JFF - Have You Ever Changed Your Baby's Name After Meeting Them?

Updated on June 22, 2011
R.W. asks from Salt Lake City, UT
24 answers

I don't have a real reason for this question, just want to read your fun stories!!

I am 32 weeks pregnant with a surprise baby, and we have set names for either gender (Oliver for a boy, Claire for a girl). I can't imagine we will change our minds when we meet him/her, but has that ever happened to you? Did you name your baby something else on your 'list' or a name that you had never even thought of before?

Thanks!

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T.N.

answers from Albany on

Yes, my daughter's name is Margaret Katharine. I'd intended to call her Maggie-Kate. Immediately after I took my first look at her it was clear she was not a Maggie. So it's been just Margaret for 14 years.

:)

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R.D.

answers from Kansas City on

Me? No. My grandparents, yes! They were convinced their first (only) chid was a boy and had a name all picked out. Mind you, this was long before sonograms. Anyway.....my MOM was born, so they had to get a new name!

For me, I was set on a boy's name shortly after I found out I was pregnant. As for a girl's name, I was going to name her Hannah until I saw so many little girls with the same name. Then I didn't know what I was going to do! Luckily I found out it was a boy, so no worries.

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S.!.

answers from Los Angeles on

We did.... She was supposed to be McKenzie Rose or Nicholai Michael... well she was a Girl.. but everytime we said McKenzie she screamed her head off. Gracyn was a name I secretly loved and I mentioned and she was as calm as could be. My husband sat there for an hour messing with her and the 2 names. Again... everytime he said McKenzie she screamed and calmed down when we said Gracyn. We waited 24 hours to name her to be sure... but she is 7 months old now and Gracyn Mae seems to fit her perfectly.

Congrats and Good luck!

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K.M.

answers from Memphis on

I won't make a final decision on a name until I meet the baby but do narrow it down. With my first child, even though we didn't make a final decision, we really didn't waver. He was a surprise baby and we had a boy's name picked out but didn't declare it until he was born. We didn't really have a girl's name at all, just a list. (We would have been in trouble if it had been a girl.)

However, with my second child, we knew the sex so we made a list of girl's names and narrowed it down to either Lilah or Stella. I insisted we take our list of names to the hospital "just in case". When she was born, we looked at her and realized that neither Stella nor Lilah fit. So we pulled out the list and a name that we had eliminated months before jumped out at me as being the perfect name for her. I told my husband and he agreed. We named her Elsa and it fits her perfectly. The middle name we picked (Corinne) didn't change. It actually worked with most of the names on our list but for some reason we didn't want it as a first name.

4 moms found this helpful

N.G.

answers from Dallas on

I love your name choices, especially Claire (it's my daughter's middle name).

We didn't switch names after birth, but here's our story- we had picked the name Adrienne Gabrielle for our 2nd daughter long before she was conceived. At my very last sonogram, I was looking at my unborn daughter, and I started crying. My husband said, "What's wrong?!" I just said, "That's not her name!!!!" She just didn't look like an Adrienne to me. All week long I stressed over it, staring at her sonogram. I prayed on it. I meditated on it. My husband thought I was crazy. One day, about two weeks before she arrived, it popped into my head- Natalie Claire. And I knew that was her name. Weird how things like that happen! But when we know it's right, it just feels right.

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S.H.

answers from St. Louis on

yep, our younger son was unnamed for >24 hours! I just couldn't name him the name we had originally chosen....opting for a family name instead!

Our daughter's name was not finalized until she was born....& her name became a tribute to my great gma who'd also battled heart issues.

Good things can come of procrastination!

3 moms found this helpful

C.C.

answers from San Francisco on

Our first daughter was also a surprise baby, so we had both girl and boy names picked out. Serena was our first choice for a girl name. She was born, and there was nothing serene about her. She was obviously a very intense kid right from the start! We decided to name her Corinne instead. We just thought it fit her better. She is now 8, and when she read this story in her baby book, she laughed and said, "Serena?! What were you thinking, mommy?" So, I guess our assessment of our newborn's personality was right on!

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K.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

I stuck with my chosen kids' names. However, family lore has it that my SISTER was named Kendra for an entire day before my dad and I (yep, little 2yr old me) decided we didn't like that name and changed it to Lisa, behind my mother's back. It all worked out, though. We grew up in Japan and "Risa" sounds much better than "Kendora" in Japanese. "Kendora" sounds like a monster who might have fought Godzilla: Godzilla vs Kendora, the Epic Battle!

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V.B.

answers from Houston on

My husband and I both liked different names for our daughter (our first child). Both names were on the "list", but one was my favorite and one was his. When my daughter was born, we turned on the video camera and introduced her with the name that I liked. After a couple of minutes and the camera was off, I looked up at my husband and told him that she just didn't look like the name I chose, she looked like the name HE liked, so we turned the video camera back on and did a "take two!". That's the name that stuck and I couldn't imagine her with the other name (she's five years old now). :-)

I should mention that people had told me that I could change my mind when I saw her and I thought that was just about the silliest thing I had ever heard. I didn't believe it for a second! Until it happened to me.

