Seeking Advice and Words of Wisdom-- Naming the Baby Is Making Me So Sad!

My second son is nine months old and his name is Henry. I love it and can't tell you how much positive feedback I've gotten on it. My husband calls him Hank, but most people call him Henry.

Have you thought about using her maiden name as his middle name? That sometimes works nicely!

-M

Personally, I like Henry. What about naming him with an initial? H. Ryan. How about naming him Hart (heart) - that would honor her in multiple ways.

K.

Do you have to name him after a relative? Look at the top 100 list of baby names and see if you love one of those names!

how about Hank?, it's a short and has the"a" sound as Jack. But between your choice of Hudson or Henry, I think Henry has a nicer ring to it. Good luck, it'll come to you. My Husband and I had names picked out for our daughter, but they all went out the window when she was born. None of them fit her appearance, we changed it last minute.

I'm sorry you lost your dear Grandmother. Now you and your little children have another Guardian Angel.
Just throwing in my 2 cents.
I like Hudson, Hayden, Heath, Harrison and Henry.
I love Ryan as his middle name.
"H" names are tough but I'm sure you'll find the perfect name for your little angel.
Blessings to you.

Whats in a name? A name is what you make it to be. I grew up with a guy with the same last names as you (I am reacking my head for it and can't remember the first name). Anyway he was one of the coolest guys in school. When people would "make fun" of his last name "hey hamburger" he would just say something about preferring a differnent kid of burger like one that was a recent promo or popular burger and laughed it off. The teasing got less and less and it evolved into a a "cool" nick name. I grew up Campbell so I always got called soup. I would just say "Thats right I'm MMM MMM Good!" Once the people picking on yo are disarmed but not in a mean way they end up being your friend. With my kids now we come up with all sotrs of silly nicknames. When they get older I doubt there would be one they haven't heard of.

BTW I love Hudson Ryan Berger. Once you find something you like and your son developes a personality you will never be able to imagine him with another name you considered. He'll totally own whatever you give him.

LOVE the mame Henry!!!
-C.

Can he be named after his dad? Possibly be a junior?

HUDSON! Love it. Wish I'd named my son Hudson.

I love Hudson and as well like the sounds of just Holt. They both sound very masculine to me.

Let go of the small stuff. You are making this hard on yourself. Just give it a few days and the right name will come to you. Put your favorite list on a white board and let your family and friends share what they like and dislike.

Enjoy!!!!

I think that Hudson Ryan is an awesome name. Once he is born and you look in to his face you will just know what to name him. Good Luck! I like Henry to but only if you stick with Henry and don't do nickname Harry.

Tina

Hunter Ryan Berger.

That is my maiden name. My daughter just named my grandson Tristen Julian Hunter Foster. I was born, Julia Hunter. What a treat. I will be calling him T.J.

You have my condolences on the loss of your grandmother.
Give yourself a break about about not having a name... you are pregnant and just lost someone you love. You are doing the best you can.

If you want to connect with your preborn son, and honor your grandmother, start telling him stories about her. What you remember and like about her. Telling him stories about someone you love will help you connect (all three of you) while you wait for his name to come. His name isn't the key to you bonding, it is your intent to bond and love him that matters. He will feel this, like all the things you feel he feels right now, in his own way. Put one hand on your heart and one on your belly while you tell him your thoughts and feelings about him joining the family, about your grandmother. You can have your older boy join in. My Dad died while I was pregnant with my second child, and we joked that they got to know each other while my second was in the 'waiting room'. My older daughter was very key on Baba Vince and my un born daughter getting to know each other before the birth, it helped her too as he was very special in her young life and she missed him too.

What about a favorite name your Grandmother had? A color, team, place to visit... these things can also be an honoring connection if you'd like to 'think out' a name to connect them. I would try being quiet with him, after you have talked about your grandmother and inviting him to 'send you a name.' If this sounds too out there for you, think of it as an exersize where you quiet the chatter of your mind and allow your thoughts and heart to give you the answer you are looking for.
Your baby loves you and is lucky to have a Mom who is conscientious of loved ones in her life.

