What's in a name?

We had discussed names we liked before we fell pregnant and had a bit of a list happening, but when we went back to it after I fell pregnant, we were both like 'God, what were we thinking??!!'. Names we'd both liked, one of us now didn't. Some new names got added to the lists here and there, but we didn't really have top picks for boys or girls.

People at work joked at my baby shower that knowing me, our baby wouldn't be named for a week after it was born! I remember being asked what colour we were going to paint the baby's room if we didn't know its sex. Goodness, are you meant to paint their room?? So prepared huh? I'm sure it came as no surprise when they received the SMS saying I'd had the baby and it had no name yet :)

So we were home. What do we call her? A name is something you're stuck with for the rest of your life. Something other kids can make fun of. Do you choose something old and classic? Something a bit out there? A relatives name? Something of a specific origin? A name that's high on the Huggies most popular names list? Or a name that doesn't even make the top 1000? Do you pick a regular name, but change the spelling? All these decisions!!

We got it down to 3 that we both actually liked, I had a favorite by this stage, but it wasn't just up to me. My husband decided that he would try all of them out for the next 12-24 hours. On the following morning, the 5th October 2010, my husband walked in and said "I think she's an 'Anika'."

Anika Charlotte

I loved it! Anika was my first choice!! I was so glad my husband liked it too. He said he'd kept calling her Lucy and it just didn't fit. I had wanted the proper Dutch spelling Anneke, but I'd settle on the spelling if it was the name I'd liked the most!

So the kid had a name, for better or worse. It was one of the names we'd both liked across time. It was also a name that was a bit different, pretty and connected to my Dutch heritage (my Dad is Dutch- sorry, was, he was naturalized as an Australian when I was a teenager!).

Now we could start spreading the word and finally calling our baby something.

Name: Anika
Pronunciation: Ah NIH kah (for Amelia's benefit;)
Gender: feminine
Meaning: Graceful, favour, sweet faced, goddess Durga. Also means apricot from Nara in Japanese
Numerological meaning: people with this name tend to be very inspired, intuitive and creative. Their aim is to improve the world and they can be quite altruistic. They strive to see 'the big picture' and achieve their dreams.

Taken from