Hi Swistle,
Really hoping you can help me out. Baby boy #3 is due in less than 6 weeks (but will most likely be here early). My husband and I have been unable to agree/decide on a name. Last night, he told me he really wants to get the name settled by this weekend, so we need to make a decision. We have three names- Hudson (his favorite), Blake (my favorite), and Cooper (which we both like, but not enough where either of us want to give up our #1 choice). I’m not including any info on the middle name, our last name, or our boys’ names, because at this point we don’t really care what sounds best with what (all three have their own drawbacks).Unless we can come up with some other method, we are going to be picking baby’s name out of a hat. Or using a dartboard. Or some other arbitrary method. My suggestion was letting each of our boys pick a name out of a hat, and then use the remaining name. The idea of a Facebook poll has been discussed.
We are okay with a random choice. We’ve tried list ranking and ended up with exact opposite lists.
Any ideas (from you or your readers) would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Allyson
Here is my idea: say “no” to your husband’s decision that the name has to be settled by this weekend. It’s thrown everything into a completely unnecessary panic. You guys have approximately six weeks to decide, and it sounds like you need that time. If anything, I’d suggest taking a short break from name discussions if they’re getting stressful: say, no name-talk until AFTER the weekend.
It also sounds as if you guys are stuck in a “My first choice is his/her last choice” loop. Sometimes the only way to maximize happiness in this sort of situation is for both top choices to be tossed out. This could result in choosing Cooper, the second choice for both of you. Or this could result in going back to the name book to see if you can find more options to consider.
Depending on how old your other two sons are, you could decide to make this a family vote—not by having them choose randomly out of a hat, but by asking them which name they like best. A poll of your friends and family might be fun too, as long as they can be trusted not to make negative remarks about the names they didn’t vote for.
Or you may need to go to the hospital with three names and see which one seems best. Some parents do this on purpose; others avoid it.
I can put up a poll here, but I’m not sure it’s much help without sibling names or surname. Still, if it would be useful, here it is, with the names listed in alphabetical order:
[yop_poll id=”70″]
Name update:
Hi Swistle,
I wanted to update my post-We knew we wanted to make a decision soon and not wait until he was born. Also, we didn’t want to start new name choices- we had gone around in circles and always ended up with those three.
What we ended up doing was writing the three names on index cards, shuffling them, and letting our then 3yo pick. He then handed me the card and without looking, I taped it to the inside of a bakery box (containing a cheesecake). I opened the box and the kiddo read me the letters, and that’s how we all found out what the name was. It was really fun and felt great to have made a decision, plus it was nice to have the kids’ involvement.
Let me introduce you to Cooper J@cob Chester Cl@rk (double middle names honor his great-grandfathers). Born at 38 weeks, 9lbs13oz, 21.5″ long. Brother to B@rrett and Tucker.
Thanks,
Allyson
What about naming the baby Hudson Blake _________ or Blake Hudson ________?
I’m going to go with Hudson just because I prefer that name over the others! My sister and her husband could not agree on a middle name for their second daughter so they took letters from his first name and letters from his middle name and came up with Joann. Perhaps you could do the same for this baby’s first name? Baby naming isn’t easy so good luck with whatever you guys decide!
Lots of parents go to the hospital with a short list and wait til they look at their little one’s face to see which name seems right – in fact, many realize that none of the names on the short list are right and another name just arrives out of nowhere. There’s no pressure to have The Name right this minute <3
All of the names on your list are great! A former boss of mine has a Cooper and a Graham – I wonder if you'd want to add that to your short list?
Good luck! You'll find the right name, I promise!
I love all of them, but Hudson is my favorite. I met a baby Hudson just a few days ago, and think it is great.
What about Fordon (my son’s name)?
It seems like you both like last names as first names. What if you were to take a short break and then look at those kinds of names again?
