’t’.
I thought about bothΒ BB’s and Little B’sΒ long and hard (he’s Maximilian, so not so left field), and here’s what I did:
1. I bought a baby name dictionary and read it from start to finish. It took a while and several months (let’s face it, time is on your side) andΒ I figured I might come across something I hadn’t thought of.
2. I wrote down all the names, and combination of names, I liked in a notebook and looked at them every now and again. Some grew on me (Misery Guts declared our daughter would be called Bluebell before we even knew whether she would be a girl. At first I thought it was ridiculous, but it was the one name I kept going back to) while I went off others. It also gave me the chance to see how they looked on paper.
3. I considered how the names might be shortened by other people. You canβt control how friends and family might shorten a name in the future, so avoid anything you wouldnβt be happy with.
4. If you and your other half can’t agree on a name don’t stress about it too much. In the first 10 minutes after the birth you can call the baby anything you want.
5. Have courage in your convictions! It doesnβt matter what anyone else thinks.
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Great advice our naming journey was complicated by different languages too. We had to find names that worked in English & Dutch. At first I loved Jake but hubby’s family said Yake and I knew it would drive me mad! We didn’t even realize we’d called both our boys after Disney animated characters until someone ‘kindly’ pointed that out!!!
And I love the name Bluebell.
Goodness that sounds like a nightmare – glad we didnβt have a language barrier to contend with!
My baby was premature, we always knew his middle name (a common name and one from both sides of the family). But when he arrived unexpectedly we panicked and used the chosen middle name as his first name, then spent two months coming up with a new middle name! Two grandfathers were very happy to think their first grandson had been named after them. When I heard some of the more unique and thoughtful names chosen for other babies in our ante-natal group I wished we given ours some more thought, but I can’t imagine him called by any other name now. Enjoyed reading this post π #MyFavouritePost
It sounds like you made the right choice – how special to carry on a family name x
Bluebell Brown does have a ring to it, its so cute π Choosing a name is such a big decision because its someone else who has to live with it. Its a big responsibility! #myfavouritepost
Debbie
I know – I just hope BB likes it when she’s older x
Bluebell is such a pretty name! I chose baby names back in school and only actually ended up deviating slightly in the spelling – Marianna was named after Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility. I wanted the ‘eh’ pronounced at the end so changed it to an ‘a’ to be sure! The other half didn’t like it much at first, but I pointed out that I was the one giving birth and so I would be the one naming her… π
I love Marianne too for exactly the same reason! Lovely name x
I LOVE the plosive sound of it. (I’m an English teacher… we should know what sounds good and what doesn’t!) haha π
I bet you hear lots of different names too x
What a beautiful name! It’s not easy picking them! I had to do a double take at your linky thumbnail as we have the same bedspread and that photo looked like me when I was younger!! Spooky! #Abitofeverything
I love that bedspread but it’s tatty now thanks to the cats clawing it – I might just try & get the same one again!
I agree with you especially number 5! As parents, we are judged all the time, aren’t we? Right from the time we announce our pregnancy! I had a “proper common” name and I was teased. Hope to see you again @ #abitofeverything.
That’s awful that you were teased!x
I love the name Bluebell. When my boys were born I was very restricted by my ex in my choice of names. I have a love of traditional ‘bible’ names, Zachariah, Joseph, Abraham (i wasnt an abrahams at the time, I wouldnt have been that cruel).
what interests me is the cycle of popularity in babies names. I have a very common name for women of my age, but I can not think of a single baby or child I know called Tracey. Maybe it will come back into fashion one day.
You’re right, I’ve never met a baby Tracey either! Time will tellx
When choosing our son’s name I was struck by how much of a responsibility it was. It took a while but we went with Finn and I love it, you just know when you find ‘the one’. I love Bluebell, such a cool name, it makes me think of the main character in a children’s adventure story. #myfavouritepost
Finn is really classic and timeless, I love that name too x
My daughter born 24/10/15
Is named Bluebelle I love it, my husband wanted to call her Blue but I wasn’t sure, as thought it too masculine. I compromised and said you can still call her blue and if when she’s older she doesn’t like it she can call herself Belle. He now only calls her Bluebelle as he loves it. Her middle names Gwendoline after a family member, a name I dislike but who likes their middle names anyway lol, smith is our surname very traditional so who cares
Misery Guts calls our Bluebell ‘Bluey’ for short which has kind of stuck, although I always still call her Bluebell. Love her middle name too!
I just stumbled across your post as we are due in January and are in love with the name Bluebell but have had soooooo many negative comments about it! It really baffles me as in my eyes it is just another floral name like Poppy, Primrose or Daisy! Have the comments got any worse since your daughter has got older? The negative comments are making us want to choose it even more to be honest, as it may stop it from becoming a common name, but I would hate for her to get bullied because of it at school! She too will be a Bluebell Smith as above, and i think common last names need a bold first name! xx
Do it! Don’t ask people what they think, it’s what YOU think that matters! Our Bluebell will be seven this August and we only ever get positive comments now, people always repeat it in surprise and then say things like ‘how lovely’! (I think they’re being genuine!) She has never been bullied at school about it either, where her best friends are two Daisy’s and a Lily! Like you say it’s just another flower name, albeit a bit more unusual and less likely to be duplicated with other friends. Since writing this post we now have a Marigold too, who will be 18 months old this month. Good luck!