20+ Stories That Prove Choosing a Child’s Name Can Be a Real Adventure

3 years ago

The moment you receive the news that you’re pregnant and that you’re actually bringing a human being into this world can be one of the most exciting and beautiful moments of our lives. But then comes the matter of the name. Suddenly, everyone around you feels like they have a say in this. On top of that, you’re probably not making this decision on your own. Your significant other might have a thing or 2 to say about this. That’s why it’s not weird to spend months (or even years) looking for the perfect name for both a girl and a boy, just in case.

Well, at Bright Side we wanted to know the stories behind the names our readers chose for their children, so we asked them to share these with us. It turns out that choosing a name is a whole adventure, so we chose different stories ranging from the most touching to the funniest.

My mom passed away a year before I had my daughter. I should also mention that my mom passed away on June 25 and my daughter was born on June 24 of the following year (almost exactly one year later). I felt it was a sign that I should name her TERESA. — Arelyz Ortiz / Facebook
I wanted a name that would sound good in 3 languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. I also wanted a name that would be easy to spell and that would not generate doubts about the way it should be written in any of those 3 languages. We made a list of all the names that met the requirements and chose Oliver. It came to my mind because I was a fan of a manga called Captain Tsubasa, whose main character was called Oliver Atom. — Armando Morel / Facebook
When my husband and I were dating, he was still studying to get his master’s degree. The only way we could spend time together was for me to sit next to him and read novels while he was studying. Since we spent so much time doing that, I ended up reading a lot. One day I finished reading Sophie’s World and I had The House of the Spirits half-finished. I turned to him and said: “If one day we have a daughter, her name will be Alba Sofia (a combination of the names of the characters in each of those books).” 11 years later, our first daughter was born and that’s her name. — Blanca Algarra / Facebook
I’m a Beatles fan and up until a week before I went into labor, I thought we were having a boy, so throughout my pregnancy, I called him Harrison. A week before, the doctor told me, “News flash, it’s a girl!” I had 4 days to take it in. While watching my favorite series, CSI: Miami, an idea came to mind. The episode featured the daughter of Horatio’s supposedly dead brother, whom he loves and cares for like a daughter (I think he secretly loved the girl’s mother). So my daughter ended up having the same name as Horatio’s niece. — Rose Izquierdo De Acosta / Facebook

When my husband and I started looking for names for our son, the first thing I told him was that he was not going to be called Juan de Dios. First, because in his family many people are called Juan (Juan Manuel, José Juan...) and second of all, because when I pronounced the name, they would not know which one I was talking about. We searched the Internet for boys’ names and their meaning. My son’s name is Ian, the meaning of which is “God is merciful” and it comes from Hebrew. But elsewhere we found that it is the Breton equivalent of “Juan”. So, all in all, he is also named Juan. — Nelly Ubaldo Mejía / Facebook
When I first heard the songs from the Backstreet Boys, I immediately liked the name Brian, so I told my mom, “When I have a son, his name will be Brian”. As years went by and I finally got pregnant, the first name on the list for my baby was always Brian. I didn’t want to know whether it was a boy or a girl, but that’s what I called the baby when I talked to him/her. When my son was born, the first thing I did was to call my mom (I was still in the delivery room) and I told her: “Mom, Brian is born!”. When I told my son why his name was Brian, he just held his hands up to his head. To this day I am still a fan of Backstreet Boys. — Mayeli Vázquez / Facebook
I always wanted my children’s names to start with the same initial: Stefanía (crowned with glory), Samuel (God heard me) and Sarah (princess). They all have very special meanings. A name is one of the first gifts you give to your children, something they will carry with pride for the rest of their lives and something that will define them, so always look for one that is as special as they are. — Elena Barrantes Castro / Facebook
I found the names of my older children from books I read as a teenager. When I finished middle school, I read The Egyptian, so my oldest son is called Sinuhé after the main character of the book. In the first or second year of high school, a Spanish teacher made us read about the history of Spain, where they spoke about the origins of the festivities of the Moors and Christians and that’s where I found the name of my eldest daughter, Siannáh. My third daughter’s name is Merith, which also comes from The Egyptian. — Mery Rios / Facebook

