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Sunday, November 9, 2008

Names

Do the rest of you have as much trouble deciding on baby names as I do? I don't normally think of myself as indecisive, but when it comes to choosing the perfect name for a child I find myself completely unable to make a final decision. I usually go round and round, finally make a decision, then I change my mind. My last minute changes drove dh so crazy that when pregnant with Bophie, he said, "Bophie is the name and we are NOT changing it." Even in the hospital I was asking him, "Are you sure?" Of course he was -- and it was the right name.

Throughout this adoption we had agreed Therese would be one of her names. We could not agree on the other. We couldn't even agree if Therese would be her first or middle name. We finally agreed on Mary Therese (with plans to call her Tess) and sent out our email to the world announcing our little one. Then, predictably, I started having second thoughts.

Mary and Elizabeth have always been at the top of our list. Mary was the name of the child we miscarried this year and I feel she is connected to this child a world away from her family. Elizabeth because dh likes the idea of calling her Elizabeast :) and because we are going to the hill country. A third option came when we were learning the pronunciation of her Chinese name. Her name is pronounced zhoo lee on. It sounds like Julian-- so Juliana seemed to fit. The feast of St. Juliana is 3 days before her birthday too.

Now we are back to being undecided. For so long we have called her Tess, but I truly like all of these names. So we decided to put up a poll to see what our family, friends, and cyber friends thought. We reserve the right to call her whatever we like, even something not on the list. However, this is your chance to try to influence us a little. Be sure to vote on the poll on the right, or leave a comment letting us know what name you think best fits our little one.

7 comments:

Charlotte (WaltzingM) said...

As much as I love the Blessed Virgin and St. Elizabeth, I think Julianna would be a beautiful tribute to her given name but yet different enough that it really is a new name coming from her new family. I think Mary or Elizabeth would be too forced. Does that make sense?

BTW...Monica has been at the top of my list since Husband and I were married but neither of the girls whispered that name to me. We believe that the baby chooses their name and we just have to wait until they whisper it to us. You little one might be whispering Julianna to you even though you like Mary and Elizabeth. I can't think of one little girl that I know named Julianna. It's pretty unique!!! Just my 2 cents.

Sarah said...

What a gorgeous family you have. Thanks for commenting on my blog. (I voted Elizabeth!...my sister's name.)

Shelly said...

Nikki, they are all such beautiful names, no wonder you're having difficulty. Juliana is one of my most favorite, probably that's what we will name another baby if we were ever given one. Because it sounds like her Chinese name I voted for it. Tess, is delicate and lovely to! Elizabeast is hilarious, but I can't imagine this delicate creature as an Elizabeth (too much pride and prejudice has biased my imagination). We'll pray you find the name you will love to say 10,000 times when looking into her beautiful eyes.

Unknown said...

All of the names are beautiful! Love the middle name! :)

Herd Momma said...

I voted for Elizabeth but then after reading this post I like your reasoning for Julianna even more. I think that the connection to her Chinese name is very nice.

Also, I gave you an award on my blog.
Good luck on the naming. And yes, we had terrible trouble naming our kids. Audrey took 4-5 hours to name, William took 2 days. Then twins even when we knew they were boys had to live as A&B for a day and a half!

Anonymous said...

my pick is winning. Greg

Kim H. said...

Hmmmm....I like Elizabeth - but I'm partial to Elizabeth because my sister is Elizabeth. :)

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those names. May be you can just wait and see when you get there until you see her in person. Often their little faces decide on their names.