I'm also not a big fan of made-up names and prefer them to have some meaning. DH and I have considered many celtic names as they are meaningful to both sides of our family (welsh ancestry on both sides), are 'real' names and have translations that help with the choice. Of course it is still tricky to choose so we took a family poll. We gave all the close family a list of our preferences and asked their opinions. At the end of the day we will choose when we see the baby but it is nice to hear from the people that will be most involved in her life.
Criteria - nothing too common
- not readily 'teasible' (i.e. Halula)
- can be shortened to something nice or not shortened at all
- means something cool
- sounds good with the surname (i.e. number of syllables etc.)
We are still working on it. An on-line search of the most unusual names was interesting.
It is funny how the popular names of the day seem to seep into your subconscious when choosing names. Casting a wide net has been good to get past those.
Bron