OBSESSED WITH BABY NAMES w/ NAMING BEBE

Summary

The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz: Episode Summary

Title: OBSESSED WITH BABY NAMES w/ NAMING Bebe
Release Date: December 12, 2024
Hosts: Kelly Stumpe and Lizz St. John
Guest: Colleen Slagen, Baby Name Consultant from Naming Bebe

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1. Episode Overview

In this engaging episode of The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz, hosts Kelly Stumpe and Lizz St. John delve into the fascinating world of baby names with special guest Colleen Slagen from Naming Bebe. The discussion centers around choosing the perfect baby names, understanding naming trends, sibling name cohesion, and the nuances of baby naming consultations.

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2. Introduction to the Guest

Kelly and Lizz introduce Colleen Slagen, a passionate baby name consultant who runs the popular Instagram account Naming Bebe. Colleen shares her lifelong obsession with names, tracing her interest back to childhood activities like reading yearbooks and collecting baby name books.

[19:02] Liz: “I never knew so many people are into baby names until I started working in this field.”

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3. Starting with Baby Names

The conversation begins with Kelly and Lizz discussing their personal experiences with naming their children. Colleen explains her data-driven approach to helping parents choose names that resonate with their personal preferences and family traditions.

[19:16] Kelly: “So you're a baby naming expert?”

[19:28] Colleen: “I'll take it. I am obsessed with baby names.”

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4. Popularity and Trends in Baby Naming

Colleen emphasizes the importance of understanding current naming trends. She notes how names like Rory and Sloane have surged in popularity, often becoming as ubiquitous as brands like Starbucks among children.

[21:36] Liz: “I started with Irish names like Rory, but realized they were everywhere, so I pivoted to more classic vintage names.”

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5. Sibling Name Cohesion

A significant portion of the episode discusses the importance of sibling name sets. Colleen outlines her guidelines to ensure names within a family complement each other without being too similar, such as avoiding names that share the same three letters in a row.

[44:14] Colleen: “No names should share the same three letters in a row. So, Camden and Camila? No.”

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6. Challenges in Naming

Kelly raises questions about the ethics of naming, such as whether it's acceptable to reuse names within a different generation or family circle. Colleen advises open communication and understanding personal preferences to navigate these challenges effectively.

[26:35] Kelly: “What's the etiquette, though? If you're the second one to have the baby, do you have to tell them before?”

[26:48] Liz: “I think you do too. Communicate it. People just want to have a conversation about it.”

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7. Consultation Experiences

Colleen shares insights into her consultation process, which includes a detailed questionnaire and a comprehensive PDF report with name recommendations. She highlights the diversity of client needs, from couples struggling to agree on a name to those seeking innovative sibling sets.

[36:08] Liz: “I send a client a 15-question survey to get all the details of what they're looking for.”

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8. Unique Naming Stories

The hosts ask Colleen about memorable consultations. She recounts working with a client blending Texas and Goth styles, seeking names with villainous connotations inspired by characters like Maleficent. Colleen provided names with a witchy and vintage flair, such as Theodora and Theodosia.

[39:33] Liz: “She wanted to embrace names with a villainous connotation... So I went with names like Theodora and Theodosia.”

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9. Balancing First and Middle Names

Kelly brings up the challenge of ensuring first names pair well with last names. She expresses concern over how her chosen first name Gemma complements her last name Stumpe. Colleen advises focusing primarily on the first name's suitability, noting that some pairings may require middle name adjustments.

[48:07] Kelly: “I loved the girl named Gemma, but Gemma Stumpe could not go less together.”

[48:34] Colleen: “I think Gemma Stumpe is totally fine. Focus on getting the first name right.”

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10. Nickname Versus Formal Names

The discussion shifts to the use of nicknames versus formal names. Kelly contemplates whether to maintain a formal name or adopt a nickname like Hattie for Harriet. Colleen prefers having a formal name with an obvious nickname, ensuring versatility and ease of use.

[49:00] Kelly: “Should I have just named Hattie Harriet, or use the nickname?”

[49:13] Liz: “I tend to give the formal name with the nickname for versatility.”

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11. Vehicle Names Segment

In a light-hearted detour, Kelly asks Colleen about car manufacturer naming conventions. They critique various vehicle names, citing Carnival as the worst name and praising names like Expedition and Telluride for their thematic consistency.

[52:15] Kelly: “I think the Carnival is the worst name in the world for a vehicle.”

[53:14] Liz: “Warby Parker does that with their glasses and it's so fun.”

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12. Quick Recipes Segment

As a playful segment, Lizz and Kelly share quick, drive-through-avoidant dinner recipes. Colleen presents a versatile gnocchi and sausage skillet, while Lizz offers a veggie lasagna alternative using cottage cheese to hide vegetables.

[55:55] Colleen: “You can substitute any meat or veggie. It's really flexible.”

[57:10] Liz: “Veggie lasagna is a great way to hide veggies and make it kid-friendly.”

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13. Conclusion and Takeaways

The episode wraps up with Colleen providing her contact information for consultations and sharing her Instagram handle @namingbebe. Kelly and Lizz express their appreciation for Colleen’s insights, highlighting the valuable advice on baby naming and sibling sets.

[58:07] Liz: “You can find me on Instagram or TikTok. My handle is namingbebe.”

[58:43] Kelly: “Whenever I get pregnant again, you’ll know my name choice first.”

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Key Takeaways

• Data-Driven Naming: Utilize a combination of personal preferences, trend analysis, and family traditions to choose names.
• Sibling Cohesion: Ensure sibling names complement each other without being overly similar to avoid confusion.
• Communication: Openly discuss name choices with your partner, especially if considering names already used within your social circle.
• Consultation Benefits: Professional consultations can provide structured guidance and fresh perspectives on naming.
• Flexibility with Names: Allow names to grow on you and remain open to adjusting your choices as you envision your child's identity.

This episode offers a comprehensive exploration of baby naming, filled with expert advice, personal anecdotes, and practical tips for parents navigating the exciting journey of naming their children.

Transcript

[Kelly]

This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. There's nothing sweeter than baking cookies during the holidays. With Prime, I get all my ingredients delivered right to my door, fast and free. No last minute store trips needed. And of course, I blast my favorite holiday playlist on Amazon Music. It's the ultimate soundtrack for creating unforgettable memories. From streaming to shopping, it's on Prime. Visit Amazon.comprime to get more out of whatever you're into. Streaming now on Peacock. Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are back.

[Liz]

That's hot. Loves it.

[Kelly]

For a show stopping reunion that will prove putting on an opera is anything but simple. Sana, Sana, Sansa, Sana.

[Liz]

We're really good at this.

[Kelly]

One thing's for sure, they won't be upstaged. Good to have you back.

[Liz]

Come on, we've got a show to do.

[Kelly]

Paris and Nicole, the encore, a three part reunion special. Streaming now only on Peacock.

[Liz]

Welcome to the carpool podcast with Kelly.

[Kelly]

When I bring something to my local potluck and get a compliment on it, I can then deliver the recipe printed to the person the next day. That's the kind of level I'm trying. That's the kind of Martha Stewart level I'm trying to achieve.

[Colleen]

And Liz, no, I really do think, I really do think it's the bare feet for me. Cause I do think if they had slippers on, I could take it more. I just really don't like. I don't like the bare feet.

[Liz]

Your mom time off starts now.

[Kelly]

Welcome back to the Carpool podcast with Kelly and Liz. Liz, Kel. Speaking of Liz and Kel, we have.

