Elizabeth and Thomas are expecting their second child later this month, but are yet to seriously discuss names. They already have a little boy named Xavier, but Elizabeth isn’t too fussed about “sibset flow” – she just wants the children to have names they like.

What they would like in a name

• Not extremely popular
• Not very uncommon
• No unusual spellings
• A name that can stand the test of time, and suit an adult as well as a child
• Elizabeth would most like a classic or traditional name, combined with a more modern or contemporary middle, such as Zali or Eden

Names currently being considered
Girls: Grace or Kate, with Olive or Victoria as the middle name. Elizabeth loves the name Zara, but Thomas isn’t convinced.
Boys: Elizabeth really likes the name Jack, but believes it is too popular. She likes Ned, Ted, and Sam, but isn’t 100% sold on them. They earlier considered the name Lenny, but weren’t sure they could love it forever as much as they did initially. They may use the family name Geoffrey as the middle name.

Names that have been crossed off the list
Girls: Maggie
Boys: Elizabeth has crossed off Harry and Charlie, and Thomas has crossed off Ben, Benjamin, Clancy and Chas. Noah and Joe are also off the list.

The family surname begins with M and ends with R with an L sound in it eg Marler. Because of this, they have eliminated Amelia as a possibility, and any two-syllable name ending with -la, such as Ella or Layla. Elizabeth loves alliterative names, and would be happy with a name starting with M.

Elizabeth is feeling quite stuck in regard to name inspiration, and is hoping blog readers can help her out with some ideas. She wishes she could just have a list of names in front of her, so she could tick or cross off ones she likes or doesn’t.

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Elizabeth, when you said you would like a list of names that you could either say Yes or No to, that reminded me of the Nymbler website, run by Laura Wattenberg of the Baby Name Wizard.

To use it, you choose up to six names you like as your name inspirations, and then press Find Names – you can also select boy or girl names, or both. Once you receive your list of names, you can either save the names you like by pressing the heart symbol, or you can block the ones you dislike so you won’t see them again. I find the longer you go on from the same set of names, the more crazy and random the name suggestions get.

Another online tool that is a bit more focused is the Baby Name Expert on Behind the Name. You have to register to use the site (it’s free), and then you will find it under the Tools menu. You select a gender, and the country you are from (Australia is included), and then it starts suggesting names at random.

At this point, you can tell the BNE that you love the name, and save it to your list. Or you can tell it that the name is okay, and the reasons that you don’t mind it. Or you can give it the flick, and explain why this name is completely wrong for you.

Each time you either save, okay, or ditch a name, you will receive suggestions based on your preferences. Unlike Nymbler, the longer you use this app, the more focused and sensible the suggestions tend to get, and it’s very fast to move from one name to the next.

Anyway, that’s two methods of getting a long list of names that you can tick or cross off. It might be fun to do this with Thomas, so you can choose names together, and discuss your preferences. Or if he finds this kind of thing boring or stressful, it’s a way to immediately get a list of names you like that he can either agree to or nix in his own time.

I can’t give you hundreds of name ideas, but I did notice that all the names you chose were short and simple. You seem to like sensible, wholesome names for girls, like Grace and Kate, with maybe something more elaborate, trendy, retro, or modern in the middle. For boys, you seem to like cute, nicknamey names like Jack, Ned, Ted, Sam, or Lenny.

Girls names that reminded me a bit of Grace and Kate include

• Alice
• April
• Audrey
• Bonnie
• Claire
• Daisy
• Hope
• Ivy
• Lucy
• Maisie
• Rose
• Zoe

Possible middle names could be

• Aria
• Clementine
• Eleanor
• Eloise
• June
• Pearl
• Penelope
• Tess
• Sadie
• Scarlett
• Susannah
• Vivienne

Cute boys names could be names like

• Alfie
• Digby
• Finn
• Freddie
• Gus
• Jed
• Jem
• Kit
• Mack
• Nico
• Rafe
• Roy
• Sid
• Sonny
• Toby
• Vince

It seems as if you have already picked out nice names though – Grace and Kate are perfect, and Grace Victoria or Kate Victoria is quite regal.

There are several boy’s names you like, but you don’t seem ready to commit to any of them yet. I wonder whether you just need more time, or need to meet your baby first before you decide? Or maybe you’d prefer choosing a formal name for the birth certificate, with a nickname for everyday use, like Edward nn “Ned”, or Theodore nn “Ted”, or Lennox nn “Lenny”.

I know you are getting close to your due date, but don’t let that panic you. Take some time to get a list of names that you and Thomas like – names that you can imagine calling your child, and that fits in with your lifestyle. You don’t need to decide on one until after the baby is born, and if you still don’t have a name, you have weeks after the birth to choose one.

Good luck Elizabeth – for some reason I feel as if you are closer to finding a baby name than you think, even if you end up with something completely different than the names you are considering. Do let us know what name you choose for your baby once she or he arrives!

NAME UPDATE: The baby’s name is Patrick!