Pros and Cons of Sharing Baby’s Name Before Birth

There are several questions that you will get asked during your pregnancy on a regular basis (how far along you are, what the gender is, when the due date is, etc). One of the biggest questions that you will get asked during your pregnancy is about your baby’s name. This is always a fun question, but it can be a tricky one to work around sometimes.

During my pregnancy, my husband and I shared our top name choices with anyone who asked, but now looking back, we wish we would’ve just kept it a secret between the two of us. We wanted to wait to completely decide the name until after I gave birth. We wanted to make sure the baby fit the name we chose before we announced it to everyone. After sharing our ideas with people, it made it harder to decide, but obviously everything worked out okay and we love the name we chose for our sweet baby boy!

PROS for Sharing Your Baby’s Name Before Birth

Personally, I probably won’t be sharing my baby’s name before birth for future children, but I can definitely see some of the positives of doing so. There are some really fun things that come along with announcing the baby’s name.

1. You can receive personalized gifts from people at your baby shower. I never got any personalized baby name gifts, but I have seen a lot of cute blankets/quilts, room decor, outfits, etc. that have been given to new moms who shared their baby’s name.
2. You can decorate the nursery and use the baby’s name/letters. My husband and I were pretty sure that we wanted to name our baby Elliot, but hadn’t decided for sure yet. When I was pregnant, I really wanted to paint a cute wooden “E” to put in the nursery, but I held myself back because we hadn’t totally decided. Anytime people came to visit, they wanted to see the nursery, so I couldn’t exactly hide my E on the nursery wall either. If we had shared our name early, I could have used more personalized decor!
3. You can feel even more bonded to your baby by talking about him/her by name. We always referred to our baby as “Baby,” so when he actually arrived, it was really weird for the first few days (maybe even the first two weeks), to say “Elliot” rather than “Baby.” If you do decide on a name before birth, but choose not to share it, this is definitely a good thing to do when you and hubby are alone, but then it can get hard to avoid saying the name when you are talking about your pregnancy and baby around other people, so be careful!

CONS for Sharing Your Baby’s Name Before Birth

1. The biggest downside of sharing baby’s name prior to birth, is the commentary that you will get about the name(s) you pick. When the name hasn’t been officially signed on the birth certificate, people seem to think that you will still change it because they aren’t a fan of that name. Even if people don’t outright tell you that they don’t like the name that you picked, their comments will definitely influence your decision. It is the parent’s choice, so don’t let others influence you! Deciding on a name is an important thing and you want it to be perfect for you and your baby!
2. It’s harder to change your mind if you suddenly decide that the name isn’t a good fit. If you have told everyone the name and people have given you personalized gifts, it’s going to be a LOT harder to change the name. My husband and I thought that we really liked a certain nickname for our baby boy, but once we met him, we decided that it really isn’t a good nickname for now. It’s pretty easy to sway back and forth, so if you are sitting on the edge, I wouldn’t announce the name yet!
3. Baby’s birth announcement will feel more special if a name is included as part of the surprise. Personally, I’m always excited to see a birth announcement when I’m scrolling on social media, and I LOVE seeing what people decide to name their babies. If the name has already been announced though, then that fun aspect of a birth announcement is gone. Before I could relate with my own baby, I never really cared much about how much the baby weighed and how long the baby was, because I really didn’t have anything to compare it to. For the sake of your friends who haven’t had babies yet, save the name for the birth announcement! It’s more fun!

There are so many great baby names to chose from! It is no simple task to pick a name either. I was so unsure of the name, and even after we had already signed the papers in the hospital, I was worried that I didn’t choose the right name. That’s another feeling to justify not sharing the name until you have made it official! Personally, I won’t be sharing baby names before the birth for future children, but as I’ve covered in this post, there are definitely pros and cons to both! Good luck mama and dada!