[Colleen]

A super exciting episode, a super exciting episode. Today we have a guest. We're kind of just like full of guests, but like, we're getting really, really good ones. So how are we to, you know, say no?

[Kelly]

I just, I can't tell you enough how. If you want to talk to people, start a podcast.

[Colleen]

The way I just abused the power of having a podcast. Let me tell you who we have. We have Colleen from naming baby on our podcast. She's a baby name consultant. And the way that I made her give me confirmation on all of the names that I have, and she did like them. But yes, I agree. If you want to talk to someone, start a podcast and ask them to be on it. We have such an exciting episode. We talk about all things baby names, what's popular right now, how to choose a baby name, sibling sets. Like, we cover it all and like, we love talking about baby names. So this was really fun and we.

[Kelly]

Share some fun stories. We share how our. How our parents decided to name all of us. And there's twists and turns and let's just say someone goes to court. Someone goes to court. And we are not to court. We are not kidding.

[Liz]

So it was a real.

[Kelly]

You don't have to be pregnant or, you know, even if you're not having kids, I still think you'll enjoy our guest today. Angela leaves.

[Liz]

Great.

[Kelly]

Ditch the drive thrus.

[Colleen]

Yeah. So if anything, stay tuned for that. I'm literally adding it to my. To my rotation. And speaking of rotations, I'm trying something new with my meal plan.

[Kelly]

Everyone's talking about it. Elizabeth.

[Colleen]

I am trying to meal plan a month in advance. Right out my month, I realized that I have. I spend 10, 15 minutes a day thinking about what I'm going to make for dinner that night.

[Kelly]

And it.

[Colleen]

Honestly, I hate doing it every single day. So I saw an. Someone post an Instagram and they were like, I plan on my meals a month in advance. And this way I only take 15 minutes once a month to think about it versus 10, 15 minutes every day to think about it. And that's what I did.

[Kelly]

It's. It's such a good hack. Nap Time Kitchen shared this a couple of months ago, too.

[Colleen]

Okay.

[Kelly]

And, you know, first of all, let's just get this out of the way. You can change it for sure if things go awry. You can change it, but you still have something.

[Colleen]

Well, I can't tell you how much I loved it when we were doing, like, Croctober, because I knew that I had to make that recipe once a week. And it was one day that I did not have to think about it, and I loved it. So I'm hoping this is going to change my life in the same way. So what I did was I printed out or I wrote out a calendar, and I also, like, wrote out my top recipes that I just like to make on rotation. And then I just kind of, like, plopped them out throughout the month. I tried to do pasta Monday, and then I make a lot of, like, like Mexican. Like, I like tacos and fajitas and all that kind of stuff. So I'm doing those on, like, Tuesdays. You know, Taco Tuesday. I think that's what Nap Time Kitchen does too. I know she does pasta Monday and just kind of like going from there. And if I want to change it, I can. And then maybe that will also lower the amount of times that I have.

[Liz]

To go to the grocery store.

[Kelly]

It will. It will do that. It'll give you headspace, which is such a gift.

[Colleen]

Such a gift. And I'm also so inspired from our podcast with Debt Free mom when she's.

[Kelly]

Like, I'm riddled with inspiration from. After talking.

[Liz]

Riddled.

[Colleen]

Riddled with inspiration. I know.

[Kelly]

I also think, especially when you order groceries, it's even easier. I mean, I went to the grocery store today, and I haven't been recently except for, like, to pop in to, like, grab two things. But, like, I went for my groceries for the week. Cause I don't know, I just decided to. It was a zero out of ten experience.

[Colleen]

I'm.

[Kelly]

I'm hiking my way through the aisles because I forgot something and I did this. And I just love the experience of ordering groceries and going to pick them up. And it's free.

[Colleen]

It's free.

[Kelly]

Why? I don't know why. And I'm making impulse purchases inside.

[Colleen]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

And then I don't know what the total is. So then I'm having that register anxiety on my instacart. I see. Okay. I'm at $110. Yeah.

[Colleen]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

I'm on budget or I'm out of budget. It's just so, so, so helpful.

[Colleen]

So helpful. I don't know if you do this, Kelly, but, you know, I love to, like, do the coupons every now and then. Okay. So Ibotta, if you want to use those coupons, you do have to buy in store, but like, on inst. And then we go to a grocery store called Schnooks, the Schnooks app. But you can, like, preload all the coupons onto your account and it will automatically they'll.

[Kelly]

Oh, I did not know that, Elizabeth.

[Colleen]

Yeah, no, you've been.

[Kelly]

Oh, my gosh. You've been withholding.

[Colleen]

And also when you order, like, you know, I order this specific brand of milk all the time or whatever it is sometimes, then they'll be like, hey, we know you like this. So here's like, a coupon for this thing that you often get.

[Kelly]

That's so nice of them.

[Colleen]

It's so nice. They didn't have to do that, you know.

[Kelly]

Well, speaking of recipes, I recently came across a really nice app that Sydney told me about. I shared on my Instagram once, but it's called Recipe Box, and it's kind of like Pinterest where you can. It's kind of like a Pinterest meets your recipe binder, because you can take the URL of a recipe and then it will strip out, like, the life story and all of the ads. And it will just give you the recipe and the ingredients, and then you can, like, save those onto your app and you can, like, you know, categorize them. Oh, and, you know, I got, I got a little feedback saying, like, you know, that's not fair to small creators and I shouldn't be promoting that. First of all, I didn't invent the app. I just want to make that clear. The app already exists. And, you know, I don't know, as a creator, I'm about the customer experience. And I think you can. And let's be honest, they're doing, they're making the recipe story so long and so hard to find to keep you on the website. So they get more ad dollars. And a lot of people are still going to do it, but I'm just sharing a convenience hack.

[Colleen]

Well, I hate, I hate looking at recipes like that because I always accidentally click on the ad and then I'm taking a different page.

[Kelly]

Right.

[Colleen]

And then it always, it always. I pick up my phone and somehow I'm on a different spot. I'm like, never in the right spot. I hate the scroll.

[Kelly]

And I'm going to give you my first scroll because I'm not going to go through the Hubba blue of putting it in my app until I decide if I want to make the recipe.

[Colleen]

Totally.

[Kelly]

But then once I've decided I want to make it, I'm sorry, I'm not going to. I can't scroll. The jump to recipe is glitchy for me. And there's still ads. I was on a jump to recipe this morning. There was four ads popups on the jump to recipe.

[Colleen]

It's out of crazy.

[Kelly]

And they can control. You can control how many ads are on your website.

[Colleen]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

And I think you can find other ways to support your favorite creators, like shout outs or like buying their cookbook or like just engaging with their social media post. Like, I'm sorry, I'm not, I'm not going to apologize for that. People skip my ads all the time.

[Colleen]

I'm sure people skip the ads on this podcast all the time.

[Kelly]

I'm sure people skip the ads on this. Buying ads.

[Colleen]

You know, it is what it is.

[Kelly]

Skip the ads on YouTube. Skip the ads. I mean, you know, if you use like ad blocker on Google, like, I'm not, I'm not going to apologize for that. Recipe box is a good app download.

[Colleen]

So it's an app.

[Kelly]

It's an app.

[Colleen]

Okay.

[Kelly]

And then it's just so nice that you can just see. I also like It. Because it's organizing my recipes. I'm not, like, going to Pinterest. Then click on your link to. Then click to jump to recipe. I go to my app and I see the recipe for meatballs.

