Need Baby Name Help? Ask Their Older Siblings-To-Be for Ideas

YouTube Influencers ask their kids to pick a name for their baby sibling and end up using it.

Fact checked by Sarah ScottFact checked by Sarah Scott

Cole and Savannah Rose LaBrant are not new to this parenting thing. With five kids, including a newborn, the YouTubers and social media influencers share their family with millions of followers regularly. 

But when it came to picking out a name for their newborn in advance of his birth, the Tennessee couple was struggling. On their YouTube channel, they shared the difficulties they were having in deciding on a name.

"The baby will be here in three weeks and we seriously don't have a name. We're not saying it for content, we just don't have a name," Cole LeBrant says in the video.

"We knew the other kids' names right away," he continues. "We found out the gender, we knew the name."

"We're scared this baby will [be born] at the hospital and the baby won't have a name," Savannah LeBrant adds. "The kids all have their favorite names though."

The LaBrants then proceed to ask their (then four) children what they should name their soon-to-be-born baby brother. It's a common enough question for parents to pose to older siblings, and the results are often hilarious. In the case of the LaBrants, the names picked by their kids included "Kitty Cat," "Thunder," "Baby," "Rad," "Shepard," and "Blue." 

The couple's other children's names are Everleigh, Posie, Zealand, and Sunday. They range in age from 11 to almost 2.

Among the kids' "favorite names," there was one name that did end up being used for the newborn. It's revealed in a later video after the baby was born. But what if that's not the case?

"If an older sibling’s name is not picked, it is important to share your appreciation for their effort," says Joshua Stein, MD, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinical director at PrairieCare.

"Additionally, it is OK to keep the story about the alternative names a family tradition," he tells Parents. "It's fun to reflect on names that were not chosen. This helps your older child know that their input was valid."

As for the LaBrants, they documented the birth of their son on YouTube and then shared a subsequent video of his older siblings meeting him for the first time. In that video, they reveal the name of the baby to the world. But not right away.

"Can you tell us the name now?" one of the kids asks. "I'm scared!" says Everleigh as the suspension builds.

"His name . . . the baby's name . . . is Benjamin LaBrant . . . just kidding," Dad says in the video as Zealand says "Noooooo!"

Eventually, Cole reveals that "Blue" is a name the couple has liked for a while and that the kids called the baby "Baby Blue" for several months before he was born.

"His name is Beckham Blue and we're all going to call him Blue," Savannah says. "Like that's just his name to us, is Blue, so we're just going to use his middle name as a kind of as a first for now. He has Beckham if he wants to use it when he gets older." 

Cole says it was "a relief" to finally have a name for their baby.

"Once the name is chosen, encourage your children to play around with it and have fun," Dr. Stein says. "Explore nicknames they may want to use. Create art with the name as a centerpiece that can be put in the baby's room. If they are older, perhaps have them write a short story using the name. Another option is to use the letters of the name in a short poem."

Ground Rules For Involving Siblings in Baby Naming

Dr. Stein says there should be some ground rules set if you are going to allow your older children to be part of baby name suggestions. Here are three suggestions.

1. Parents have the final say. Praise and appreciate your child's input, but also share that they will get this same opportunity if they have a child later in life.

2. The goal of the name is to express family traditions and values. Every family picks names differently but often there are generational, spiritual, or symbolic qualities that are important to the family. This can often lead to a joyful discussion of the family heritage. This is a chance to talk about how the older sibling's name was chosen as well.

3. Have your child make a list of names that are not OK. Children and adolescents may be aware of the connotations or meanings of names that the family may want to stay away from. This reflects appreciation for their input even if it doesn't guide your final choice.

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Read the original article on Parents.