7 Reasons Why You Should Never Reveal Your Baby’s Name Choice

We’ve all been there…that exciting moment when you and your spouse finally determine what your babies name will be. Perhaps you have a few options, maybe a boy version and a girl version. The name is occupying your thoughts and you have this secret that just seems too good to keep between the two of you.

It all starts out innocently enough. You are at a gathering, and several months pregnant. Someone will ask you the standard pleasantries… “You look great how do you feel? Do you have any morning sickness? Boy or Girl? Have you picked out a name?” The logical part of you quickly sends a signal to your brain saying “Don’t tell anyone this name we picked out. Nothing good will come of it. Keep it a secret as long as you can. Come on it’s only a few more months!!” And just like out of a cartoon where you have a devil and angel on each shoulder that other more emotional, do-it-if-it-feels-good portion of your brain says “YES! Tell them! You love that name and should feel so proud of what you came up with. It’s the best name ever and who wants a secret anyway. Besides its perfect they will love it!! Do it! Tell them!”

I am here to tell you why keeping that name a secret for just a few months longer is always the best option. I had a friend who had 10 sisters and female cousins in her age range growing up and in order to make sure no one ‘stole’ a baby name each Christmas they would be allowed two names that they could save. They would put the names down on a piece of paper, read them out loud to the group, and then put them in a safe. Once the name had been written down it was yours. I’m not saying you need a vault but hear me out as to why it may be better to keep this wonderful news to yourself.

1. It’s a fun secret to keep with just you and your spouse:  It can be a thing just for the two of you. While everyone else is calling your baby “Baby XYZ” or “the little one” the two of you can rush home after a night with friends and say the name over and over. You can tease each other when one of you almost slips up and refers to the baby by their name, correcting yourself quickly (my husband did this several times and I was always impressed at how fast he recovered).

2. Nobody will ever love it as much as you do:  Let’s face it, unless the person you are telling the name to has THAT EXACT NAME they will never love it as much as you do. And why would they? It’s not their baby, it’s not their name choice. They will like it of course, but it will never be the response you want which I imagine if you are like me at all sounds something like “OH MY GOSH THAT IS THE MOST PERFECT NAME I HAVE EVER HEARD! YOU HAVE STRUCK THE BALANCE BETWEEN CLASSIC AND MODERN, WHIMSICAL AND SERIOUS, CUTE AND CLEVER. THIS NAME SURELY WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY”. Yeah that won’t happen.

3. Everyone will ask if you named baby after most famous person with that name:  You know this drill. You’ve likely pulled it on many of your friends and co-workers and probably didn’t realize you were doing it. It goes a little something like this.

Person 1: We are naming our baby Brad. Person 2: Oh like Brad Pitt? Person 1: No Brad is my husband’s middle name.

Or this…

Person 1: We are naming our baby Celine. Person 2: Celine… after Celine Dion? Person 1: No, Celine is Latin for “Heaven”. Person 2: Oh Ok.

4. You will learn the weirdest person someone knows with same name:  Now I am guilty of this time and time again, even if I don’t say it out loud. But I know many people who do. Here is how it goes: “Oh you are going to name the baby Patrick? <Long Pause>. I knew a Patrick in elementary school. He used to eat my glue”. The *only* time this strategy pays off is if you happen to know the coolest person the person you are telling ever knew, and if your baby shares that same name. That likely won’t happen. It will always be a glue-eaters name.

5. They might take the name for themselves:  I know this probably won’t happen. People are good and know how important naming will be. But you do run the risk if you tell of THINKING they stole the name. Likely they already had it chosen for their future child and when you spilled the beans they didn’t want to rain on your parade saying “That’s going to be our baby name too in the distant future! Our kids will be twinsies and now will both get to go thru life putting their last name initial after their first name from now until senior year”. Nope. They won’t say that. And then in 5 years when you have long moved away or switched jobs you will be trolling on Facebook and will see that “Oh my gosh they copied my name”. Not worth it.

6. Once baby is born people can’t object or give other suggestions:  When a baby is born they more or less lock in the name. Even if it’s a terrible name, or the glue eaters name outsiders will simply look at that beautiful baby, hear the name and say “I love it. It’s perfect”. Bingo.

7. So few surprises in life keep this as long as you can: In today’s society everyone wants information all the time regardless of how relevant it is. People love a spoiler. I’ve clicked on articles with the headlines “You won’t believe what happened on last night’s episode of Game of Thrones- Spoilers Ahead” and I don’t even watch that show! I just love a good spoil. Your friends and family, no matter how much they beg to hear that name, will be delighted when the baby is born and they get to hear the unveiling of the name. It’s very royal family. And everyone loves a well-kept surprise.

Once your little bundle arrives, be sure to capture all the sweetest moments—and share them with your family and friends near and far—with the Tinybeans app. The secure platform puts parents in total control of who sees and interacts with photos and videos of their kids.

Janelle Henry

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Janelle is a Pacific Northwest native who escaped the rain and now resides in the Bay Area with her husband and their two sons. A tech industry leader by day and a craft mommy reheating up leftovers by night, just balancing a house of cards as best as she can.