What's in a name? POTW

One of my favorite blogs to read, "Multiples...and More!" posted a question of the week about names.

I'm always having people ask me about the girls' names.....I guess because they aren't that common. Here ya go...all the info you ever wanted.

How did you choose your multiples' names?

• Did you stick with family names?

Not for their first names. After finding out we were having girls, Brooks and I started scrambling for names. We had the perfect boy names chosen--Gob and Buster--because we were certain we were having boys (please note, I'm kidding about those names. If you know what I'm referring to when I say those names, we should be friends).

We both made lists of names we liked, and the ONLY name we could agree on was Maya. I liked 'weird' names, Brooks liked names that reminded me of Saved By the Bell (Kelly, Lisa, Jessie...).

I've always like the name Maya...not sure why, I just thought it was cute.
We argued discussed the second name for months, finally Brooks gave in to Gianna. I think it was because I was so huge and miserable...he probably felt sorry for me, so he let me have something that made me happy.

The middle names, Sue and Irene, are family names. My mother in law's middle name is Irene, and so is my middle name. And Sue is my mom and my sister's middle name. So we named two girls after four people. :)

• How do you feel about "matchy" names?

Not a huge fan. I wanted my girls to be independent, different people, and I knew that being twins would automatically make people lump them together as one. So, I wanted their names to differentiate them, instead of make them more similar.

• Did you worry about their names "coordinating?"

Not really. But I think Maya and Gigi go together pretty well.

• Did you name your babies before you met them, or wait until you saw them to assign names?

I think we finally decided on names in early March, and we named baby A 'Maya' and baby B 'Gianna' from that time on.

• What were your second choices?

We didn't really have second choices that we agreed on. At one point, we had decided on Lily and Maya, but Gigi just didn't seem like a Lily...plus, it is getting to be a popular name for babies AND dogs.
I liked Elliana and Alayna, Brooks didn't. Brooks liked Kyra and Julia, they weren't my favorites. But give us a few boys, we could name them in an instant! I don't know why girl names are so difficult for us.

The other naming aspect we disagreed on was nicknames. I LOVE nicknames...Brooks doesn't. Therefore, we have Maya (just Maya) and Gianna (Gigi). One of each.

• Did you consider the popularity of a name as a deciding factor?

Absolutely. I did NOT want my girls to be the 5th Emily and Emma in their class at school and then have to be called Emily S. for the rest of their lives.

I have to admit that I was disappointed to see the Gianna made the top 100 list of 2009. I thought we were being super unique because I don't know ANYONE else with that name. :)





This has nothing to do with names, but...

Today, as I was cleaning up the dining room after breakfast, I noticed that it was silent in the living room....no squeals or grunts or baby talk going on. I went to the living room, and the babies were gone! I found them crawling into the kitchen...I think they were planning on sneaking up on me and scaring me.

Look at Gigi's naughty face...she was up to something!