Choosing a suitable name is a challenge for any parent to be. The Doves were no different. I can remember we had a few baby name books and I browsed all of them from cover to cover on several occasions!
It’s impossible to select the ideal name for a child you’ve not yet met but we put a lot of thought into it. Ruled out from the outset were names beginning with A to avoid the inevitable “It’s A Dove”. Also excluded were initials such as VD, LSD and STD.
Names beginning with D were appealing at first but we quickly realised DD might cause problems if it matched a bra size. Such a short surname did allow us to consider first names with 3 or 4 syllables. Although we knew these would be abbreviated, we thought it would be quite cool at the time to have options. It really wasn’t.
Although I was convinced we were having a boy, we were much lighter on the choices for boys. This was because the traditional names such as James, William, Thomas and George had already been taken by family members or friends.
It took some time to pull together a list of boys names and a list of girls names. Once we’d finished we had 16 boys names and 29 girls names. There was a pattern in that the boys names mostly began with H, J or S and the girls names with E and J. We were yet to choose any middle names.
Once at the hospital, we narrowed it down and pulled together a shortlist of our Top 5. Although these were forgotten when POD took 47 hours to appear, something rather wonderful happened instead. The midwife asked what we were going to call POD and without hesitation we both said Poppy. We didn’t even need to think about it, right there and then the name just felt right.
I’ve always wondered where the name Poppy was on our list. It was on the long list but neither of us could remember whether it made our Top 5. The piece of paper that listed all the names, and the scribbles we added in the hospital, was never found.
This week I discovered a blogging book at home and when I picked it up a piece of paper fell out of it. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I unfolded it. It was the list of names we’ve not seen since POD was born on 25th December 2010. It may have taken nearly 3 years to find out but Poppy was in our Top 5.
We had a similar experience with our eldest and our youngest had no name for 7 days. Its amazing where things you thought you had lost turn up!
It’s amazing the effort we’ll go to to get it right isn’t it. I’m not sure what to do with that piece of paper now I have it, don’t need it anymore LOL 🙂
So lovely, and nice to know little POD’s name – beautiful. Like you, we ruled out initial’s like D – DReading – not great?! Though we only had 2-3 names on our lists with both pregnancies, and with Boo, there was just 1 girl’s name that we both agreed on, so that was that! How wonderful that you both said the same name, and that it was on that short-list 🙂
Thank you Jocelyn. Good that you thought of the D’s, it’s so hard trying to take everything into account isn’t it! It’s lovely that you agreed the names quickly 🙂
Aw, loved reading this Charly, brought back all sorts of delightful baby naming discussions for me. And I love the photo of Poppy, so beautiful! #MagicMoments
Thank you Luci, it’s a funny old process isn’t it. We spent so long pondering names so hilarious we both said the same one when she was born 🙂
I hate the baby name conversation! Every time I would pick one I liked my husband would veto it… then just as we had settled on one, one the bloody girls I did NCT with announced her baby with our name three days before I had her (and already 4 days over due) I nearly murdered someone… But it worked out for the best in the end 🙂 lol x #magicmoments
Oh no sounds you had a shocker! Mind you we disagreed on quite a few as well – especially girls names! Glad it all worked out in the end, Wally Bubba suits her perfectly LOL 🙂
Oh is Poppy her name then? So cute! It suits her actually – pretty name for a very pretty little girl 🙂 As for us, since we live in Cornwall, we wanted a Cornish name, hence the Tamsin. xx
Thank you Dean, that’s so kind of you. She is a Poppy, POD is her initials. Tamsin is lovely too 🙂
What a lovely post, Poppy is such a beautiful name 🙂 I know what you mean about being lighter on boys names! All three times my hubby has refused to enter into proper name discussions until we knew what we were having #MagicMoments
Thank you very much. Sounds like you had a challenge on your hands although I presume it all worked out in the end!
awww how fantastic you both in that instant knew she would be called Poppy and how even more lovely that you found that piece of paper after all this time!!
thanks for linking up with #MagicMoments
Thank you lovely, it was the weirdest thing and it just seemed the right name 🙂
What a lovely post, my B&SIL have just named their new baby Poppy 🙂 x #MagicMoments
Aww how lovely, it’s a great name I do love it 🙂
Brings back memories of my husband and I thinking of names.Some names I’d always loved, my husband didn’t and visa versa. How lovely discovering Poppy was on your list.
