S and I both agreed on one thing when we started the name discussion--we wanted a name that was meaningful to our family. We kept a running list of boy and girl names, but didn't seriously discuss anything until we found out we were having a girl. At that point, we had our little list, and there was one name at the very top: Emma. S's grandmother was named Emma, and it had long been a favorite of mine (and about every other girl out there). But, it was (in our opinions) too darn popular. I credit this to Friends, but whatever the case it seemed that pretty much every little girl out there was named Emma--and how could I blame their parents? It's a beautiful, old-fashioned name. So, we started talking about variations or even finding a name that started with the letter E in honor of S's grandma--which is how we settled on E's first name. Her middle name, M, is after another family member: my great aunt Judy. Her middle name is E's middle name, and I can't think of a more joyful, sincere, loving person to be named after.
I really hope (and can already see) that E takes on the characteristics of those she was named after: sweetness and happiness after S's grandmother, and a pure joy and love for life after my Aunt Judy.
How did you decide on names for your children?