[Colleen]

My recipe binder has changed my life.

[Kelly]

It's. I know, I know.

[Colleen]

And. And it's just because I will try a recipe, you know, something generic. Pork loin, chocolate chip cookies, like, whatever. Would it pick up whatever it is, I can never figure out what recipe I used when I'm scrolling through the ad. So a recipe box would be a good one to remember. Like, it was specifically this one. And I just love having my binder. When I do get my life together and I print them out and it's like, this is the one I use. This is the one I like. It's just. It's changed my life.

[Kelly]

And then I can't wait to. I also love. I want to be the person who has the recipes and then can, like, send people recipes. A lot of my cooking right now happens, and I'm kind of making it up or like, I'm half. Half using this recipe, half using that recipe. But when I get my life together and I print them off, I am so excited to. When I bring something to my local potluck and get a compliment on it, I can then deliver the recipe printed to the person the next day. That's the kind of level I'm trying. That's the kind of Martha Stewart level I'm trying to achieve.

[Colleen]

That is like, I mean, the day that you do that, I will be very so impressed by you.

[Kelly]

Thank you. It's coming.

[Colleen]

It's coming.

[Kelly]

It's coming.

[Colleen]

It's on the horizon. Okay. Cobal, is there anything else that, like, we need to get to before we get into this interview? Like, anything else you need to tell everyone?

[Kelly]

Anything else I need to tell everyone? I got a soup going in the crock pot. Ham and white bean soup. I'm really excited about it. Don't ask me for the recipe because I'm kind of just making it up, but maybe I'll write it down and print it off and give it to you.

[Colleen]

I do have. It seems seasonal on our reminders app that maybe you wanted to talk about men in PJs.

[Kelly]

Tis the season.

[Colleen]

Tis the season.

[Kelly]

I don't want to be hateful.

[Colleen]

Okay.

[Kelly]

I just don't like it. Yeah, we're all allowed to have things we don't like. You know, it's not that I don't. I just. I don't like looking at your husband in his pajamas. And I. First of all, I know he feels so uncomfortable. I have secondhand uncomfort for a man in Christmas pajamas. That's what I'm trying to say.

[Colleen]

Yeah, I agree.

[Kelly]

Because he didn't want to wear it and he's uncomfortable.

[Colleen]

Yeah, I'm with you. It feels. It feels too much. And we don't.

[Kelly]

We.

[Colleen]

We get into. We got into it last year, so we don't need to be. We don't need to be.

[Kelly]

I just think it's a. I. I don't mind a mommy and me matching moment. I don't. I don't really need to see anyone in their pajamas. I think I just. Children is fine.

[Colleen]

You know what I think it is with the men? I think it's their feet.

[Kelly]

I don't.

[Colleen]

I don't want to see the bare feet.

[Kelly]

No, Elizabeth, it's that pajamas. I'm sorry. Some of you guys are putting your men in pajamas that are not very lit, and I just don't enjoy it. I don't. I'm sorry. Like, I have seen it with my own eyes.

[Colleen]

Yikes.

[Kelly]

I don't like this. I don't like the shirt. I don't like the little jogger pants you're putting them in. Yeah, he doesn't want to wear it.

[Colleen]

Who's it for? Who's it for? At the end of the day.

[Kelly]

Oh, my gosh. That would be the funniest prank to.

[Colleen]

Play on Tyler, making him wear pajamas.

[Kelly]

I'll be like, tyler, it's for an adult. Like, I need you to put these pajamas on. Because he.

[Colleen]

And, like, try and film his actual reaction or what? What do you think he will do?

[Kelly]

I think he will tell me no. Yeah, but if I could get him in pajamas, I see it. I wouldn't even want to see that side. I don't want to see my own husband in those kind of pajamas. I mean, right. Let alone yours.

[Colleen]

Yeah. Like the Grinch on their pants. I'm just not interested.

[Kelly]

I'm just not interested. It.

[Colleen]

No, I really do think. I really do think it's the bare feet for me, because I do think if they had slippers on, I would. I could. I could take it more. I just really don't like. I don't like.

[Kelly]

Well, there's levels to it. Because I also don't mind. Here's what I don't mind. I don't mind if I don't love it, but I can tolerate a flannel pant and, like, a solid shirt. Okay, like, I can tolerate that. Look, like, I think Old Navy does a good job with their jammies, but, like, I cannot tolerate the little sleepies. Adult PJs. I can't do that.

[Colleen]

The pat. Like, the overlay pattern, like, yeah, I get that. A classic plaid, I'm okay with, but.

[Kelly]

Yes, a classic plaid with a plain shirt and slippers. I won't report the image.

[Colleen]

Definitely. I won't report the image. Definitely. Slippers.

[Kelly]

This photo, I absolutely. You can't see. Hold on, let me do it.

[Colleen]

This photo.

[Kelly]

I'm not.

[Colleen]

It's a literal. It's a literal ad. Yeah, it's the feet. It's the feet that get me. I can't do it. I can't do it.

[Kelly]

He just doesn't look like he's happy.

[Colleen]

No. Hey, this is. Blink twice if you are. Okay, sir.

[Kelly]

Speaking of husbands, Liz, tell everyone what your birthday party theme is. I didn't talk about it yet.

[Colleen]

Oh, my gosh. Okay. My 30th birthday, we're doing a murder mystery party. And I don't know if this is the official theme, but I have no. It is. It's 19. No, no, it's 1920s themed, but I think it's like. And then it's a murder mystery, so I feel like it's a death to my 20s.

[Kelly]

You didn't even tell me that.

[Colleen]

I know. I just came up with it. Death to my 20s.

[Kelly]

Death to her 20s. Murder mystery, 1920s. We are costumes.

[Colleen]

We got like, our costumes. Like, spending too much money on Amazon to, for a one time wear. We're doing flapper dresses. Kelly and I both. Both ordered wigs. Are you going to be a blonde?

[Kelly]

Yeah, you know, I like. I want to be a blonde. Like, I'm not saying.

[Colleen]

I hate to see you as a blonde.

[Kelly]

No, I'm very excited. I'm not spending a hundred dollars on a dress because I just overbought. I just overpaid for a dress I only wore one time for you recently, and that was your wedding. So I'm going to be wearing my bridesmaids dress with 1920s accessories.

[Colleen]

I think that's great.

[Kelly]

Yeah, Just a black evening gown. It's fine.

[Colleen]

I think that's great. Yeah, everyone has. Everyone has characters. So who are you?

[Kelly]

I'm like a really, like, rich lady.

[Colleen]

Okay, wait. First of, I want to preface all the characters. Grayson is assigning them. She's like, they're all bad and it's all unhinged.

[Kelly]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Colleen]

The characters, they're not reflective of our life.

[Kelly]

You can't take offense to it. And I think it's fun for me to, like, live in this alter ego. But I'm in a loveless marriage to an older gentleman. I married him for the money. Problem is, in the 1920s, I had money, but then I married him. And now my husband controls my fortune. Luckily, he's old, but I don't like him. Tyler's my husband, and Tyler's.

[Colleen]

Tyler plays the old man.

[Kelly]

So I plan on bringing up some stuff on the way over, if you know what I mean.

[Colleen]

Cause I'm gonna get really character.

[Kelly]

Yeah. So I'm gonna remind him of that one time he did that one thing to me. He's like, why are you bringing this up? And just. Because he's. I wanna really live the experience.