It’s quite weird looking back at the whole naming process isn’t it! We loved Daisy for ages but realised it could be a disaster. And some friends have a Daisy so it seemed a bit wrong!
Poppy is such a pretty name, it was on my list, but hubby vetoed all names of flowers 🙁 We actually had only one boy/girl name each time – we struggled to find one that we both liked, let alone a short list 🙂 We had our wee girls name through all three pregnancies, never expecting to actual use it. As I have (so far) not blogged my children’s names, suffice to say that her name means ‘a dream’ … Which seems appropriate somehow 🙂
What a lovely comment Sara. We kept falling into the flowers strangely, liked Lily too although that didn’t make the longlist. That’s probably a good thing that you only had one name for each. The list I went into the hospital with was ridiculous! That’s a lovely story about wee girls name 🙂
How fab and such a lovely post. You may have guessed but there is a Star Wars element to Lucas’s name. Lec was all for Annakin (as in Skywalker) but even the midwife threatened to report him to SS!!!! Loved reading this #magicmoments
Thank you so much Cathie, very kind of you to say. It’s lovely that you have a Star Wars reference, it seems rather apt somehow. A great name 🙂
It’s difficult isn’t it. We really struggled with a boy’s name and I’m still not really sure where Ethan came from it just sounded right. We had a name picked out for our daughter before she was born and got a few strange looks but we love it, Fyfa. Gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl – good choice!
That’s such a lovely story. There’s definitely something to be said about a name just feeling right 🙂
So lovely – we changed Peanut’s name one day before we registered him so all his cards are addressed in his second name 😉 it took a couple of weeks to decide that he suited the other name more..then there was all the clarifying to be done…
It sounds like you totally made the right decision though. It’s so important isn’t it 🙂
What a lovely little story! How strange that you both said her name simultaneously. I’m guessing the O is a middle name – maybe Olivia?
Thank you Sarah, it was the strangest moment that piece of paper dropping out of that book. And it being a blogging book I had prior to starting this blog! Her middle name is Olivia, we’d decided against it as a first name but just loved it 🙂
Beautiful name for a beautiful little girl… And how fun to find it after all that time! Definitely a magic moment! Xx
Thank you very much Claire 🙂
I adore the name Poppy – sadly we couldn’t have a name ending in “Y” or “IE” because of our surname. It is so lovely you both agreed though – hubby and I were fine with Kian and Eliza but had disagreements over Isaac (he wanted Luca) and Sebastian (he wanted Aedan)…….seems I got my way though ;0)
I am with Sarah – what is her middle name?
That’s a good point with the Y and IE. It’s so frustrating when certain names are ruled out immediately although it probably helps us in the long run! I do love the names of your children, well done for getting your own way! You and Sarah are right, Olivia is popular I know but we love it 🙂
How amazing you found the list again! We had a shortlist of names too but the name we were to settle on didn’t arrive in the ether until a week or so before Little A was born… I knew it was the one, and when we saw Little A’s face for the first time it was the perfect match. X
There’s something about seeing their little faces for the first time before naming them. That’s lovely it was a perfect match 🙂
Poppy is a lovely name and very dear to me. If Monkey had been a girl I had her names sorted – my granny and my middle name which has gone down the generations. It wasn’t open for discussion. Monkey is named after his Granddad who died a few months before he was born, he has 2 middle names, again a tradition for the men on my side of the family and both are family names. I like tradition, luckily for me my OH agreed.
Thank you Mary, that’s really lovely to hear. It’s just wonderful when family names are introduced. How fabulous too that Monkey is named after his Granddad 🙂
You just know when you have the right name for your baby. It feels right. Poppy is such a lovely name for your little girl xx #MMWBH
You’re so right, thank you very much 🙂
Love this post, when people ask me why I gave my children their names I can’t really give a reason because I just knew that is what I was going to call them x
Thank you Chantelle, really kind of you. I think you just know don’t you 🙂
What I love about this post is the magic of it all. That in the end you both knew the instant u met her. It was so the right name!