Hi J. the names Hudson and Henry fit a grown man, but not so much a baby. We names our first born son after my husband, I think most men dreams consist of having a son to carry the family name, in picking names for our other 2 another son and a daughter, I looked for names that represented strength and quality. or example our first born named after my Husband Edwin Jerome Louis, Edwin means (Best/Good friend to all. Jerome has no special meaning, our
last name Louis means (Famous in Battle) which fits my husband and sons because they are MMA fighters. Our Second son is Andrew Michale Andrew means (Manly) Michael means (Unto the Lord) our Daughter's name is Samantha Ranae, Samantha means (Listener) she.'s now 20 and has always been good at listening. Ranae I'm not sure about Don't be sad, about naming your baby, I've have always liked the Names, Andrew, Anthony, Victor (which doesn't really fit a baby, but it's a strong name. Cole, Nicholas, David, Diego, Jason, James, Those are a few. You'll find the perfect name, don't worry. This is a happy time for you. Enjoy it. J. L.

J. B

I am sure you will get many names as well as ideas. I believe Ryan is an excellent name that you have thought of. I believe it is more of what you and your husband want. Put the names in a hat that you like and pick one from the hat. It does sound corny, but it is the only thing I can think of, I tried that when my children were born. The name that was chosen was great, my three children's names are Michael, Robin, and Tony. Yes I named them after relatives, Robin is my daughters name, but Robin or Robyn are for boys and girls. Good Luck.

I'm sorry for your loss! I used my grandmothers name as my child's middle name in the same gesture, although she has not passed on yet but has dementia and is no longer "with" us. I think Hudson is a great name and Ryan sounds pretty good with it.
Best of luck to you

I like Hudson better than Henry. But Nicholas Henry Berger has a nice rhythmic flow to it as it is said aloud.

What was her maiden name? My grandmother's maiden name was Perry so we used that as my son's middle name - Justin Perry....

I think Hayden Ryan Berger is a very strong name. Nicolas is a very nice classic name as well. Good luck and enjoy the pregnancy. The name will come to you.

Hi J.,
For what it's worth, I think Henry Ryan Berger sounds great. As a teacher I come across lots of names, and the old traditional names aren't being used much any more. Henry is great! There are tons of Nicks out there, tons.
Good luck,
Wendy

Hi J.-

In case the "H" is still giving you problems, you might consider looking up the meaning of Helen and then finding other boy names that have a similar meaning (some books/websites allow you to search by meaning). You might also consider a characteristic of your grandmother that was very special about her, and find him a name that matches that characteristic.

Don't worry- you will connect with him soon!!

Blessings to you.

Hi J.,

I had my daughter 5 years ago and right away I loved the name "Emma Kate." It was so easy. When it came to naming my son 2 years ago. My husband and I really loved the name Aaron. Well, the middle name we went back and forth with because we really wanted to name him after my husband's grandfather "Rudolph" or "Rudy". I was nervous because of course we got little jokes like "was he born with a red nose?" Anyway, two years later...Grandpa is gone and our son has a name that we are so very proud of...we can only pray that he grows up to be just like his kind, loving, caring, smart, compassionate Great Grandpa. BTW, when our "Aaron Rudolph" was born, Grandpa was still alive and sooooo very honored...it was the best decision for us.

Anyway, my point is, yes having a name that means something is nice because it comes with a story that you can tell your child. My Emma Kate wasn't named after anyone but her name has a special meaning to us. Aaron Rudolph, on the other hand, was named after someone special in our lives. You can really go either way.

I love Hudson and Henry. But perhaps you need to look at it in a different way, what if you took the last part of Grandma Helen's name instead: LEN

Len is the shortened form of Leonard which means "brave lion".