I actually know quote a few baby Hudsons right now, so I voted for Blake. Cooper will always be a dog’s name to me, but obviously that is an issue I have :)
I agree that Cooper seems like a dog name, but I think it is being used more. Blake and Hudson are both great names and I think you could take them both to the hospital and pick one when you meet him. You said that these names are each of your favorites, but didn’t say that the other dislikes the others’ choice. If you are okay with Hudson and he is okay wit Blake, I’d use which one fits best. It’s good to leave yourself some flexibility.
I find it interesting how much less fun this is without the context of sibling names and a last name! What are names in the void?? Haha. In any case, I like Cooper! Has anyone watched the show Young & Hungry? Jesse McCartney plays a cute computer programmer named Cooper and it’s really sold me on the name.
I forgot about that! Yes, Cooper is sounding better to me now too;)
As a counterpoint, choosing names “in the void” is much easier!
Here’s my vote: Hudson. It definitely evokes a “look” for me (lumberjack), but I like it best in the vacuum.
Read the following only if you’re looking to be talked out of the others–I have always associated the name Blake with a flake (of corn or mica or dandruff, etc.), and the name Cooper with a chicken coop. I like things about both names, and I know and love people by both names, but have always been turned off by the idea of USING them for these reasons.
Oh, and I have a friend with a brother named Hudson, and he has all sorts of fun nicknames–Hud, Huck, Hugh, etc.
That’s so interesting because my “look” for Hudson is super preppy. Basically the anti-lumberjack! But maybe you are thinking of the river and I am thinking of the defunct Detroit-based department store chain.
I picked Blake, but I was dissatisfied with my choice because it seems arbitrary without context. I think either asking the brothers for their opinions or waiting to meet the baby seem like the way forward here. I also think you should leave yourselves open to the possibility that, as you get closer to the delivery, you will be more attuned to fun things that seem like name-related fate: maybe the last name of the awesome nurse you have or a name that comes to you in a dream or whatever. This weekend deadline seems like too much arbitrary pressure for something that doesn’t have to be quite so stressful.
Oh yeah, I”m definitely thinking Hudson River Valley. Fall colors, lots of trees (hence lumberjack), plaid flannel.
Not familiar with the department store chain, but that’s interesting! I guess it’s regional. (Although I’m from the Midatlantic area, not the Hudson River Valley.)
I know a college age Cooper; he’s a nice kid with a good sense of humor.
Cooper is my least favorite of the three, although they’re all perfectly good names.
I can’t decide if I should even vote because I feel like my favorite isn’t the important thing and I agree with 2 things Swistle said. There’s no need to rush this and it might make sense for both of you to compromise on your second choice, since conveniently, that’s the same name.
I voted for Cooper because at this point (assuming a name has to be decided by this weekend) compromise seems like the best route for everyone concerned.
However, I agree with Swistle that just because your husband wants a name decided by this weekend doesn’t mean you have to agree with this. Naming a child under that kind of pressure is exactly the kind of thing that seems likely to lead to name regret and resentment later. You have 6 weeks left-you still have plenty of time to decide! There is no rule that says a name even has to be picked in advance of baby’s arrival. My suggestion is to take a week or two off from name discussions, then come back to your list. If Blake & Hudson still leave one of you feeling cold, then they both get eliminated and you go back to the drawing board. See if you can each come up with a new list. If not, there is nothing wrong with Cooper. But at least you will know you picked it after examining every option and that it wasn’t chosen out of pressure because of some arbitrary decision about a deadline for name selection.
Hi all, thank you for the comments! And Swistle, thank you for adding a poll!
To clarify a few things-
I’m 100% okay with picking a name now, I don’t feel like we are rushing it. We’ve been through the name lists a million times. We are both good with any of the top three choices. I gave DH a list of like 30 names, he narrowed it down to 5, and from there we got this top three. He is more strongly attached to Hudson than I am to any of them. My hesitation with Hudson is its recent spike in popularity. I’m hearing it everywhere- including three kids at my kids’ day care. Two blogs I read just shared birth stories, and both babies were Hudsons. Other than that, I like the name and it works well with both the middle name and last name, as well as our other kids’ names. It’s interesting that Hudson is in the lead in the poll.
