I'm going to be a daddy
 

My wife and I are expecting a baby on June 1st, and we just found out it's going to be a baby girl. Don't worry, neither of us is stupid enough to bring a screaming baby to work, a nice restaurant, a movie, or other such nonsense.

I'm trying to come up with some names. I had a few really good names picked out for a boy, but the girl took me by surprise because my whole family has boys.

Non-offensive suggestions without insults attached to them would be nice.

I was reading in a baby name book that when your last name starts with a vowel, it's not a good idea to choose a name that ends in one so it flows better and is easier to pronounce.

Right now I'm leaning toward Nina as a first name, but it breaks the vowel rule.

Mia Shannon

0r Shannon Mia

How funny--I was going to suggest Nina, before I read the last line of your post. Sophie or Sophia is also one of my favorites, but they break the vowel rule too, of course.

That's great news. Congratulations, Radar/Paul!

As far as names go, it's a really personal choice. One thing I would suggest is to go the the Social Security website and look at the names (sorted by popularity) of all the kids born in the last year or two. You may or may not care if your child has the same name as every other kid on your block, but this will help you choose if you do have an opinion about that. Can't tell you how many Emmas and Emilys there are running around here, but it's a lot.

I think that vowel rule is a bit silly; it depends on the last name as to how it flows.

I would suggest giving her a middle name that isn't a "typical" middle name like everyone has: ann, nicole, marie, sue. I have an unusual middle name and when I was younger I didn't like it but now I think it sets me apart. Especially since my married name (which I kept) is pretty common.

My personal favorite girl name is Sarah. But that violates the vowel rule too.

How about Colleen? Another favorite of mine and no vowel problem.

I was thinking, Nina Michelle Ireland flows pretty well.

I've got awhile to think about it though. My wife likes Nina because it is easy for Vietnamese people to pronounce unlike names with R's and S's.

Rachel is a nice name too.

Actually, since name popularity changes over the years, the names you listed are very unusual for babies born today. There were something like 200 Susans born in the entire country last year. It's a very unusual name now.

Radar, this is an awesome site for listing baby names and their popularity over the years. It's got a cool graphical interface.

I'm talking MIDDLE name Glatt...everyone I know has one of those middle names. Of course, my niece's middle names are Kate, Kristine, and Kathleen...

I just like unusual.

That website is cool!

First off - congratulations. You lucky dog.

Don't worry too much about rules - just saying the name and surname over and over will show how easily it can be pronounced and understood. With both my maiden and my married name I've always had to insert a significant pause between the two - they "flow" far too well and teachers/ shop assistants/ people on the phone can't work out which is which!

Great suggestions from Glatt re checking for peaking names & Shawnee re having an unusual middle name.

My personal favourite girls names:
Beatrice
Cecilia
Dodie
Edith
Esme
Grace
Hester
Lily
Madelaine
Odile
Rose (or any variation thereof!)
Ruby
Theodora

Yes, I like old-fashioned names, it's true. Sadly these are all really popular now - must be everyone else my age having babies

(oh and the list was to hand because we had a chat about this in the office a couple of months ago - I don't have babies' names and wedding dress swatches lying around just in case!)

and finally - if you end up picking a name just because you like it do try to work out a cover story. Almost everyone I know ended up in a class exercise of "Where did your name come from" and the kids without a story felt really left out. Still, they were better off than Peter who was named after a budgie and burst into tears when everyone laughed at this.

Congratulations. Sounds like your little girl is already Nina to you ;)

That reminds me of the movie "Top Secret" when Nick Rivers (Val Kilmer) was talking to someone and they asked what his name means. He said he didn't know, but his father thought of it while he was shaving.

Pretty much, but if something else jumps out at me, that will be it... assuming I can convince my wife to do it.

Sure, I know what you meant. I was just pointing out that our generation's ideas about what names are old/unusual and what names are typical/modern is really incorrect. Your examples proved my point. The names you think of as typical are not typical at all for kids today. They are very unusual.

Radar, Nina is a nice name. I like it.

Congratulations!!

Is there a way that you can bring both your and your wife's cultures into the naming? Something like Lynn Ann (Linh An) or May Lynn (Mei Lien), something like that?

Frankly, with the last name Ireland, picking any of the traditional Irish first names (Shelagh, Colleen, Shannon, and Erin is right out) is probably a bit much.

(I like Nina too, but I think you should have some other options)