[Colleen]

It needs to be authentic. It needs to be authentic. I am a Hollywood starlet. I'm a 1920s film star, see, with an annoying voice. They literally say in my prompt, she has an annoying voice. And I brought. My date is a male escort, and that's Maddie, and his name is Jig O. Low. And Jig's situation is he has a big head and a big ego, and he wants to be famous and he wants to be noticed by. By the other women. But he's stuck with me because I'm his date. See? And I'm just gonna talk like this all night. And it's. We're very, very excited. And everyone has. Chris is a jazz singer. Of course.

[Kelly]

Of course. Dad's the butt till Chris picks her character.

[Colleen]

Dad's the butler. Craig is the owner of the mansion of the party we're at. He's the Gatsby.

[Kelly]

Oh, my gosh. Yeah. It's gonna be. It's gonna be fun.

[Colleen]

And Grayson's running it. She's the detective. So Grayson has, like, a book of a script that she has to, like, run and know the whole story.

[Kelly]

We just bought a kit. I mean, I'm not ready to say, like, if we love the kit yet. Cause we haven't done it yet. But if we do like it, we will share.

[Colleen]

Yes, we. Yes, we will.

[Kelly]

All right, Liz.

[Colleen]

Okay. Well, that's. I'm happy we gave that update. Thank you for the reminder. Okay, well, guys, let's get into our.

[Kelly]

Episode with Colleen naming baby Colleen Slagen. Welcome to the carpool podcast.

[Liz]

Thank you. I'm so glad to be here.

[Kelly]

First of all, you really secured a good handle name in Bebe. Are you a Schitt's Creek fan?

[Liz]

So I'm not, but I'm gonna roll with that as the reason I chose it. Cause someone else has made that connection. I did it based off of I was so into the book Bringing Up Baby. Did you guys read that before?

[Kelly]

You know what? Let me tell you something. I bought that book on my audible on a day where I feel like I was having my life together. Haven't turned back to it since, But I will listen to it one day.

[Liz]

Super aspirational. And once you have kids, you're gonna be like, that's not realistic. Oh, yeah, French parenting.

[Colleen]

Oh, interesting.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Colleen]

So it's a fairy tale.

[Liz]

It's a fairy tale. Like, you sit on the park bench and chat with your mom friends while your kids are off playing. They eat gourmet meals. They eat what you eat. They follow all the rules.

[Colleen]

Oh, wow.

[Kelly]

Oh, okay. So I should not read at this point.

[Liz]

It's probably not worth it at this point.

[Kelly]

It's too late. That's the most honest book review I've ever heard in my life. Appreciate that.

[Liz]

Yeah, no problem.

[Kelly]

Well, Colleen, we. You came across my desk. I think just. I think just the old Instagram algorithm just served you out to me one day because you make the bet. The best baby naming videos.

[Liz]

Thank you.

[Kelly]

You know, because I think there's a lot of people out there who are, like, predict influencer baby names. Like, that's fun. But, like, Colleen's there for the influencer. She's also there for just all of you.

[Colleen]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

And she's bringing you data driven. What did you say earlier, Liz? Like, a data driven approach to names.

[Liz]

Like, more analytical. Analytical. I'm not like, your intuitive namer who's like, yeah, it'll come to you. When you see her, you'll know. That's not. Definitely not my approach. I'm like, come prepared. Do your research.

[Kelly]

So you're a baby naming expert? The word expert. We just throw, like, the world just. Yeah, it's almost like, I don't know if you can give yourself the name expert.

[Liz]

I know. I will.

[Kelly]

I will give you a baby name expert.

[Liz]

I'll take it.

[Kelly]

How did you get started? Do you just love names?

[Colleen]

I do.

[Liz]

I'm obsessed with baby names. I think now I realize so many other people are too, but I never knew that because it's kind of a dorky little, like, hobby. But I used to read yearbooks, phone books, had a collection of baby name books growing up, and had a notebook of, like, what I was gonna name my kids, starting from, like, first grade.

[Kelly]

So how did your husband take it when you Already had your names predetermined.

[Liz]

He's pretty chill. And he would veto a name. And then if I just cycled it back in a couple months later, he'd be like, yeah, that one sounds good. Do you remember vetoing that before?

[Colleen]

Well, that's a hack right there. Because repetition, it's like, you know when you first start a show and you're like, I don't really like it. It's like, no, you gotta get into it. Drop the name. If he vetoes it, take a step back, drop it back.

[Liz]

A few weeks later, post it on his mirror, you know, cycle it back.

[Colleen]

In, whisper it in his ear when he's asleep.

[Liz]

Little hypnosis. Yeah. He's not passionate about baby names, but he certainly humored the daily discussions.

[Kelly]

That's so awesome. So let's just get this. This has to be the question on everyone's mind. What are your children's names?

[Liz]

Okay, my oldest son is Rory. My daughter is Jane, but we mostly call her Janie. And then my youngest son is George, which you probably know. Well, that's the best.

[Kelly]

I did know that, and it is the best name ever. Obsessed. So is Rory the full name?

[Liz]

That's his full name, yeah.

[Kelly]

Rory, Jane, and George.

[Liz]

Yeah, we started. I really liked Irish names. I always loved Irish names. And then I grew up outside of D.C. but now I live in Boston. And I think after I had Rory, and I started going to, like, you know, kid centric events, swim class, gymnastics, whatever, I realized that Irish names were, like, literally, like Starbucks in terms of kids. They're everywhere up here. And so I kind of took a little turn and went to more like classic vintage names after that.

[Kelly]

Interesting. Yeah, See, I don't. I find it interesting. And maybe this is just me. Like, I'm over here being like, oh, I didn't know Roy was an Irish name. Like, I just thought it was a name that was cute. Like, I don't even know. And if I couldn't ask, I couldn't name another Irish name if you told me to.

[Liz]

Oh, come on. What's the number one boy name? Liam. Liam's are, like, everywhere.

[Kelly]

If you would have. You could have. That was French. Like, I have no idea. I can't be the only one.

[Colleen]

Sloane is of Irish origin, right?

[Liz]

Yes, it is. Yeah. I don't think people realize that either, because it's like a surname, you know, in origin.

[Kelly]

Oh, it's a surname.

[Colleen]

Surname.

[Kelly]

But, you know, it's.

[Colleen]

Do you know what a surname is?

[Kelly]

A surname's a last name. I Didn't think it was a slur name, though. I thought that meant last name. Okay.

[Liz]

Like your sis. I think it's interesting, your family, like you guys, Kelly and Liz have very. I mean, Elizabeth is like the most timeless name ever, but Kelly is very 80s 90s. We all knew a million. Sorry. Kelly. It's a great name. Classic Irish name.

[Kelly]

Colleen. That was my mom's surname.

[Liz]

That's true.

[Kelly]

People don't know that. My mom was Chris Kelly, and that's why I'm Kelly.

[Liz]

And then your sister Grayson has a surname and like a very edgy name.

[Kelly]

Yeah, they got lazy.

[Colleen]

No, they got creative.

[Liz]

They got creative.

[Colleen]

They ran out of family names that they had to use.

[Liz]

Okay.

[Colleen]

And.

[Liz]

Oh, because Elizabeth is a family name.

[Colleen]

Our brothers Craig, who's a family name. And then Sydney and Grayson, they just kind of got together.

[Kelly]

Sydney was. Because it was the year that the Olympics was in Sydney, Australia. And my mom goes, oh, that's a cute name. Went with that.