Each name has a weakness in terms of pairing it with the middle/last name, which is partially why I’m ignoring that aspect of it.
We’ve discussed waiting until he’s born to decide, but both agree that newborns are pretty blob-like in terms of appearance. Our other kids’ names were decided well in advance, and they still needed time to really grow into the names.
Speaking of, our boys are 1 and 3, so they can’t really help with the decision process. I will ask the 3yo which of the three he likes, and his mind changes daily.
The middle name is decided. The only debate is we might do a double middle. Not really a debate, just something we haven’t decided yet. So we can’t use Blake Hudson or something.
Thanks, again, to everyone. Reading comments and perceptions of the three names is really helpful and very much appreciated!
I picked Hudson. If you are concerned about popularity I’d avoid Blake- it has been in the top 100 (range #79-96) for at least the past 15 years. Cooper started at #241 in 2000 and is now at #77. Cooper has been in the top 100 since 2007. Hudson was #587 in 2000 and is now #65, however has only been in the top 100 for 4 years. So there are way more Blakes running around than Hudsons. The difference between Cooper and Hudson is insignificant for 2015, but pretty big over the past decade.
It’s one thing to think about how common a name is for a class, but most of life is not spent in school so I like to look at popularity over a decade.
Thank you for your comments! I’m not concerned about popularity per se, so much as sudden trendiness. But honestly, I’d go with Mason if DH liked it at all, so that tells you how big of a deal popularity is to me.
My personal preference is Hudson. What about Judson? Little Judd is pretty cute. But anyways, to add onto above comments, I can actually picture a Hudson on just about any type of person. That being said, I understand not wanting to use it if you have recently encountered a few… Although I don’t know if I would let that swing the vote.
Unfortunately, I’m with others, I see cooper as either a dog name or else someone from the south… Like a cowboy in Texas or something. Haha.
Blake is neutral to me. Would be my #2.
I guess if you pulled a name out of the hat, it might bring out true feelings… For example, if Blake is pulled out and you feel upset or disappointed then that would give you a good idea that maybe you don’t like it as much as you thought, etc.
Good luck!!
I recommend a trial of sorts. Try each name for a week. All four of you commit to calling baby by a particular name for a solid week. Make yourself say the name over and over. Think up reasons to say it. Then, at the end of 3 weeks, talk with your husband about which name “fit” best. It’s how we chose both our boy names when stumped.
I feel like Hudson has peaked and is headed into past-its-prime territory for new babies
I voted for Cooper because you both seem to like it equally, not because I like it best.
Maybe consider who got preference when naming your other kids? Is it someone’s “turn” to have his/her preference honored?
I voted for Blake for a few reasons
– While all 3 have similar popularity now, Blake is the least trendy of the 3
– Hudson makes me think of the river and Cooper makes me think of barrel making or Hanging with Mr. Cooper. I don’t have any strong associations with Blake, aside from maybe Blake Shelton.
– Assuming baby will have his last name, I think you should get a bit more say on the first name
Thanks, again, for all of the comments. They are helpful, for sure.
A friend/former classmate of mine had a baby a few days ago and just announced the name- Hudson. Which means in about a week, three babies I know of have been given that name.
To me Hudson feels trendier than the other two.
I voted for Blake! I think Blake could fit anyone and I think it sounds kind of naturey/outdoorsy which is perfect for a young boy or a grown man.
Personally, I do see Hudson as trendy but I am from NJ and it also makes me think of the Hudson River. To me, it is not a great reference because dead bodies are found there pretty often. Back in 2015, some NYPD divers found over 300 bodies during a training exercise! But anyway, that doesn’t seem to be detering people so it may not matter to you, especially if you don’t live in the area. This is the same problem I have with the name Camden since it’s one of the worst crime cities in NJ.
I like Cooper alright, but I prefer Blake because of the unfortunate rhyme that goes with Cooper – P__per. Especially with two older brothers!
I vote you throw out all three names! Come up with a new list, and see where that takes you. Maybe you’ll find something new you both love! Best wishes! :)