I hope this helps. Congratulations.

K.

If you are this emotional over a name now, you may be at risk for PPD. I'd suggest yoy talk to your doc and let him/her do a quick evaluation at the next visit. Good luck! Alicia

what about Hyman Ryan or Hunter Ryan

What about Hayden? My mom is Helen, Grandfather was Hans and Grandmother was Helene so we went with Hayden

I love... Hudson Ryan Berger. I think it sounds great. Congratulations on #2. No worries, everything will be great!

Hank? Isn't that short for Henry and goes pretty well with Jack!

Good luck (we decided in the delivery room too...)

Hi! I went thru the same feelings! My first son's name was easy, loved and a family name....then my second son was difficult. He's 18 months now and I still don't love his name the way I love my firsts...however, not loving his name has not made it harder for me to connect with him! I just had my third boy last week...and still don't LOVE the name. I like their names...but don't LOVE them...but I do LOVE them. I thought I could never connect with my second. While I was pregnant (surprise) I thought I would never even like him. But the second he was in my arms...I loved him and connected with him instantly. My third boy took me a few days to connect to...but I did and now I can't hardly put him down I love him so much...I know how frustrating names can be....believe me, I feel like my husband got to name all our boys cause he hated all the names i loved...but a name dosn't define their connection with you or even who they are...
I like Holten...honestly wouldn't have thought of hold the burger. Kids will find a way to make fun of any name...so put little thought into that! Hudson, Holt, Hal...so many good names.

Hi J.,

In my family, there are two unusual H names for boys. Harrison and Hosea both with last names starting with B. Good luck!

Perhaps think of connections to your grandmother that aren't so literal. My grandmother lived on the same street for her entire life - Ivy Lane. So Ivy would work for a girl. Something like that. Or places, things you loved to do together. Brainstorm and find something. When you tell your son why he has the name he does, he'll associate it with your grandmother because you will make it special for him.

Here's a list of H names:
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/list/1/H
I like "Heath" :)

Why not take the meaning of the name Helen (http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Helen) and pick the masculine version? It could be a nice tribute without forcing something.

I also really like Nicholas Henry.

What about Harris, Harrison or Harry (which is very cool these days because of Harry Potter) I love Hudson and Henry too!

I like Henry! But think outside the box, too. If you want the name to represent your Grandmother, find something or a place that reminds you of your Grandmother. What about her favorite mountain or favorite city/town? Where was she born? Where did she love to visit? Just a thought!

I really adore Hudson Ryan.

Hi J.,

Here's a thought -- rather than basing the name on the starting letter, trying looking for names that have an equivalent meaning. "Helen" originate from greek and means "sun", "sunshine", "sun's rays", etc. As an example of equivalent names, "Samson" ("Shimshon" in the original Hebrew, from shemesh) means's "light of the sun". Another Hebrew "equivalent" might be something like "Ohr", which means "light." The Italian for sun is "sole", and a similar name derived from that might be Sol. In Portugese, the word is "dumenica", from which you could derive "Dominic" (this might be a bit "goyische" for some people's taste ;-) ) Get the idea? You can use an online translator coupled with baby-name guides and really get very creative using this method.

Another thing to do might be to preserve sounds from the original name. One of the names of our eldest child is "Andrew", named for my DH's grandmother Anne (Hannah in Hebrew). For Helen, perhaps something like "Ellis" or "Leonard" might fit.

Since you're Jewish, your grandmother must have had a Hebrew or Yiddish name. You could also draw from that source. My english first name is Helene, but my hebrew name is Hannah, which means "grace", "gracious" or "merciful". A similar boy's name would be Yochanon, meaning "God is gracious" (actually, this is my son's hebrew name, named for his great-grandmother Anne/Hannah, so I'm a bit partial to it!). Rabbi Yochanon ben Zachai was a great scholar and one of the martyrs remembered in the Yom Kippur martyrology liturgy (the parchment is burning, but the letters are flying free).

