Naming one child is a big responsibility – this is what Baby will be called every day of their life – but naming two or three or even more children can feel overwhelming. You need names that work with your last name, names that work with each other, maybe middle names for each, and you need to decide if the names are going to match each other, stand alone, or subtly coordinate with each other.
This is one of the first of what will be so many of the questions about your children’s lives, though, where the only really right answer will be what feels right to you and to your partner. There are a few different directions many parents of multiples take, though, and if nothing else, it might give you and your partner something to think about.
Similar sounds
You see what we did there? (Better get used to bad jokes, you’re going to be a parent now.) Many parents of multiples either choose to go in the direction of alliteration (Katie, Karson, and Kite), rhyming (Dan, Ann, and Soda Can), or some slightly less obvious repeated sound (Glory, Corey, and Allegory).
The one practical consideration with names like these is that there’s a good chance there will be a point in your children’s childhood when it will lead to some confusion as someone mishears you, and the wrong twin comes running to answer the door, or march across the stage at graduation.
Note: unless you’ve reached the level of celebrity where your baby naming choices will be analyzed in the tabloids, you should probably not name one of your triplets Soda Can.
Opposites attract?
Other parents choose names that aren’t coordinated at all (like, say, Andromeda and Kevin). This could be as a way of trying to help foster a strong sense of individuality in their multiple children, or it could just be because they happened to like those individual names, and were more focused on liking each name on its own then caring how the names sound together.
Thematic similarities
This kind of coordination covers a whole lot of ground – it can be the fact that two or more names came from the same part of your family’s cultural heritage, the same favorite movie series, or it can be names that sound completely different but have the same meaning.
Thematic similarities can follow whichever rules suit your family best, the same way your children’s eventual bedtime, and your policy about when homework gets done when they’re a little older will all be tailored to fit your, your partner’s, and eventually your children’s individual personalities.
If that means choosing names for your babies-to-be that were answers to questions on the same episode of Jeopardy, so be it.
Family names
These are tricky, because with two or more first and middle names to pick out, you may feel more pressure than you might have with just one baby name on the table to honor a relative or ancestor.
But if you already weren’t planning on doing so, that could be because you wanted to give your child his or her own name, or even just because you don’t happen to like those names, and those reasons don’t change just because you’re having more than one child.
On the other hand, if you do like the idea of passing on legacy names, multiples can be perfect for it, since you have the chance to honor both sides of the family at once, and can’t be accused of favoritism.
Just like with naming one child, though, in the end, the most important thing in picking out names is to be comfortable with them, since you and your children will be living with them for every day of their lives.
There are so many considerations when you’re trying to find the perfect name for your little ones. Ovia Pregnancy’s My baby names feature is designed to make it easy and fun! We’ve collected thousands of names, along with their meanings, popularity, and associated nicknames, to help you find names you love. You can sort by gender association and first letter, discover new options, and save all your favorites.
Click here to start swiping, and find My baby names any time in the “more” menu!
