So far, Hubby and I have chosen our names on a pregnancy-by-pregnancy basis.
Our first pregnancy ended in the first trimester and we had not discussed names ... I call this baby Angel. It just seemed to fit at the time, and is how I still refer to this little one.
For our 2nd pregnancy, I was pretty sure we were going to name the baby Grace Marie, if it was a girl. Hubby's favorite girl name was Samantha, but I didn't want to use that name because I'd already had a Samantha in my life. However, when our baby was born suddenly at 19 weeks gestation, I was in recovery while Hubby was having our baby girl baptized. The name he chose? Samantha. I added the Michelle (my middle name), and am happy with her name. I would never have chosen it before-hand, but it seemed to fit her, once I saw her.
For our Peanut pregnancy (our 3rd), we again decided not to find out the sex of our baby. Hubby said if it was a girl I could choose whatever I wanted, since I hadn't really been in on Samantha's :) I had fallen in love with the name Maggie and decided that would be her first name, but wanted her to also have what I call a "Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Name". One that, as she got older, she could use professionally if she chose. So, while we call her Maggie, her full name is Margaret Grace. I used Grace because I just think it's beautiful and didn't use it with Samantha.
Right now, my favorite girl name is Sophia Grace - Sophie for everyday. I'm thinking of giving all our girls the middle name Grace just because I think it's beautiful and seems to go well with every other name. Either that or a middle name that is one of the Fruits of the Spirit (probably Faith or Joy). Only time will tell, though.
(Harper was actually very short-listed for Samantha - as Harper Grace - because I am a huge fan of Harper Lee, but then it seemed like that name was everywhere, so I marked it off the list.)
You'll notice I haven't discussed boy names with you. I almost hope we only have girls so Hubby and I don't have to argue over boy names. It is a tradition in Hubby's family for the first-born son to have the initials JTW. I don't know when it started, but I know that Hubby, his dad and grandfather all have the same initials. I'm of the opinion it is time to let that go, but Hubby is adamant about continuing it. It is further complicated by the fact that Hubby is determined that the boy baby's middle name be Truman, after his grandfather. I appreciate the sentiment, but I just do not like that name. It's the source of our biggest argument, actually.
Hubby's boy name choice: Judah Truman
My boy name choice: Matthew Daniel
I like Judah, actually (how about Judah Matthew, for a compromise?), and would be fine with that except that, realistically, our next pregnancy is likely to be our last, and I just don't want to waste an opportunity to give our baby the best name possible.
And that name does not include Truman.
For a "J" boy name, I actually really like Jasper, too, but Hubby's not sold on it yet.
Maybe we'll both compromise and have a Jasper Truman. The poor little boy :)
What about y'all? Favorite names? Ones you just can't use?