[Liz]

You know, it's nice when people are able to make such. Like, that's so simple and straightforward.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Like you. She didn't overthink it.

[Kelly]

Okay, Liz, like, there's so many directions. Like, we have Colleen here. There's so many. There's so many directions to go.

[Liz]

Where do you guys want to go?

[Colleen]

I. I want to start with just. Okay, so a lot of people who listen to us are maybe pregnant or maybe trying to figure out, like, they're in their husband. Like, can't agree on a name. Like, what are some good resources? Like, where can they start to, like, get inspo for names?

[Liz]

I don't. Okay, Instagram. Great. There are so many good accounts now, and that is a really nice place. I love the name Mary website. I think they do such a nice job. You know, you can, like, look up a name that you. I think the most common dilemma for people is, like, they love this name that they can't use. Like, their friend used it, their Another family members already used it. And I think there's a little bit of like, grass is always greener. Like, once you can't have it, now you want it even more. So you can look up that name and like, other names that are similar. You can. I don't know. I try to stay away from Reddit because I think that can lead people down, like, over analytical rabbit holes. But I think social media and name websites are helpful, but also just like, keep your ears open. Out and about.

[Colleen]

Keep your ears open.

[Liz]

I think the best way to discover a name is to hear it In a sibling set where you like those other sibling names, and it sort of, like, contextualizes a name for you, and you're like, oh, I didn't think about that before.

[Kelly]

And you. Yeah, I totally agree. There's something so nice about hearing the name. And when I was pregnant with Libby one time, Elizabeth called me and she was like, I just left the pool and there was a little girl there named Elizabeth. And she was so cute. And her mom kept saying, elizabeth, Elizabeth. And she's like, and I'm so happy you're naming your daughter that.

[Liz]

Exactly.

[Colleen]

Yeah. You just, like, need to hear it spoken. You need to see it, hear it said.

[Kelly]

It gives you, like, a stamp of.

[Liz]

Approval and, like, a positive association. And I think. Yeah, I think, like, the playground is, like, one of the best places to discover names.

[Kelly]

And speaking of, like, names that people feel like they can't use, I think Elizabeth and I is, like, a little unique because Elizabeth and I grew up with cousins named Kelly and Elizabeth. Like, they were sisters and we were sisters. And our family just kind of. I guess we're name recyclers. Cause we have an aunt named Elizabeth. I have a sister named Elizabeth now I have a daughter named Elizabeth. And, like, that just doesn't bother me in the slightest.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

What is your take on. Or is there, like, a quote unquote rule of, like, separations, where then, like, it is okay to use the name?

[Liz]

I am with you. I don't think there needs to be this strict rule, like, two people can't have the same name. And I think, think a lot of people, it's not necessarily that they're like. I feel like they're not allowed to use it. It's more like a lot of people want a name that feels novel these days. Like, and I think when someone else use it, it takes away the novelty and the feeling like it's special to you. But I agree, like, just because your friend used a name, I don't think it means you can't use it. Especially, like, if they live in a different neighborhood, different town, different state. Like, I think people just need to be able to have a conversation about it.

[Kelly]

But what is the. So what's the etiquette, though?

[Liz]

Because you should say something.

[Kelly]

Yeah. Because it's easy if you're like, oh, yeah, I don't care. If I don't care. But then if you want to. If you're the second one to have the baby, do you have to tell them before?

[Liz]

I think so, Yeah.

[Kelly]

I think you do too.

[Colleen]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Just A little heads up. I mean, go into the conversation knowing whether you're going to use it regardless.

[Colleen]

Of what they say.

[Liz]

So phrase it, you know, in certain words. But yeah, I think communicate it. People do. Like I get some interesting name. Stealing stories of like my sister in law heard me say that I liked this name and then she used it.

[Kelly]

But did she?

[Liz]

I don't love that.

[Kelly]

Did she though? I don't know. I just, I have faith in people.

[Colleen]

Okay.

[Kelly]

I don't think people maliciously like take someone's name so you can't use it. If they liked it, then they're probably okay and you take it too.

[Liz]

Yeah. Or maybe it's like you mentioned it once and it felt like a huge deal to you, but like they didn't realize that was like the one name you thought you were gonna use. And again, I think once it's then used, it feels like, it feels different. It feels like, yeah, oh, now I really want it. And there's no other possible name that could like suit me as well.

[Colleen]

So I do feel like I agree with you, like everyone nowadays, like once a very like novel and unique name. However, I do also think that everyone trying to get these novel and unique names now it's like those are super popular. For example, my sister in law, she has a 9 year old named Brooks and at the time very like never heard of a Brooks in her life. There's three. Brooks is on a soccer team. Because everyone went through like the same mindset at that same time nine years ago when it wasn't popular. And now every other kid's a Brooks.

[Liz]

Right. That's why I'm like, I always say in the videos, like we can talk about popularity, but it is such a crapshoot. Like I've said, Rory, my son is in a preschool class of 18. The only two kids that have the same name are two. Rory's like, no, never saw that coming.

[Colleen]

And it's like what's popular right now?

[Kelly]

And he doesn't have a single Rory in his, in his class. So you also, you don't know who they're gonna be in class with, right?

[Colleen]

Yeah. And what's popular like right now? Like I, maybe you had never heard of a Rory at the time. And it's like now they're just popping up and it's just because everyone's like kind of living the same like life and is like looking at the same resources and, and all that. And then, you know, you don't realize till their school age because it's like oh, that was not like, Sloan. I already. Anytime I say Sloan, I thought it was so unique. And everyone' oh, I know a baby Sloan. I know a baby Sloan. I know Sloan's gonna have a ton of. I mean, I don't really care because I have always loved the name, so it was. That was never gonna turn me off from the name. Yeah. But I don't know. I just think it's interesting.

[Kelly]

But I can't imagine how many times you hear, like, I like a name that's, like, not too common, but not too. Not too unique.

[Liz]

Like, is that just everybody's every single request? Yes. It's like, the name I've heard before.

[Kelly]

But, like, I don't know anyone with that name.

[Liz]

Yes. That's, like, the most common. I think I probably attract a certain type of client, and so I get a lot of the same requests over and over, and I see a lot of the same names. Like, so many of the people I work with now have George on their boy list. And I'm like, is this confirmation bias that I'm now seeing it everywhere, or is George, like, blowing up? I think it might be blowing up.

[Colleen]

Well, and so you probably have, like, the. You probably will be able to predict five years from now, like, what's gonna be the hot name in class.

[Liz]

Yeah. I mean, except I sometimes feel like I'm in an echo chamber, and so I'm like, is it just my little corner of the world that feels like everyone's naming their child, like, Eloise, Georgia, Vivian, and Margot? Like, those are the names I'm seeing over and over again right now. They're all cute.

[Kelly]

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I freaking. I love this.

[Colleen]

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[Kelly]

Okay, so let's talk about. Let's talk about what a consultation looks like.

[Liz]

Okay?

[Kelly]

Like, who should sign up for one? What does it look like? Tell us a story of when one went really bad. I want to hear all that stuff.

[Colleen]

Can you give me one?

[Kelly]

Okay, wait. She's not pregnant.

[Liz]

You're not ready. You're not ready.

[Colleen]

I'm not ready. I'm not ready. But I. I feel like I have a thing going with James and Sloan, and I feel like those go really nicely together. So I would be curious. James is English.

[Liz]

Yeah, classic English.

