35 Baby Names I Love

Naming one's baby can be a really secretive task. Maybe the reasons for this are obvious (no one likes a name thief and who wants to be criticized for a name they love?) but the facts are that there are thousands of names out there, and somebody, somewhere is going to choose the same name as your kids. Or take it.

And honestly, when I think about all the top names I like, there has almost always been a person or character from a book or movie (or real life) that I met and their personality caused me to fall in love with their name.

But before I get to that, I was going to share a naming pet-peeve of mine, which is weird spellings. Probably at least one person will think that is ironic considering we chose the name "Tenley" for our daughter, but I think we tried to keep the spelling as simple/self-explanatory as possible. "Tenly" just didn't look right to me (I am definitely a visual), and spelling out T-E-N-L-E-Y just flowed so much better. Anyway, I am not here to defend the name Tenley because I still love it, I was merely providing an example.

(Side note: Funnily enough, I have had two friends say that they would have named their next baby Tenley had it been a girl because they loved it so much when they heard it from us, and then in New Hampshire while eating lunch with my mom and brothers at Bertucci's, our waitress told us that Tenley is her top pick for a girl! Too funny.)

But on to the names I like. I have decided to share them because it doesn't really matter to me whether someone else likes them or not. If I choose a name on the list, that's what they're going to have to call my kid so oh well. I'm also sharing them because it might inspire other moms-to-be and (fingers crossed!) it might make people's naming suggestions for our children hit a little closer to home.

I am really mostly into Irish and Scottish names. Those are two big parts of my family's heritage and the top two countries I would most like to visit (if we had the $$$ of course). I also just love the ways the names sound. They don't sound too trendy (most of them), and I like how they sort of revive some old classics. Anyway, here is what I have on my list (which are on a sticky note on my desktop so I can add to it easily when inspiration strikes) in ABC order--because I'm a little OCD about that:

Boy Names 

1. Benjamin (see Harrison)
2. Cael. I have a cousin named Caelan already but I just love this name.
3. Calvin. Literally came from my love of Calvin & Hobbes.
4. Daly. I heard this on a TV show and just loved it.
5. Declan.* One source I heard this on was the movie Leap Year.
6. Desmond. Heard on Lost.
7. Finn.* With longer variations like Finneas, Phineas, or Finnian--I swear I have loved this since I was like 12 and now it's suddenly becoming very popular. Darn.
8. Harrison. I always used to pretend I had twin boys growing up named Benjamin and Harrison.
9. Jackson. I also have a cousin with this name, but I would still use it if it wasn't incredibly popular at the moment.
10. Jacob. I love this classic name. And the nickname Jake.
11. Jared. I also love this classic.
12. Knox. He was one of my favorite characters on Dead Poet Society...so there ya go.
13. Liam. I think this name is very romantic for some reason. Especially in a European accent, right?;)
14. Tagg. The Romney's have a Tagg or Taggart, and I thought this would be cute paired with Finn for twin boys. I literally told my mom this (about using it for twins) and she said she had just met a set of twins named Tagg and Finn recently. So that was weird...
15. Thomas. Another classic. I also have a cousin by this name. 
16. William.* Our current front-runner for baby boy Gunnell. Another favorite cousin, and the name of my best friend's older brother who was always a great example. Plus, I love the nicknames Will, Willie, Liam, possibly even Billy (but only because of the Billy in Land Girls)...not so crazy about Bill. In fact, if you call our son that, I might never speak to you. :P

Girl Names

1. Belen. The name means Bethlehem in Spanish and I've loved this since I learned the Spanish carol "Campanas de Belen" or the bells of Bethlehem. I'll include a link at the bottom if you want to listen to this wonderful Christmas song--I love it!
2. Eden. I met a really sweet girl named Eden and it made me like this name. 
3. Ella, Ellie, or Elle. I have always loved this name. And even more since Elizabeth from White Collar sometimes goes by "El" and since Ellie is the name of Chuck's sister on Chuck.
4. Evelyn. I think this is just so pretty and feminine. I'm not sure if I would use it but I still love it.
5. Gabriella. I have always love this name because I like the nicknames Gabby and Ella.
6. Jane. I love this classic name. 
7. Lakyn. Pronounced "lake-in," I have pretty much always thought this was pretty. 
8. Laughlin. Heard on TV (siblings with Daly mentioned above). Pronounced "loff-lin."
9. Liesl. I love this name made famous by The Sound of Music, but I probably wouldn't use it.
10. Maren. We have an aunt Maren. I love this variation of Mary or Marian. 
11. Marta.* Pronounced "mar-tah." I put the pronunciation because I only like the name when the emphasis is on the "T." I am not as fond of it when the name is scrambled over and becomes "mar-da" with a soft "D." Also from The Sound of Music, but more specifically from a girl from my home stake who, as I recall, emphasized the "T" in her name, which made me like it.
12. Molly. I have loved this name for a long time and then it just so happened that my uncle married a Molly and I love the name even more. But now it's taken...
13. Nicole. Feminine and mature. I have liked pretty much every Nicole I've met. And I like that it could be shortened to Nicki or something fun depending on the person's personality.
14. Ruby. So adorable for a little girl. I know this also because I happen to know a little girl name Ruby and she is (pun not intended) a gem. 
15. Sophie. I like this despite how popular it has become. I liked it especially after Mamma Mia and Letters to Juliet. 
16. Tayah.* I met a girl named Tayah when I worked at King Henry and she was just gorgeous and sweet and I've loved the name since then. Dalin likes it, too. It's probably our top choice for a girl. 
17. Taylee. Too close to Tenley, but I think it's a cute little girl name. 
18. Teagan. Also cute for a little girl. It ranks lower than the other T names on here though. 
19. Terann or Taryn. I actually did not like this name until recently. I don't know why it suddenly grew on me, but it is pretty to say. 

*Current favorites.

So now that you know basically all of our I mean my favorite names, tell me if you have any Irish/Scottish sounding names that you are a fan of. Someday I should do a post of Dalin's favorites. it would be the shortest post ever because he likes maybe 5. Also, I will try not to hold it against you if you take one of these names for your own...chances are, I am not the only person who has seen Lost, White Collar, Chuck, or The Sound of Music ;)

Thanks a million;)

P.S. Here is that Christmas song I mentioned (under Belen) if you want to listen. If you know Spanish, the words are nice and this song gets stuck in my head around this time of year.

Campanas de Belen (one of my favorite Spanish Christmas villancicos (vee-ahn-see-cos))