Choosing a name for your precious son or daughter can be fraught with emotion.¹ Trying to get two people with their likes, dislikes, biases, and triggers to agree on something as important as a name can be tricky. When my husband and I were trying to pick a name for our daughter, we couldn’t agree for many months. I would get anxious thinking that our poor child would be born, and we would still be undecided about her name. Luckily, at the last minute, we found a name we both loved. But sometimes, there must be quite a few long, patient discussions to find that perfect name.

Here are some tips for parents struggling to agree on their baby’s name.

Try These Tips First:

Before you get discouraged, start with these first steps. They can help open communication and narrow down your choices.

1. Set Out Some Criteria

Before starting the process, you should set out some basic criteria you can agree on. Perhaps your husband doesn’t want a name that can be used against his child by bullies. Or maybe you don’t want to name your son Chad because that was the name of your jerky high school boyfriend. Whatever your criteria are, write them down and at least agree to abide by those boundaries when looking at names. For me I wanted my kids to have unique names that had special meanings. That helped guide my husband and me when choosing their names.

2. Listen to Your Partner Objectively

Instead of dismissing your partner’s objections to a name suggestion, listen to the reasons behind the opposition. Is the name too feminine for him? Is it too common? Does it remind him of someone? Try to take a neutral third-party perspective when discussing each other’s reasons for disliking any given name. And keep in mind you are both on the same team. You both want the best for your son or daughter, including the right name.

3. Make Separate Lists, Then Swap

One way my husband and I determined the perfect name for our kids was by making separate lists of names. We then swapped lists and allowed each other to cross out whichever names they didn’t like. That helped us narrow down the names we could consider as a team.

4. Take a Time Out

Take a break if you’ve been arguing for days, maybe weeks, or even months about your baby’s name. Table the subject for a few days and let yourselves focus on other things for a while. After a time, come back together and see if anyone has had a change of heart or new suggestions.

If That Doesn’t Work, Try This

If you’re still stuck after trying the basics, these creative approaches may help you move forward and make a final decision.

1. Take Turns Choosing

If you plan on having more than one child, you could always take turns choosing the name. Your husband would name the first baby, and you would name the second. I have a friend who agreed with her husband that he could choose the name if the baby were a boy, and she would choose if it were a girl.

2. Flip a Coin

Let fate take the decision out of your hands! If you’ve whittled your list down to two names, assign each to a side of a coin. Flip it, and see what fate chooses your baby’s name should be!

3. Let Friends and Family Choose

If you two can’t decide, maybe let your friends and family choose it by taking a baby name poll! Heck, if you’re feeling brave, you could make the poll public and have the people of the internet cast their vote!

4. Each of You Choose One Name

This option really helped my husband and me when we were trying to name our daughter. I was set on the baby’s middle name, and he had no objection. He knew it meant a lot to me. After arguing over the first name, my mother gently told me, “Why don’t you let him choose the first name since you chose the middle name? It’s his baby as much as it is yours.” That really hit home. So, after he made his baby name list and let me cross off all the ones I couldn’t deal with (and put a star next to the ones I preferred), he made his choice. And we both ended up loving the name.

5. Wait Until You Meet the Baby

Who says your baby has to have a name before it’s born? What if you need to meet your little one first and have him or her tell you who they want to be? In this case, maybe prepare a list of your top 5 names and wait until your baby makes their appearance before you decide.

Naming your baby should bring joy, not stress. Give each other patience and grace as you work through the process. The right name will come in time. And if you need more inspiration, head over to our baby names hub for even more ideas and guidance.