[Colleen]

Classic English. And Sloane is Irish.

[Liz]

Irish. But like, they're both very, like, polished. One syllable.

[Kelly]

See, here's what Colleen does. Here's what Colleen does. Okay, let's quick game. Give like two words to describe Liz's kids names and two words to describe my kids names. You're so good at this.

[Liz]

Like, really a group of people. You're like farmer chic.

[Colleen]

Farmer chic. I'm sorry. On brand.

[Liz]

And I love it. Like, I love that style. I think I would lean even more into, like really uncommon vintage names if I. I always think about, like, if I redid my sibling side, what I do. And Liz, Liz has like, more like the prep school polished, like, totally very sophisticated vibe going on.

[Kelly]

How would you describe yours?

[Liz]

Okay, I, as much as I like, talk about how important sibling name cohesion is, I didn't practice what I preach because I totally pivoted from Rory. I think I would describe it as classic because Rory falls under, like Irish classic names. I think it has a little bit of an English, like, posh English vibe. Rory, Jane and George.

[Kelly]

I see posh English.

[Colleen]

Totally posh English vibes.

[Liz]

That's what I'm gonna go for.

[Kelly]

That's such a fun game. Okay, anyway, back to the consultants.

[Colleen]

Okay. Yeah, sorry.

[Kelly]

Consult consultations.

[Liz]

I. I really am playing with my format. Ever since I had George. I just have less time. You guys know the deal here. You're like momming and working. So the consultation, my style is like very in depth. So I send a client, like a 15 question survey that they fill out to get all the details of what they're looking for. The names that they like but can't use. Sibling names, do they have certain like syllables that they want, letters that they want? Popularity requests, family names. Like it's pretty detailed. And then the product that I would deliver is like a 5 or 6 page PDF with feedback on their list, my recommendations for them, the popularity of those names, the style of those names, my rationale for why I chose it for them, and then a bunch of other like honorable mentions. Just because like I know that there are going to be certain names that they veto immediately. So that's how it works. And a lot of there's so many reasons people come for a consultation. Like common ones are like we can't agree on a name or we like knew our first child's name immediately. It was so easy. And now like finding a name for baby number two is so hard. And some people, it's just like we just want to do this for fun. Like this is, it's really fun to come up with a baby name. We want to hear what you think. We want to know what you think of our options. So that's the style I have gone with. I have done a couple of like zoom consultations recently and I really like that format where we just get to chit chat.

[Colleen]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Because I think what a lot of people want is the feedback on their.

[Kelly]

List and they want, they want the validation and they want you to say that their name's cute.

[Liz]

Yeah, I would want that. Yeah. Well you, you get it. I love your names. So yeah, I, I'm sort of trying to figure out how I can like help more people because the in depth consultations take me hours and hours and I sort of like get bogged down in it and I like am doing more content now because like since George was born I also like branched out into Instagram and I was just doing TikTok before and like posting on multiple social media forums is, it's a lot of work work, it just takes time. They don't make it easy for you to like double post. So I recently introduced this name911 option where you can just, it's like quick fire consult. Like here are my top five names. What do you think? Throw in a couple of extra suggestions. So not detail, but it's actually working so well and I've been getting really good feedback on that. So I might move more into that approach. Coach. We'll see. I'm just always playing, playing around with it.

[Kelly]

Well, I do want, they want things quickly.

[Colleen]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

So I think the quicker you can get things, people, the Better.

[Liz]

That's a good point. Because my turnaround time for the full consultations, like I'm. I could never catch up and the wait time would be like five or six weeks.

[Colleen]

Wow. Yeah, well. And I, I do like, I do really like the posts that you make where you're. It's like if you like this name, here are some similar names. I feel like that's really helpful for people to get like just like those quick eye, quick ideas. Especially if they're like, well, this. If it's a Vivian and it's really rising in popularity, what gives the vibe with. Without being that name? I really like those posts.

[Liz]

Okay, good to know, good feedback.

[Colleen]

So Colin, you do a lot of consultations. So do you have any, like crazy consultations or experiences you've had?

[Liz]

Okay, I, I had this client who said her style is y'all turnative. So y alternative, basically like Texas meets Goth. And particularly she wanted to embrace names with a villainous connotation. The example being Maleficent.

[Colleen]

Okay.

[Liz]

But she owned it. And she was like, I've come a long way with like embracing who I am. This is our style. And she acknowledged Maleficent was a little too on the nose, but that was an example of like the direction she wanted to take things in.

[Kelly]

I'm not getting the taste.

[Colleen]

What did you give her?

[Liz]

Oh, my God, I wish I could remember. I think like, I went with like a witchy vibe. Okay, so sort of like old fashioned, like Theodora, Theodosia. Oh, you know, vintage names that could also be sort of elaborate. Cause she also said she liked Eleanor, which is like, you know, beautiful, classic name. And she liked some Game of Thrones names as well.

[Colleen]

Oh, my dog's name is Tyrion.

[Liz]

Cute.

[Colleen]

It is cute. It actually really fits him. Okay, so who normally books a consultation with you? Is it like first born, second born, third born? Like, where are they at in their journey?

[Liz]

Totally variety. I'd say it's half and half between firstborn. I do get a lot of couples who have been trying for a long time to get pregnant and I think they're so excited and they really want to embrace the whole experience. And so they're sort of like treating themselves to a name consult. That's cute. That was a recent couple I did one for and they really wanted like a boy name for a girl, which as you know, is like a big trend right now. And they ended up naming their daughter Gray, which I think is really cool.

[Colleen]

Love it, love it. We have one of those.

[Kelly]

Do you think? Can you hear Me. Can you guys not hear me?

[Colleen]

Yes, we can hear you.

[Liz]

Louder.

[Colleen]

We can hear you. Kelly lost her WI fi and she is, like, recording and through FaceTime. So we're kind of telling her to keep quiet because her audio is not very good, but she has something to say.

[Liz]

Her video kind of looks like, like a 16 year old recording, like their first YouTube.

[Colleen]

It really does. Very blurry.

[Kelly]

My question is, do you think it's harder? Do you think boy names or girl names are harder?

[Colleen]

Oh, this is a good question.

[Liz]

Okay. I think I've thought a lot about this. I think girl names are harder because there are so many to choose from, so many amazing ones. So I think it's harder to narrow it down, but they're more fun. I think boy names are easier because you're probably choosing from a shorter list but a little less inspiring. Although I have to say, since I had George, who we had a lot of trouble naming, by the way, I've discovered a lot of cute boy names. So I'm really, like, changing my tune on boy names, and I think they can be really fun.

[Colleen]

So we talked off mic when Kelly was trying to fix her WI fi about baby name regret. So I know you don't necessarily think that you have. Maybe you don't have regret, but you're like, I could have done things differently. Yeah. What. And I'm sure you've thought about this. What would have been your set, your sibling set, if you could go back?

[Liz]

So I. Have you guys ever seen the movie Sliding Doors? I think it's with Gwyneth Paltrow. Okay. It's like she could lead two totally different lives based on, like, in this one instant, this one decision she made. And if she made a decision this way, her life would look like this. And if she made the other decision. Okay, so I think about that with names and, like, if I had leaned into more like, like, kind of like modern, trendy, stylish names like Rory, I could see myself with Rory, Marlo and Ellis.

[Kelly]

Love it.

[Liz]

I really liked all those names. And if I had gone more vintage, I could see myself with, like, a Clementine, Bernadette and Winston. Love.