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E.J.

answers from Lincoln on

When my son was coming (we knew he was a boy) I hadn't really thought of anything and his dad wanted Stanley (he saw it on his tape measure). I HATED that name and couldn't believe I'd even agreed to it, but I didn't have anything better. When my son was born I knew from the moment I saw him he was a Stanley. I love his name and I'm so glad that we went with it!! He fits it perfectly, a very serious, matter of fact boy :-) And we call him Stanley; not Stan :-)

2 moms found this helpful

N.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

We had names in mind...seperate and together first and middles. But she was named the day she born. She was a surprise child too...we did not find out beforehand the boy/girl thing, altho in my heart I knew this would be a girl. A chubby, brown haired, blue eyed girl! I was right.on.the.money! LOL

For girls names we favored Shelby and Quinn...middle names in our family are always after other family or special friends, so we had Samantha, Jo (short for Josephine, but would have considered that too...my Grandma's name), Catherine (or Katherine...we have both spellings on the sides)...and a few others...

In the end she looked like a Shelby...but hubby decided her middle name would be something not on the list...MY name! It is a very popular middle name in my family! Goes with everything! So she is a Shelby N.!

Congrats!

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T.K.

answers from Dallas on

I had a few in mind and waited until i met them to name them. There's only one I would change. I have a Jadyn - my little JJ. It fits her tough personality, but now there are so freakin many Jadyns. Poor kid. I guess Jadyn is the new Hannah of a few years ago or the new Michelle of my generation. Only worse because there are just as many boys named Jadyn. At least Hannah didn't have any boy Hannas in her class. I think if I changed it, I might go with Landry - she's so bossy I already call her Coach! Coach Landry is the all time great.

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R.L.

answers from Roanoke on

I was Joshua before I popped out as a GIRL!!

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A.M.

answers from Kansas City on

We did not change the first name but did change our sons middle name.

Anderson to Kristopher and back many times before he was born. Then the day came and as I was filling out the paperwork for the BC. I looked at my husband and said is it Anderson or Kristopher...we both just knew he was a Kristopher just like his dad! STUBBORN to all pieces.

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A.H.

answers from San Francisco on

We picked out two choices and waited to see the baby.

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S.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

No, we had a name picked out and once she was born, it fit her perfectly!

1 mom found this helpful
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K.S.

answers from Columbus on

Sure did. We didn't have a name picked for our son. He went for 2 days without one because nothing seemed to fit. He had some xrays those first days & imagine the problems trying to find "Baby Boy" xrays. Then, we had R. picked out for our daughter. I spent that first day with her & it just didn't work for me. It would up being Claire (great name).

1 mom found this helpful

M.P.

answers from Provo on

Sorry, a little late, but oh well.
I mostly just wanted to say Oliver is a great name! That's my son's name :D

But I know a several couples that had general names picked out, but didn't decide on any because they wanted to see the baby first and then decide from there :D

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A.S.

answers from Dallas on

My husband and I had names picked out long before I two girls were born and I was surprised they stuck as soon as we met them in all honesty. I do however wish that I could have waited until my second daughter hit about 1 year old before I named her. Now that she is 2 and her personality has started to blossom I would totally have picked something else for her even if the original name fit when she was born.

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S.H.

answers from Killeen on

My hubbys aunts name was Robin Jay until someone pointed out they were both bird names.....now she is Robin Jane ....lol.

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C.W.

answers from Las Vegas on

Nope, I loved her first name. Middle name was iffy but I chilled because it was mostly neg b/c my ex chose it (it was going to be his name had he been a girl). I love her first and middle name, it's pretty. I changed her last name but that was because dad walked out of her life for a long time so I changed it to my maiden last name :)

When I met her I could've changed my mind, I just didn't.

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J.N.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I haven't, but I know several moms who have. I always keep it as an option, anyway (which is one reason why I don't like people calling my bump by the name we've picked).

K.R.

answers from Sherman on

I have a relative who just had his 5th little girl. they named her Katherine, but after meeting her, ALL 5 of her older sisters insisted her name was Fillamina. So much so, that they legally changed it! so sweet!

H.G.

answers from Dallas on

Well we didn't change it exactly. I wanted my daughters middle name to be layne which it is. We couldn't decide between madilyn or madisyn and I decided madilyn layne was too many" l"s. So wenamed her madisyn layne (which I love) but 2 wks after I had heard I was watching tv and I heard the name vivian. I fell in love with it and to this day I wish I would of named her vivian layne! O well! My sons name is nicholas hunter and I still love it almost 15 yrs later! Never once changed my mind on that!

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