Q&A: Did you know what you wanted to call your kids, before you had them?

As part of Parent24's Q&A series we're asking parents to share classic parenting moments with us. Here we share how we choose our children's names. 

I knew what my daughter would be called from just about the moment I saw the positive pregnancy test. 

I had just one girl's name ready to go, but while we waited to hear what gender the baby would be my husband and I also prepared some boy names. 

My daughter came first, and is named after my paternal grandmother, it was an instant and obvious choice for me. I added a Greek twist and my husband agreed immediately and the rest was plain sailing - as far as names go.

We struggled a bit more to choose our son's name. My husband suggested Greek names that I couldn't pronounce and I chose biblical names that didn't work for him. 

One day my father-in-law suggested a name that we both liked, so when it was confirmed that our second child would be a boy, we had a name ready to go and by the time he was born he'd been known by his name for months. 

Ask any parent about their children's names and you'll get a similarly detailed answer! 

Parent24 reached out to readers to find out more about the stories behind their children's names, and they delivered.

Yamkela commented that she spent months writing down names and making shortlists. "But then our baby had a rough entry, I didn't think he would make it. I watched him fight for his life and pull through."

She says that "one day while I was watching him in NNICU a verse came to me Romans 8:37, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Then I named him Mnqobi meaning Conquerer. He's a big boy now, 10 months." 

Mom Carla shared "We knew what our daughter would be called before we even got married and thankfully we had a girl because had it been a boy he would have to spend his life nameless as we could not agree." 

Dad Wade says he had his sons name tattooed on his body before he was born.

If she had a boy, his name would've been Jordan Reid, Liezel told us. "But then we had 2 losses."

Happily, a rainbow baby followed. "A girl, so decided on Madison, meaning "gift of God". The pot of gold we named Mackenzie which means "born of fire", if you think of the Phoenix bird. She had heart conditions and I needed a bold name for her, to remind us that she will be fine."

Tamryn told us that picking a name was extremely exciting. "My husband and I really bonded during the last month as we made our decision. We had a list of boys names. And we just never seemed to agree funny enough."

She says in the end her husband chose the first name and she chose the second name.

"Choosing a name is a great moment. As you think of the person your son will become, what he's personality will be and who he'll resemble. A moment cherished." 

"Before we had children we knew our boy would be Sebastian. Our girl was going to be Gabriella," @UlandiAnnandale shared. Sadly, she goes on, they lost her mid pregnancy.

"Then Abigail's name was chosen the day we knew we having a girl. Almost first in the book under A and means Father's Joy. Just perfect." 

@Maka_Olona said she was visiting a friend in Somerset West and she was with her in laws. One of the kids there was Olona-Thando "and I thought it was such a beautiful name. I vowed to name my child (boy or girl) with the same name. My daughter is now 13 years."

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