[Colleen]

Wow.

[Liz]

Cute. I know. This job has, like, emboldened me to, like, I could go down a. I think I, like, went more mainstream with my names. But the more I do this job, the more weird names seem totally normal to me. And I think I could really go off the deep end.

[Colleen]

I do think those sets, people probably would have expected more from you because, like, no offense, but, like, Jane and George. Are, like, very normal.

[Liz]

Totally. Yeah.

[Colleen]

And it's just like.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Colleen]

And you're. You're so normie. You're just a normie. But I love those sets. So let's talk a little bit about sibling sets, because you do.

[Liz]

You've.

[Colleen]

You say they're. You think they're important.

[Liz]

I do, yeah.

[Colleen]

I want to hear your take on sibling sex.

[Liz]

Okay. I mean, I have some sort of, like, hard and fast, like, concrete rules about names not seeming too similar in sound. And it. It depends on the situation. But usually I say, like, no names should share the same three letters in a row. So, like, okay. Camden and Camila. No.

[Colleen]

Okay.

[Liz]

Somebody just asked in polls yesterday, can I name my daughter Landon if I have a Landry? No.

[Colleen]

No.

[Kelly]

Yeah. No, I agree with you. No.

[Liz]

Yeah. Too similar. Now, there are some sounds that are more mainstream that I think it's okay. If you like James and Brooks, I think that's fine. They both ended in S. That's fine. Names that ended in a. That's such a common ending sound. So if you have, like, Nora and Mila, totally fine. But more like uncommon sounds like, I don't love together, like Everett and Everly.

[Colleen]

Yeah. So if people book a consultation with you and they're like, this is what I'm thinking, will you tell them, no, you shouldn't do that? Like, you're not just there to say, like, yeah, that's really cute. Like, you're honest.

[Liz]

I will give them my honest opinion. Of course. I work with clients who their top name is not my favorite name. And so. Or that's probably a too political way to say it, but I maybe even don't like the name. And so I can remove my own, like, subjective taste and say, like, maybe I don't like that name, but I still think it's a good option for you if you like it. But if I see sort of like a indiscretion that I don't love, I will say, like, ooh. I think, personally, I think that's too similar. Or, you know, if this is what you're going for. I don't think that name is checking the boxes for. I don't think it's aligning with your criteria.

[Colleen]

That's a very nice way to put it. Do you have any other hard and fast rules that you like to follow?

[Liz]

Okay. I think some. I have to, like, set aside my own preferences when I'm advising people. But for me, personally, I, for girls, would not use a top 10 name name. Like, that's my. And probably not a top 100 name for me personally.

[Colleen]

Whoa.

[Liz]

Yeah. It's just. And it's not always about the number. I just can't be a name that I'm personally hearing a lot. I need it to feel like it's special to me.

[Colleen]

Okay.

[Liz]

That's sort of like. So that's my popularity rule. But everybody's popular rule is different.

[Colleen]

Yeah. And it's, it's. How willing are they to, you know, have that name, like, name them in their. The top 10. They're gonna. They might have that in their class. Does that matter to you or does it not?

[Liz]

Right. I think the other thing is, like, people, I. I think a lot of people who are struggling to decide or struggle to struggling to find a name think that there's just like one name out there that's the answer. And I just don't think that's the case. I think there are a lot of names you could be happy with. And I think about that with my own kids, like the names that we almost went with, I think I would still be happy with those choices. So I think some people do have that feeling of like, the perfect fit or like the name that just fits their baby and they can just feel it. But I don't think that's everyone's experience. And, like, it's okay to just like a name and let it grow on you as you, like, get to know your child.

[Colleen]

Totally. Kelly, you may ask your question now.

[Kelly]

Thanks, guys. I want to know, Polly, where. What is your rule on a first name? Going with the last name really well, because I have felt a little shoehorned with the married name of Stumpy to go a certain direction. Like, I loved the girl named Gemma. I think it's a beautiful name. I love it. I understood, I felt like Gemma Stumpy, like, could not go less together. So I think that's why I've kind of opted for my more old, like traditional, old fashioned names.

[Liz]

I'm actually pretty liberal with that. I. I just think the most important thing is getting the first name right. That's what you're calling them every day. That's what they're hearing the majority of their life. So, yeah, there are some, like, more egregious pairings that I would say, like, ooh, yeah, that doesn't work. But I'm pretty laid back with how well a first name goes with a last name. And I think Gemma Stumpy is totally fine.

[Colleen]

Miss. Stop.

[Liz]

Missed. Op. But I like your girl name, so. So I regret.

[Kelly]

And as someone who's Heavy on the nickname. Where do you land on. You should have named him the nickname or use the formal name. Do the nickname. I feel like Fred and Frederick. I would have never just named him Fred. I like having Elizabeth. My only question mark is like, should I have just named Hattie Hattie? Because we never call her Harriet.

[Liz]

Mm, interesting. I. I do have more of a traditional view on that myself and I tend towards give the formal name with the nickname. I just like the versatility. It's nice.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

I think where I cut myself off personally. Like, I loved the name Daisy for a girl and I considered it. But I did want a formal name with that and like the formal name is Margaret, but I felt like those were too different to give to a child. To have like your real name be Margaret and your nickname Daisy. So that's why I didn't use it. It just felt like her whole life she'd be like, why is my real name Margaret versus like Harriet to Hattie, very obvious. Frederick to Fred, very obvious. My daughter Jane to Janie, like very obvious. And I just, I think it's nice to have a versatile name.

[Colleen]

Daisy is the nickname to Margaret.

[Liz]

It's an option because Margaret, the French form is Marguerite and that's another word for Daisy in the French language. That's where I think the nickname came from. I think it's very old fashioned. Like Birdie for Elizabeth is another one. It's like, that doesn't make sense.

[Colleen]

That's so crazy. I've never even thought. I've never even thought about that.

[Liz]

You could go by Birdie if Liz isn't doing it for you at some point.

[Colleen]

It's kind of cute.

[Liz]

It's cute.

[Colleen]

Libby could do. It's not too late. Liberty Mutual. She could go by Birdie. It's not too late. Actually. Talking about. I feel like you would be entered. You would think this is funny. Talking about just like how you could have named your baby something and you would have grown to love it. Our mother named Sydney Sydney Catherine and never told our dad that that was going to be her middle name. She like got wheeled out of the hospital and my dad was like, well, we didn't give her a middle name. How can you get out of the hospital? She's like, oh, I picked Catherine. And it's. It bothered my dad for so many years that he had her name legally changed when she was like 13 years old to Sydney George, because George was our grandfather's name and he Catherine. Like we all have family middle names and Sydney didn't. And so they landed on George, and when she was 13, she had to go in front of a court and legally change her middle name.

[Liz]

Was she agreeable to this?

[Colleen]

She was agreeable to it, and she loves it now. Or she loved it then. Like, she.

[Liz]

That is so funny.

[Colleen]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

Oh, my gosh.

[Colleen]

We all have family names. And my dad was like, why did you do that? So, yeah, if a first name would be a bit much to legally change, but you can always legally change a middle name.

[Liz]

I'm also just amazed by their, like, marital dynamic that she just, like, they got out of the hospital without having the conversation about the middle name. Like, yeah, I.

[Colleen]

Maybe it was like, the fourth kid, because I'm also kind of murky on that part of the story as well. That's how they tell it.

[Liz]

Fizzy.