A great resource you might want to check out is Hebrewbabynames.com.

Congratulation on the pending birth and condolences on the loss of your beloved grandmother. HaMakom yenachem et'chem b'toch shar avay'lay Tzion vee'Yerushalayim (may you be comforted amongst the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem).

Hello J.. First, I am so sorry for your loss. My grandmother is my best friend, and I would feel completely lost without her, and although she is still with us, I feel like I can understand your pain due to your loss. Secondly, I wanted to say I like Hudson better. Third, when I was pregnant a few months ago, I had a hard time coming up with a name for my baby boy, and actually didn't decide on the name until the day after he was born. In the meantime, I was a member of the March 2009 babies group on Babycenter.com. I believe they have a group for every month that mother's are expecting. Anyway, the reason I am telling you this is because about 4 times a day, someone would post name survey's - a name or names would be posted, and we all voted on it. The beauty of this was, some people would say I don't like the name/s you have chosen, however I do like _____, which gave us great ideas. Just a thought that you might want to consider. Best of luck to you, and congrats on your pregnancy :)

I LOVE the name Henry! Good Luck!

Honey, you sound like your pregnant!!! You're getting all sad & frustrated over something that s/b so much fun and so exciting! Just chill!!! I like Hudson. Relax - you may not even know until you see the baby! You don't even need to know until then, sometimes even days later. It'll come to you ... stop running into the wall.
Enjoy your pregnancy!
M.

I like Hudson Ryan,I also like (Ryan Hayden),or Haydon Ryan. I'm sort of bias.....My youngest son is a Ryan. HE"S got an outstanding sense of humor,is very good-looking and is well liked by all.Just as your son will! Congrats,and keep those spirits up. J. M.

What was your grandma's maiden name? Sometimes those make good first names. Instead of a middle name, you could just give him the middle initial H. What about using the first letter of her middle or last name to choose a boy name from?
I always like the name Hayden. Henry is nice but sometimes the nickname Harry is used for Henry and that wouldn't work with your last name.
Even if you can't find a name that "represents" your grandma, the stories and memories you share with your children about her will be a big part of their of life.

I like Hudson Ryan Berger. It goes well together. My oldest son name is Ryan and I knew before I ever got pregnant with him that I wanted a boy with the name Ryan. My second son was much harder to decide on. I wanted an Irish/Scottish name so we finally decide about 3 weeks before he was born that his name would be Gavin. Sometimes you just don't know until you see their little faces for the first time. Best of luck!

J.,
Enjoy your pregnancy, the name will come to you. Love the baby boy you have growing inside of you right now as your baby boy. There are many names out there that start with a H that will honor your grandma. You'll read it somewhere, in a book, in the newspaper, magazine, bible, a program, hear it in a song, hear it as a sports name, etc. someplace at the right time. Just love your husband, your son Jack and your future son now. It is such a special time in your life.

Congratulations!

E.:)

I personally love the name Hudson Ryan. It works well with your last name too.

There is also the option of using your grandmother's maiden name as your son's first name. I told my husband if we have another boy I would like to name him Paulson, which is my mom's maiden name.

Or you could look up masculine forms of the name Helen. Or since the name Helen is Greek meaning Light you could name him Lux which also means light in Greek. babynames.com has a great search engine that might help you out.

I love Hudson Ryan (-:

Any male names that you know of that Helen especially loved?

Hank, Harley (OK, sounds like a dog), Howard, Heath, Harrison, Howie, mmmmm, all I can come up with right now. My 6 yo likes Harrison (-:

My neighbor just had twin baby girls. She had two sets of names picked out, but she didn't want to name them until she's had a chance to see and hold them. Maybe, that's what you should do :)

BTW....RYAN HENRY BERGER (instead of Henry Ryan), sounds good to me! :)

Best of luck to you!