I will tell you the story of my name. It turns out that when my mom was pregnant with me, she asked the doctor to tell her the gender of the baby (all this without my dad knowing because they had a bet). My mom was told I was going to be a boy, so she said to my dad: “If it’s a boy, I’ll name it. If it’s a girl, you name it.” Well, what do you think, the doctor was wrong and thanks to his lucky bet, I was named after my dad’s mother.- Grace Corona / Facebook
I found out very late about being pregnant with my son (almost 7 months in), so the day I had the ultrasound done, both my parents and my husband’s parents came by. Together they were supposed to choose the name if it was a boy, but if it was a girl, she would be named Martina after my dad. There was no discussion about that last point. Upon admission, we found out that my baby was a beautiful little boy. My parents wanted him to be named Emilio and my in-laws, Camilo, so to keep them all happy, his name is Emiliano. — Nathalia Puentes Suárez / Facebook
I used to watch a soap opera called The Clone and I loved it. In the show, the main character had a niece. I remember that when the niece was born — when they named her, they said: “You will be called Samira, the one who brings joy.” From that moment on, I said: “When I have a daughter, I will call her Samira too,” and for 14 beautiful years, Samira has brought a lot of joy to my life indeed. — Shira Moran / Facebook
My husband and I really like to listen to singer Luis Miguel, and we always sing the song “Isabel.” It makes us so happy! Once, we were in the car singing to the tune of Isabel, and I said, “Why not Isabel? That will be our baby’s name. It’s something that will remind us of the good moments we cherish.” — Aura Aguilar / Facebook

Many years before I had my daughter, I was watching a show with my sister. It was about traditions and culture from different parts of the world. That day, they were talking about a zebra that was just born in some reserve in Africa. They had been waiting for her for a long time and that’s why they named her Merey, which means “long awaited.” My sister and I looked at each other and agreed that this was the name I had been looking for and when the time was right, that’s what I would call my baby. My daughter is turning 12 and her name is April Merey. — Alin Reyes / Facebook
My name is Ana Linda, not a common name (if you put both names together), but my mom told me that she’s loved it since she was a little girl and that she always thought that the day she would have a girl, she would be named Ana Linda. Years later she met my dad and when discussing the name they wanted for me, he said, “Let’s call her Ana Linda, it sounds so nice.” My mom says she was speechless because it was the same one she had thought of years before and, besides, she said that that name was nice because, even if someone spoke to them when they were angry, no matter how upset they were, they would always give me a compliment since “Linda” means “nice.” My son’s name is Damián, because my husband had always dreamed about naming him that. — Ana Cervantes / Facebook
My son’s name is Yerik. It’s a Russian name that my father-in-law heard when he emigrated to Germany, and when he came back, he wanted to give it to his second son (my husband). At the registry office, they wouldn’t let him name him Yerik and he ended up naming him Erik, so when he told me about it, I told him that when I had a son, I would name him Yerik like he wanted to name his son. So I did, with a few hiccups, but his name is Yerik. — Silvia Fernández / Facebook

I used to have an obnoxious co-worker at my job. In one of my run-ins with her, after listening to her whole sack of crap, I could only manage to say: "With such a beautiful name, how can you be so mean? That’s why my daughter’s name is Iris, because I realized my co-worker had such a nice name. — Sonia GC / Facebook
The name of my second son has a special meaning to me. The news of my pregnancy came as a surprise to me because I was in the middle of a divorce and while I felt so upset for being in that situation, I clung to him and gave him love above all else. I looked up names that had a special meaning: Mirko (the one who assured peace) and Ain (Mapuche name meaning “to love”). I was not wrong, he is my peace and gives me lots of love. He loves his name. — Maby China Costilla / Facebook
I always wanted to name my daughter Miletzi, but surprise, surprise, she was born on December 12th, day of Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico. Everyone, even the doctors who delivered her, immediately started calling her Lupita, (Guadalupe) after the Virgin, from the first moment she was born. At that exact minute the happy birthday songs for the Virgin of Guadalupe were being played in a little chapel around the corner from the clinic where I was staying. So now I have 2 Lupitas in my family since my mother’s name is Guadalupe too, but she was born on December 10th. — Cuatianquiz Berenice / Facebook
My children are named: Adrian, after a priest from a Mexican soap opera; Nataly, after a very beautiful song; and Allison, after a quinceañera singing contest, in which the winning contestant would receive her quinceañera party as a prize. My husband and I were fans of the Mexican rock band Allison and fortunately, we won with a song of them. — Lucila Clavijo / Facebook