Baby Names on the Brain! by Teresa Palmer
Image by Gemma Pranita
Were you ever that girl (or guy) who had a list of baby names as a teenager that you were certain you were going to name your future babies? Like “I’ll break up with you if you don’t agree to these names” kind of list? You’d run it by your teenage boyfriend to make sure they were on the same page and if they weren’t; well maybe you’re just not compatible. I can’t remember how many boyfriends I’ve convinced to use Indigo as our child’s name…there’s been many. In fact, this reminds me! if Bodhi were a girl he would’ve been called Indigo Love (homage to Isaac’s last name). Mark too got sucked into the name Indigo, although I had decided that even if he declined, he was still dateable. When we found out Bodhi was a boy we also found out that Marks best mate named his daughter Indigo, so the name will forever be a distant teenage memory.
My all important high school baby names were scrawled on my pencil cases, on crumpled up bits of paper and scribbled in my journal pages. It was the cool thing to do, we swapped baby name lists like we swapped Year-twelves-I wanna-smooch lists, it was a thing at my school. By the time I was 15 I had decided that I was having 2 boys and three girls, the list has obviously evolved but honestly not that much! here’s my circa 1999-2003 shortlist below.
TEENAGE TEZ NAMES
Girls
Alaska Rose (first born)
Indigo May (second)
Poppy Blue (third)
Backup 👉🏼 Asha Hope
Boys
Dakota (first born)
Sky (second)
Back ups below👇🏼
Storm
Jett
Asher
I always liked names that were a little unique. I think probably as a direct result of being given such a biblical name Teresa Mary. (Named after Mother Teresa and Mother Mary) my atheist dad obliged, much like my teenage boyfriends, and let my mum choose my name. The religious moniker “would help me lead a more heavenly life.”
As I started getting closer to the age of actually being able to use baby names. and “further away from leading such a heavenly life,” I naturally started leaning towards earthy, unisex names. I’m partial to a two syllable first name and a strong one syllable middle name. It goes well with the two syllable last name Palmer. I like the rhythm of it - 5 syllables in total. I have specific letters that I love and the way the names sounds is so important, I love the letter “O” and how pretty is sounds, it’s the second letter of the boys first names (Bodhi & Forest). I also love the letter “A,” it’s the second letter of the boys middle names (Rain & Sage), seems a pattern is emerging! Both my boys names are connected to nature, trees in particular. I was always climbing trees as a kid, “tree” even became the way people shortened Teresa as I was growing up, so it’s always had specific meaning to me.
As human beings we try to compartmentalize and label things; “traditional, cool, unique, hippie, urban, celebrity, trendy, popular” are all different baby name lists I’ve seen while diving into this ever so appealing topic. This list below is going to be a bunch of names that I gravitate towards, names that I think are interesting, perhaps some of them I would never use or aren’t quite my style, but I certainly admire them from afar. There isn’t one name on here that I dislike. They’re all so pretty and unique in their own way. Check it out and see if you can find some inspiration. Happy shopping!
THE SWOON WORTHY’S
I will be looking to this list for my future baby names...
Image by Gemma Pranita
Girls
Posey
Petal
Ochre
Lotus
Fern
Boheme
Poet
Lilac
Mabel
Luna
Noa
Koda
Wilder
Ivy
Winter
Forest
Lark
Rain
Wren
Bodhi
Eden
Autumn
River
Echo
Florence
Indigo
Clemence
Lyric
Season
Greta
Lonneke
Daisy
Elke
Lake
Ever
Wynn
Haven
Soleil
Snow
Fable
Savanna
Dusk
Minoux
Briar
Meadow
Sailor
Roux
Quinn
Saffron
Primrose
Evangeline
Pearl
Boys
Sonnet
Story
Noble
Sawyer
Otto
Bodhi
Harbour
Scout
Bloom
Everest
Fox
Island
Kai
Loki
Ocean
Cove
Ever
River
Sage
Caspian
Acre
Sailor
August
Brynn
Forest
Rumi
Solly
Dusk
Wilkie
Arlo
Bastian
Atlas
Winter
Mosey
Oak
Rain
Quinn
Asher
Cedar
Grey
Sky
Marley
Bear
Elliott
Teddy
Sparrow
Moon
Canyon
Solaris
BABES OF MY BESTIES
My friends’ babes and their rad names.
Girls
Phoebe
Minnow
Esme
Echo
Lila
Olive
Chapel
Charlie
Charley
Bowie
Maggie
Sabrina
Eliza
Isolde
Sugar
Charlotte
Rafaella
Lindy
Ellery
Josie
Indiana
Mila
Elliot
Molly
Sage
Luna
Wemberley
Vivienne
Audrey
Henrietta
Coco
Rose
June
Alice
Georgie
Carmen
Cecelia
Inez
Vera
Boys
Fionn
Patrick
Finn
Captain
Jaylen
Henry
Eli
Ace
George
Wonder
River
Jasper
Wilder
Wyatt
Otis
Malachey
Griffin
Leo
Luca
Gustav
Lachlan
Atticus
Louis
Guillermo
Samuel
Truman
Whitman
Valentine
Mosey
River
Alfie
Alby
Leon
Racer
Rocket
OLDIES BUT GOODIES
They’re coming back! all my grandparents names are on this list. Awe.
💕 My great Aunty Ivy on the left and her twin sister, my Nanna, Dora, on the right. They would’ve turned 100 this week if they were both still alive 💕
Girls
Lily
Rose
Isobel
Charlotte
Ivy
Iris
Greta
Harriet
Agnes
Hattie
Alice
Josephine
Violet
Adeline
Beatrice
Delilah
Daisy
Etta
Luella
Ottilie
Delphine
Eleanor
Gretel
Dora
Liesel
Wilhelmina
Mary
Annabel
Amélie
Matilda
Maisie
Boys
Noah
Isaac
Henry
Owen
Oliver
Everett
Silas
Harry
Joseph
Charlie
Ernest
John
Frederick
Emmett
Ambrose
Dominic
Theodore
Felix
Otto
Rufus
Simon
Arthur
Benedict
Phineas
Edwin
August
Harvey
Gabriel
Kingsley
William
THE UP & COMERS
The ones you’re hearing more and more around the playground and in your kids classroom, often found on the cute/trendy/hipster baby names lists of the web.
Girls
Harlow
Isla
Harper
Marlow
Shiloh
Lux
Cora
Wilde
Maeve
Frankie
Sadie
Iris
Stella
Juniper
Luna
Avery
Eden
Honor
Monroe
Vivian
Rowe
Charlie
Delilah
Sia
Bowie
Sienna
Aurora
Beatrix
Mae
Clover
Magnolia
Lulu
Lexi
Coco
Tallulah
Nora
Vera
Arlow
Evie
Cricket
Edie
Boys
Atticus
Milo
Journey
Asher
Hudson
Maddox
Sonny
Theo
Finn
Lennon
Atlas
Jasper
Levi
Leo
Ryder
Wolf
Flynn
Jackson
Ziggy
Emmett
Strummer
Zephyr
Jagger
Abel
Hendrix
Zion
London
Huxley
Otis
Mason
Logan
Everett
Liam
Lincoln
Eli
Arlo
Hunter
Easton
Bennett
Axel
Brooks