Author: Anonoymous
Naming one baby can be hard. But when you unexpectedly learn you need to choose names for more than one little human, it can be overwhelming.
We had a singleton four years ago. When we were pregnant then, we had a long list of girl’s names and just one boy’s name. That one boy’s name was used up for our firstborn. So this time when we found out we were having identical twin girls, you’d think we could go straight back to the original list of unused girls names.
Nope.
None of those names ‘worked’ with our toddler’s name. And none of them worked as a twin pair.
Choosing names for twins can be overwhelming
We wanted names that worked well together, but names that weren’t too matchy-matchy; and of course, there’s some blacklisted names. For example, ex-partner’s names- that’s a straight-out no. Bullies or troublemakers from school- also blacklisted. As are work colleagues. And for us, names that we deemed too unique or, conversely, too common, were also blacklisted.
So, while this still left us with a million possibilities, throw in the fact that my husband is a school teacher, and we have a whole list of other names that are now ruled out. It was difficult to find a name that we both liked but which wasn’t shared by one of his past or present students. We only reached an agreement on names when we were both locked down, in bed, suffering badly with covid- there was nothing else to do but spitball names to each other!
Choosing names for twins, narrowing down the list
We agreed on one name, a name he’d never taught. The second name we liked, however, he was initially reluctant to go with it because he’d taught a little girl of this name. That, however, was a decade ago, surely that’s past the Statute of Limitations? In the end, he agreed a decade was long enough to discount this former student. Plus, he said she was a good kid, so she hadn’t “ruined” the name.
Towards the end of my pregnancy, I was talking about this dilemma with a colleague. I was complaining that having a teacher husband was the absolute worst when trying to agree on names. They agreed, to an extent, but reminded me that we should consider ourselves lucky that neither of us is a cop, because then, you definitely need to add “Names of criminals I’ve arrested” to the blacklist.
Choosing names can be stressful, check out Twinfo’s other blogs on this subject.
Nicknames for twins and triplets
Choosing names for twins, triplets or more
Naming same sex twins or triplets
Twinfo is Australia’s largest, most supportive, online community for parents of twins and triplets. Twinfo offers advice, products and services that make raising your babies easier, freeing you up to enjoy all the precious moments.
You can connect with Twinfo via the Website, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or Etsy.