Baby Names from Your Relationship with Your Partner

Could your relationship inspire a great baby name? I bet it could, if you ask yourself the right questions. Here are some to start you off:

How did the two of you meet?

• Did a mutual acquaintance introduce you? What was that person’s name?
• Did you meet while taking the same scuba class? What was the name of the instructor?
• Did you meet while living in the same dorm at college? What was the name of the dorm? (If it’s a surname, what was the forename originally attached to it?)
• Did you meet doing theater? What character names do you remember from the first production you worked on together?

Think about your firsts.

• Did you go out to dinner on your first date? What was the name of your waiter?
• Did you have your first kiss while waiting in the lobby of a particular building? What was the name of the architect who designed the building?
• What was the first movie you went to see together? What were the names of the lead characters?
• Did you first say “I love you” to one another while picnicking in the park? What was the name of the park?

Think about other memorable experiences.

• What’s the name of the street you first lived on together?
• What’s the name of the coffee shop you used to go to every Friday night when you were dating?
• Did your relationship ever hit a rough patch? What’s the name of the friend who helped you get through it out and stay together?
• Have you ever done anything that you’re both really proud of (e.g. scaled a mountain, raised a lot of money for charity)? What names come to mind when you think of these things?
• When you look through your collection of photographs, ticket stubs, playbills, receipts, brochures, fliers, and other paraphernalia, what names do you see? What other names are you reminded of?

Engagement, Marriage, Honeymoon, Anniversaries

• What’s the name of the person (e.g. pastor, priest, rabbi) who married you?
• Wedding dresses often have female names in lieu of (or along with) model numbers–did yours?
• Who sang your first dance song?
• What’s the name of the hotel you stayed in on your honeymoon?
• Example: San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom named his daughter Montana because that’s where he and his wife got married.
• Example: One of my commenters named her son Boston because she got engaged after running the Boston Marathon.

And now the fun part: What names can you come up with from your own relationship? What’s the story behind each one, and did you use (or do you plan to use) any of the names for your children?