Baby names your mother will love

Often, we hear about moms-to-be whose parents don’t care for the name they’ve picked out for their baby. What sort of baby names do grandmas really like?

Many parents-to-be want to give their child a unique moniker, one that hopefully won’t be shared by many — or any — of his classmates. Unfortunately, many modern and trendy baby names get a thumbs-down when they are shared with your mom, and names that are unique and uncommon also get raised eyebrows. The reality is, you are naming your baby — and your mom is not naming hers — but we know that there are certain genres of baby names that are more sigh-inducing than others. The following baby names, however, will get a critical grandma-to-be’s stamp of approval.

Traditional baby names

There are very few mothers who would complain about a traditional name choice for your baby boy or girl. Traditional names are those that don’t ever really sound dated. They are not trendy, but they are popular, and often find themselves near the top of the popularity charts every year. You will recognize these names from your own childhood, and may know older family members with similar names. Many have Biblical roots and never really seem to go out of style. It is interesting to note that boy names are less prone to trends than girl names are.

Classic baby names

Classic names are the names that were popular when our own grandmothers were babies. Many classic names have come back into vogue and while they may be a little on the trendy side, they sound super adorable on newborn babies. They aren’t quite as steadfast as traditional names, as they were once in fashion and faded out before coming back again, but may still please your mom.

Family members

Along the same lines as classic and traditional, naming your baby after a family member will help keep the groans away. Of course, you do run the risk of alienating a family member if you choose one grandma over the other, but there are ways to work around that as well. You can use both grandmother’s names if you plan to have more than one child (for example, giving your first child one grandma’s name, and your second child the other), or utilize both names as first and middle names.

Another nice way to name a boy is to name your son after your husband — this has been a long-held tradition for not making mother-in-laws mad for generations. Another idea is that you can honor a lost relative with your baby’s name, which is a lovely tribute to your family member that nobody can argue with.

The bottom line

No matter what, your baby is your baby — and you and your partner are responsible for naming him or her. No matter what choice you make, your mother and his mother should respect that. Keeping the name a secret until delivery day works really well, too, because once your baby is here and has a name, arguing is pointless. And most likely, the name is totally perfect for your baby, and your family will see that.

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More baby name ideas

Old-fashioned baby names: Classic and cultured
From Noah to Naomi: Biblical baby names
50 Pretty baby girl names