Leila Rose Petal

This time around I’m a bit frustrated by the naming thing. The first time there were names which jumped out at us and felt right and stuck almost immediately - Finn Henry for a boy and Lily Maeve for a girl. This time I’m not feeling that certainty.

I like Mark’s choices (Declan or Lucy), but they’re not ‘it’ for me and I don’t want to use Lily Maeve this time. I’m not really sure why, but it just doesn’t feel right for this baby.

I’m having an easier time feeling good about girls’ names than boys’ and I can’t help but wonder if that’s an omen. My front runner at the moment is Leila. It was my paternal grandmother’s second name and it’s always appealed to me. Lucinda (Lucy) is my second choice, possibly followed by Elizabeth. I’m also partial to Willa, although I don’t think Mark likes it. The others on my list are Amity (or Amy) and Freya.

The boys’ names that appeal to me at the moment are little out of left field and that’s a concern from the point of view of sticking the kid with a name he’s going to have to spend his life explaining. I keep coming back to Beck, although I can see it having issues since so many Rebeccas go by ‘Bec’. The other standouts for me are Daman (I have a nephew called Damian, so it’s unlikely we’d use it), Edan, Jasper, Conall or Astin. I also have a soft spot for Alan as it was my favourite uncle’s name, but I don’t think Mark is enthused. I don’t mind Declan, but it just doesn’t grab me.

My criteria for choosing names are:
Not so common that there will be 3 other kids in their class at school with the same name.
Not so uncommon that the name draws ridicule and has to be explained or justified repeatedly
Rolls off the tongue nicely with the surname
Has a nice meaning
Is not already in use by a living relative (The Mavis’ family had multiple Bobs, Cecils and Joes for years - it was very confusing), friend, someone ridiculously famous or someone I don’t like.

Here are the origins and meanings of the names I’ve mentioned:
Girls
Leila (Arabic) - Dark as the night
Lucinda (Latin) - Beautiful light
Elizabeth (Hebrew) - Consecrated to God
Willa (English) - Resolute
Amity (French) - Friend
Freya (Anglo-saxon) - Queen of the gods

Boys
Beck (English) - The brook
Daman (Celtic/Gaelic) - Demon
Edan (Celtic/Gaelic) - Fire
Astin (French) - Starlike
Jasper (English) - Semi-precious stone
Conall (Irish, Irish Mythology, Scottish) - Strong wolf
Alan (Celtic/Gaelic) - Handsome
Declan (Celtic/Gaelic) - Irish Saint