What's In A Baby Name?

When I was growing up, I wasn't so madly in love with my name.  My first name was too uncommon, and I didn't think it sounded girly enough.  I went through various phases, but I think the name I wished for the most was Stephanie.  I don't know what exactly it was I liked so much about Stephanie, but to me it seemed like the perfect name to ensure that I would grow up to be pretty and popular, the two things most nine year old girls care about most in the world.  My middle name was also fairly uncommon, and inspired people to serenade me with renditions of The First Noel.  I was not terribly impressed.

However, as I grew older and the desperate desire to be exactly the same as everyone who surrounded me passed, I learned to love my name.  Especially the flow of my first and middle names.  I think it's beautiful, and meaningful and given my birthday around Christmas time, I'm not even bothered if people want to sing The First Noel at me.

That said, having to come up with a baby name--two baby names at that--has given me a lot of heartburn.  I want to love their names.  I want Colby to love their names.  I want our family and friends to love their names.  I want THEM to love their names.  And oh, there are SO MANY NAMES.  When I was a little girl, imagining that I had twin daughters, I went with matched sets like Denim and Lace.  Or Stacy and Tracy (I wanted to be a Stacy almost as much as I wanted to be a Stephanie).  I'm pretty glad that I'm not obligated to stick with any of those early life decisions.

We talked a lot about what we wanted our baby's names to say.  We wanted them to be classic and meaningful.  Nothing cutesy, matching or even starting with the same letter.  We had to make sure initials didn't spell anything bizarre or inappropriate, and that we weren't making playground taunts too easy.  It was a tall order, but we finally settled on two names that we both really love.  So without further ado, I'd like to introduce you.

Charlotte, the artist formerly known as Baby A, was the first name we came up with--almost two years ago now--and we've loved it consistently.  Not only is it a beautiful name, but Charles is a family name on Colby's side.  My only surviving grandparent is Cecile, and she's an incredibly strong woman who managed to hold a demanding job as a nurse as well as raise a family of five children, and she never leaves the house without a fresh coat of lipstick.  When we shared the names with Colby's parents, we discovered that Cecilia is also a family name for them, making it even more special.

Annabelle is a name that I fell in love with after we found out we were pregnant and started researching names more purposefully.  I love that it has a Southern vibe to it, and my mom's name is Ann, so there's a nice bit of family connection there.  Colby took a little longer to come around on this one.  He kept saying that he liked it, but he imagined a Southern belle in a hoopskirt sitting under an oak tree.  To which I say, I should have never made him watch Gone with the Wind and WHAT'S WRONG WITH HOOPSKIRTS AND OAK TREES???  Anyway, when he came home from his last trip, with no prompting from me, he declared that he'd decided he liked it, and thus, Baby B became Annabelle.  I've always loved the name Claire, and it's a variation on Colby's mother's maiden name, so again, family connections are important to us and we managed to tie them in without overtly using a family member's name.

For some reason, giving them names makes me even more excited about meeting them in a few more months.  Not that I wasn't already over the moon, but they seem even more humanized now, and I love thinking "Charlotte must be sleeping" or "Annabelle just kicked me in the belly button".  So, there we are, another baby-related decision down and only fourteen frillion more to go!

Comments

[Janet]

Awwwwww, beautiful! What great sister names.

Also, I'm super jealous that you have yours named...we aren't quite there yet and it's HARD!!

Will you call them Charlie and Annie? Because I'm kind of in love with those nicknames.

[erin]

AWW! I love your names. They are simply beautiful and sound very nice together. I also love that you shared how/why you chose them and the symbolism. I never thought how hard it must be to name twins, especially when you like pick the name for the specific twin. So now you know which baby is which. I don't think that part of my comment made sense, so I hope you know what I mean! I love the names!

[Melissa]

LOVE both of theose names, great choices!

[Chelsea]

Mawwww! Cutest names ever! Love them! Shawn and I have a running Word document of baby names we like - because heaven knows I won't remember them when I actually AM pregnant.

[Caro]

And here I thought we'd have to wait until November to find out.. Love those names together :) Two beautiful names for two beautiful girls!

[Miriam]

Yay for baby names! They're beautiful! It's super hard & stressful naming humans isn't it?

[Solange]

I absolutely LOVE those names!!! (This baby was going to be Charlotte had he been a girl). Seriously, what's wrong with hoop skirts and oak trees??? I LOVE Gone with the Wind.
I'm so glad you decided to share your names!!!It's so hard coming up with just the right name. I too grew up with a name I didn't really like. Honestly, it wasn't until college that I truly began to love my name. Your daughters will love them. They are classic names. No one will mess them up and they sound great for a baby, child and adult. Great job!

[Annie]

Love the names! Classic! I've not had to name humans yet, but man. I can imagine the pressure! :)

[katelin]

aw i love the names and love how much meaning is behind each one. so sweet and just so exciting!

[Karen]

Such beautiful, beautiful, beautiful names.

[Melissa]

Those names are beautiful & i love this post! Charlotte is one of my favorite girl names. I think it is so strange that there are a lot of girl's names i didn't care for growing up & now i LOVE. Or i thought were old fashioned & now i love! I don't remember not liking Charlotte but a year or so ago heard it & just loved it!

That is so funny that you wanted to be a Stephanie. I can't remember what name i wanted but i didn't like Melissa for a long time! Haha. I know i used to want SEVEN kids (before my nanny years haha) & my oldest was always Alayna & I always had twins - Haylie & somebody - i can't remember! Hahaha.

[Jen]

LOVE the names you and Colby have chosen! They're classic and feminine and just lovely. :)

[Brittany]

I am SO glad Annabelle Claire won out. I LOVE that name. I love both the names. Now I'm crying again over these two little ladies. I'm so scared at what's going to happen when I see them for real the first time. Probably I'll explode on them.

[Molly]

Love. Love. Love. Beautiful choices. Classic, feminine and meaningful. Pretty much perfection.

[thoughtsappear]

I love those names!

[Kate P]

Yay! How lovely!

(Also: I think it takes guts to reveal the names in advance, regardless of how nice they are, so you are far braver than I would be!)

[Jessica]

Gorgeous picture of the girls and great names to match. I can only imagine how daunting it is to pick them.