[Colleen]

And I'm just like, yeah, maybe it's, like, by the fourth kid or just like, whatever.

[Liz]

I will say George is an upgrade. Like, love Catherine, but George is pretty cool as a middle name for a girl.

[Colleen]

For a girl, right?

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Colleen]

It's kind of.

[Liz]

They leveled. They leveled up.

[Kelly]

I think we would just have to ask you about some vehicle names, if that's okay. Some car names.

[Liz]

That's so funny. Haven't given this much thought, so. Yeah, let's talk about it.

[Kelly]

Well, I mean, just. And I'm not talking about people naming their car, because I do think that that's cute and, you know, that's that. But I want to talk about, like, manufacturers giving cars their names. Do you have any that, like, stand out? Like, that's a great vehicle name. Like, or you think are really bad. I will give you mine for inspiration.

[Liz]

Okay.

[Kelly]

I think the Carnival is the worst name in the world for a vehicle. I don't understand it. I think it's bad.

[Liz]

It doesn't sound vibes.

[Kelly]

I don't like it at all. Yeah, I think Ford does a really good job with their SUVs. Like, Expedition Explorer. I kind of like a little bit of a. Of a theme. Outdoorsy. I also like Telluride and Palisade. Like, I like a destination. I think Santa Fe's even a good one. Yeah, that's kind of. That's what I like. I'm not a big, like, letters and numbers girl. That feels lazy. Like, the Kia EV9 feels lazy. The Audi Q8.

[Liz]

That's so boring.

[Kelly]

Feels boring.

[Liz]

I. My car knowledge is, like, about this big. Like, if you had asked me to name a car, I would have been like, oh, my God.

[Colleen]

I did tell Kelly this was not a good Question to ask, by the.

[Liz]

Way, but I will say this is making me think that they need to start to, like, maybe consider hiring a name consultant. Because I think what could get attention is giving cars very on trend. Cool people name names. Like, hey, we have a Sloan with.

[Kelly]

A good sip set.

[Colleen]

I agree. The Sloan would be a good car.

[Liz]

You know how, like, Warby Parker does that with their glasses and it's so fun. Like, their glasses have the best names.

[Kelly]

I didn't know that, but I like.

[Liz]

That they're so on trend, but, like, sort of ahead of the trend. And I think it could be a good marketing tactic. We have an Atlas that's, like, cool and trendy. I like it.

[Kelly]

That's a cool name. Yeah, you're. You're such an atlas girl, too. I could have guessed that.

[Liz]

Am I. I had.

[Colleen]

No.

[Liz]

I didn't pick it, first of all.

[Kelly]

Totally. Do you like it?

[Liz]

I do, but I always say, like, I am the least observant person. You could give me any car and I would be like, yeah, I think, yeah, it's working. Good. I remember you posted about, like, somebody telling you that they in a couple, like, they didn't each have their own car. They, like, both used the cars, like, interchangeably. And you were kind of, like, horrified by that.

[Kelly]

Oh, yeah, that was you.

[Liz]

And I was like, oh, yeah, that's us.

[Kelly]

Mean, like, there's just two cars in the driveway. Like, you don't have a car when your husband doesn't have a car. Like, you guys just have two cars. No, that's needs to be studied. That's insane.

[Colleen]

That's interesting. I would be curious to know if anyone else, because I don't think you've ever come across that out before. Kel, you do consultations a lot. I've never seen that. I'd be very curious to know if anyone else is like that.

[Liz]

I think my husband would prefer that we did each have our own car because I can be found leaving, like, cups spin drifts in the drink holders and, like, the gas gauge on empty. So he probably would prefer that we each had our own car, but we do. Ours is a little bit of functional issue where, like, one of our cars is suited for just two kids in the Atlas. We can have all three kids in there.

[Colleen]

Fair.

[Kelly]

Fair.

[Liz]

Because we have the Volvo, like the XC60, so it's a little bit smaller.

[Colleen]

Got it. Okay. Well, Colleen, we did prepare you and we did ask you to bring a ditch to the drive through, so.

[Kelly]

Yes.

[Colleen]

What do you make for dinner when you Want to avoid going through the drive through.

[Liz]

Okay. Oh, when I want to avoid going through the drive through. So does that mean, like, super simple? Like, you don't have to, like, put any thought into it?

[Colleen]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Okay. I would say I was gonna give you a little slightly more elaborate recipe.

[Colleen]

We'll do. Let's do two. And if you have. If you have a dish of the ripe, like, a true. Like. Like as easy. Like, I want to hear both.

[Liz]

So easy. It's like, I think it's called, like, gnocchi sausage skillet. And it's nice because you can kind of just, like, substitute whatever meat or veggie or shape of pasta your children will eat. But, like, the applegate chicken sausage, just saute that up with some gnocchi or whatever pasta you have, and then throw in a veggie. The recipe calls for tomato, but my kids won't touch tomato, so we do broccoli usually, and my kids won't eat red sauce, so we always do like, a sort of, like, olive oil Italian seasoning on it.

[Colleen]

And Trader Joe's has really good, like, sweet potato gnocchi. Yes, you could, like, do that. Oh, done.

[Liz]

That's kind of like our cookie.

[Colleen]

That sounds great. So what's your more complicated one? Or was that it?

[Liz]

Have you. No, that is complicated for me. My husband does most of the cooking because, you know, I have to think about baby mediums. Yeah. So no, but he's good at just, like, throwing stuff together. I, like, am slower and have to, like, you know, plan it out. He can just, like, toss stuff in there. Have you guys ever made the cookie and Kate veggie lasagna?

[Colleen]

No.

[Liz]

Okay. I think this just went, like. All my friends talked about it, like, in Covid when we were exchanging recipes. It's basically lasagna, but instead of a layer of, like, sauce and meat sauce, you do a layer of. Of diced veggies that you mix with cottage cheese instead. You could do ricotta, but the recipe calls for cottage cheese, and it's so good. It's a great way to hide veggies. So you.

[Colleen]

Sounds amazing.

[Liz]

Dice up whatever you want. Zucchini, carrots, and peppers. What I do. And then you pulse that in either a food processor or, like, your nutribullet with some cottage cheese, and that becomes a layer of your lasagna.

[Colleen]

It's so, like, it's almost feels like, duh.

[Liz]

I know.

[Colleen]

Like, that's amazing.

[Liz]

Cottage cheese is always the answer.

[Colleen]

Like, if you could say cottage cheese is always the answer.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Colleen]

Oh, my Gosh, that's so smart. Okay, Colleen, tell everyone where they can find you. How can they book a consultation? Instagram, all this stuff.

[Liz]

You can find me on Instagram or TikTok. I'm a little more, like engaged and available on Instagram. And my handle is naming baby B E B E. And you can shoot me an email if you're interested in a consultation.

[Colleen]

Well, Colleen, thank you so much for joining us. This was so much fun. And I will say Colleen and I talked off air, and she did give me confirmation on the only other baby name that I have selected, so my lips are sealed. Colleen. Yeah, you can't tell anyone, but she's. She's confirmed it, so it's official whenever I get pregnant again. So, Colleen, thank you so much for joining. The Carpool podcast was so much for talking to you.

[Liz]

This was so fun.

[Colleen]

See ya. Bye, Kel, do you want to say bye?

[Kelly]

Bye.

[Liz]

Thank you for listening to the Carpool Podcast with Kelly and Liz. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed riding with us, tell everybody you know there's room in the car for everyone.

[Kelly]

I.