Every one you pick out, he hates. And, his favorite reminds you of the mean kid who lived down the street from you as a child. And yet, as the months, weeks and days count down to your due date, you still can't agree on a name for your baby.

Playing the name game doesn't have to divide you two right in the middle of your joyous preparations. Here's how a few couples have kept their cool and come to a name compromise the whole family is happy with with.


Imagine all the possible angles
Experts say references and imagery are very powerful, and holding onto a name your partner is uncomfortable with can not only cause a rift in your relationship, it can lead to whoever isn't fond of the name having trouble bonding with the new baby.

Images of the snotty kid who sat behind you in math or your partner's first love shouldn't pop into your head when you're signing your baby's birth certificate. And neither should images of him or her being taunted because of a name. "When considering names, we established a rule that the name couldn't be one that would cause him to get beaten up on the playground," jokes mom of four, Diana Crabb of Crystal Lake, IL, "and every boys' name I came up with reminded him of an unfortunate child who was either bullied or was the bully."

But, the Crabb's found a creative way to strike a compromise. "We each made a list of the 10 names we loved and we each had the right to veto nine of the names," Diana explains. "The last two standing would be the first and middle name of the baby." And, since the Crabb's didn't know the gender of their kids before each birth, she says they did this twice. Once on a list of boys' names as well as on a list of girls' names.

Gender rules
Sharon Waldrop and her husband struck a gender deal when naming their kids. "He named the boys, and I named the girls," she says.

Sharon's son wound up with a name that suited both of his parents. Waldrop's husband, a die-hard John Wayne fan chose Ian Wayne. "Ian is the Gaelic version of John so this variation of John Wayne made us both happy," says Sharon, who opted to name the couple's daughter after her favorite cousin.

Opt for objectivity
When all else fails, many couples are looking to third parties to name their baby. From hiring 'nameologists' and consultants, to asking friends and family members to pull a name from a hat, many find asking for help eases the burden of finding a name.

Michelle Ulbright and her husband decided to hold a baby naming contest within their family. "We absolutely couldn't decide on a name we both liked," she recalls. "We asked our family to come up with their favorites, held a party and had everyone vote." The result: Elisha Linn. "We changed the spelling from how it was originally spelled, but it's ironic that we both loved that name," Michelle says. "Our mothers came up with the name because I was almost name Lynn and my husband was going to be Alicia if he was a girl."