Naming a baby is hard, how about some Hoosier inspiration?

What's in a Name?

When it comes to parenting, one of the first major decisions you will ever make for your child is their name.  On the surface, it may not seem like a big deal, but when you think about it, having to decide on what someone will be called for the rest of their life is not something to take lightly.

What you name your child will forever be people's first impression of them, it's what they will first learn to write in school, and it's a name you will probably say seven million times, minimum, in your life (or possibly on a random Tuesday when they're 3 years old, and have selective hearing).

Baby Name Inspiration Can Come From Anywhere

I have two kids, and the process for naming each of them was so different.  During my first pregnancy, I had a list of boy names and girl names in my phone. I ended up not using a single name from either list.  When I found out I was having a boy, all of a sudden, I hated every single boy's name on my list.  My husband and I ended up coming up with Riley for our son by total accident.

There's a metal band my husband and I are fans of, and the lead singer had passed away, his first name was Riley.  I was reading an article about a foundation that had opened in his honor, and when I was telling my husband about it, I said, "You know, I actually think Riley is a really nice name for a boy," and Sam looked at me and paused then said, "that's it right there!"  And it just clicked.   There was never a second guess; we both realized Riley fit just perfectly.

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So while my son isn't technically named after this artist, it's kind of cool that a band we both enjoy inadvertently inspired our kid's name (BTW the band is Power Trip, and if you're a fan of thrash metal, they're fantastic).

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Sometimes Baby Name Inspiration Comes From a List, and Doesn't "Click" at First

With my daughter, it was totally different.  I was stewing over a list of names up until literally about 2 weeks before she was born. I never had that "click" moment that I had when naming Riley.  I had a list of a few girl names I liked, so I finally wrote them all down and handed the list to my husband and told him to mark off his absolute "no" names, and we could narrow it down.

He marked off every name except Layla, and he circled it.  I read it over and over again, and said it multiple times, but I still just wasn't sure Layla would "fit." However, Sam loved the name ever since I mentioned it.

I can tell you now, he was right all along because once Layla was born, there was not another name that would have fit her more perfectly.  So sometimes that "click" moment doesn't happen until after the baby is born, and that's okay too!

Indiana Inspired Baby Names

One name that was on my list of potential baby names was Indiana, because I always thought that would be a cute name, and you could call them Indy.  But since I live in Indiana, it just seemed too, uh, on the nose?   Recently, for the Q Crew Question, we asked what Indiana cities or towns would make good baby names, and it turns out there are actually a TON of places in Indiana that could make really cute baby names.  I've taken some of the comments from Facebook and listed them below!