What were your dream names for your kids when you were growing up?

My best friend and I both wanted to call our sons Sebastian, but neither of us had the courage at the time. I would now.

For a girl I really liked Antoinette, but my French-speaking father said nobody would pronounce it properly. In the event, I never had a girl, but if I had she would probably have been Caroline. My granddaughter is called Alice, which I really like. One of her middle names is the same as mine and her other grandmother’s - we very conveniently have the same name.

Deborah - a name I still love. (My DS - only child - says he's very glad that I didn't give him that name....)

When I was very little I named my baby doll Wayne!

Lilyflower 😂

I always liked Harriet but I was perfectly happy with the names the DH and I finally chose. Harriet would have been a bit odd for our firstborn - as he was a boy.

Luckily I used all the names I liked then for my pets and dolls.
I had a guinea pigs called Sally-Ann and Donna and a dolls called Erica and Madeleine.

I had girls' names ready but my first three babies were boys. When I got my girl I no longer liked the names I'd had ready for the brothers or they'd been "taken" in the meantime by friends and family.
It took us over a fortnight to decide on her name which she didn't like growing up but does now.

Never gave it a thought.

I thought if I had a girl I would name her Joanne. Never thought of having a son. I’d gone off the name by the time I had my daughters.

Aldom, funny you should mention Jalna, that's just sparked a memory of how much I liked the name Piers for a boy.

In my teens I read all the *Building of Jalna books, by Mazo de la Roche.
Two of the characters were called Renée and Pheasant
For years they were the names I wanted for my future children.
But of course when the time eventually came my children had completely different names, much to their relief.

Tabitha, I was a Bewitched fan. Also, Michelle, after the Beatles song. I also liked the name Charlotte until I met a real life Charlotte at senior school who I didn't get on with.

In my teens: for a girl, Wren. I still sort of like it but my daughter was not named that. For a boy, Dylan (probably because of Bob Dylan) but my son was not named that either, and I don't much like it now.

Sebastian as in Belle and Sebastian - the 1960s French children’s tv series. I was in love with Sebastian as a kid. My then husband was having none of it when I was expecting and we gave our son a very ordinary name in the end . When he was older our son said ‘ Why didn’t you give me a more interesting name - like Sebastian for example ?’ I think he must have been listening to our name debates whilst in the womb.

I didn’t have any in mind. My dolls, which I loved, and played with a lot, didn’t even have names! Someone I know was determined that if she had a daughter, she would be called Nicola, but when she grew up and married, it was to someone with the surname Nicol, so that was out.

Robert for a boy and our oldest son is, indeed called Robert. My favourite girls' name when I was a child was Deborah and this is what I named my Tiny Tears doll. By the time I had grown up, I had completely gone off it and our daughter was given an entirely different name.

recklessgran

I wanted 10 little girls and intended to name them after flowers - Daisy, Lily, Poppy etc.
I actually have 5 daughters but none of them are named after flowers.

My son names his animals after flowers. The current cats are Daisy, Lily and Poppy - the dogs Buttercup and Magnolia.

Never Barbara. I really dislike my name. From the age of 3 l called myself Bam. It stuck with my friends till l got married. Nobody used Bam after l left home. Quite nice when l go home and get called by my preferred name. Interesting my Husband never used it.

Allira-same.😄

I wanted Erin for my daughter too, same reason, (The Waltons) and Amie for another. I had two sons. [Smile] For some reason I didn’t even consider having sons. My lovely sons are Jamie (now James or Jim to his friends) and Benjamin (Ben).

Elizabeth was my favourite name growing up and I named my daughter that. My husband wasn’t too keen as she would be the ninth person with the name over the four surviving generations. But I won the discussion. His choice was a family name on his side so his argument didn’t wash. So it’s the middle name.
Now said child is all grown up, identifies as non binary and prefers to go by a completely different name. 🤷🏻‍♀️

One my sons has the name of one of my childhood imaginary children, another has the male version of the other.

My husband is a descendant of a seventeenth century Huguenot refugee. I saw one of his ancestors was called Damaris which I would have liked but we had already had and named our little girl. If she had been a boy, my mother wanted him called Angus after my father who had died shortly before I became pregnant. But my husband said it was a name for a dog in England. So it was just as well we had a girl. We didn't have any more children but if I had had a boy, today I would like him to have the name Angus.

valdali

No I didn't think I would have children, but I liked the names Tamsin (out of one of my pony books) and Malcolm.

I'm guessing you were a Monica Edwards reader? Loved her books!
(Sorry. To keep on topic, I too loved the name Tamsin but didn't choose it for either daughter in the end)

Charlotte... serena .. but they turned out to be boys, but I still called them that..lol

My daughter, when small, wanted to name her future son Malwod. It's Welsh for snail. Luckily I only have a granddaughter!