When it comes to welcoming a new baby to the family, there’s a lot on the “to do” list, like researching car seats, setting up the nursery, and choosing a newborn photographer. But one of the most challenging parts is picking out a baby name. There are an estimated 3,000,000+ unique first names in the world and as new parents, you’re expected to whittle all those choices down to the one, perfect name for your little one. No pressure! Choosing a baby name can be exciting, frustrating, and overwhelming all at once.
From the time I was 10 years old, I knew what I wanted to name my daughter. I was a huge fan of the American Girl Books and absolutely adored the character of Samantha Parkington. I dreamed of one day having a dark-haired little girl and getting to use my favorite name. After marrying Micah, we realized that one of his favorite girl nicknames was Sam (all the coolest characters were named that), so ours truly was a match made in heaven. Finally, our dream came true and Samantha Marlene Peter joined our family (only she was blonde like Kirsten, my other favorite AG character).
(if you’ve visited the studio, then you’ve seen this portrait hanging above the sofa. It’s my favorite one of our girls and I love sharing it with families)
Unfortunately, while we each had “Samantha” picked out for over a decade, we had no idea what name we wanted for a second little girl.
When it came time for the gender reveal ultrasound, we were happy either way, boy or girl. They announced that it was a girl (yay!) and then came the arduous task of going through baby name books and top 100 lists and listening to suggestions and recommendations from everyone we knew. We finally settled upon Abigail. We both like the name and loved the nickname Abby. But you know how it is when you think of something unique and suddenly you hear about it everywhere? That’s how it was with the name Abigail. As soon as we decided on that name we heard it at every store, remembered every person we knew with that name, and I even photographed a brand-new, adorable baby girl named Abigail. So to the bottom of the list, it went.
Then one day in my third trimester I was driving and chatting with my mom and we started talking about baby names. She started googling popular baby names from 1900, since both Micah and I prefer classic, somewhat traditional names. We went through the “A’s” (and yes, Abigail was on the list), and then through the “B’s”, and then through the “C’s”. Halfway through she said the name “Clara” and I said, “Oh, that’s pretty!… wait, wasn’t that Granny’s name?”
You see, my great-grandmother was Clara Louise. But back in the early part of the 20th century, Clara was an old-fashioned name (after all, it’s what all the moms and aunties and grandmas from 1900 were named) and Louise was so much more modern in 1940. So, everyone called her Louise and it wasn’t until I was in my teens that I found out Granny’s full name and I had clearly forgotten that fact a decade later, until running across it in that list.
I liked Clara. I really liked Clara. It was short and cute and pretty. Very classic but with a modern ring to it. Clara was the name of a character from Adventures in Odyssey (one of my favorite episodes, in fact), was made famous by the ballet The Nutcracker, as well as the name of one of the companions on Doctor Who, which I knew would make Micah happy, since she was his favorite of the bunch.
The name was tucked away in my notebook and a few days later we were talking baby names with some friends and one of them suggested “Clara”. Micah said he really liked it and I said that I really liked it, too, and had thought of it a few days ago. “No, you didn’t,” he said disbelievingly. So I took that little notebook out of my purse and showed it to him. Our eyes met and right then and there we knew what her name would be.
Clara Jeanne Peter.
Clara for my great-grandmother and Jeanne, the name she would share with Micah’s mother and grandmother. Samantha Marlene is my namesake and we share middle names along with my mother and grandmother. And now Micah’s family legacy would be carried on, too.
Sharing this story, it’s probably easy to see why I have what I fondly call “a sentimental heart”. I love the connections to our past and to the people who made us who we are today. And that fits in so beautifully with photography and how art is used to create a legacy for our family today and for future generations.
(And our son’s name is another story for another time!)
----
Current availability is for Spring 2025 sessions and I am reserving sessions and due dates through Fall 2025.
If you’re expecting a little one in the greater Anchorage or Matsu Valley area or desperately need updated pictures of your own growing family, then I would love to chat and help plan something wonderful for you.
Megan Marlene Photography offers Maternity, Newborn, Baby, Milestone, and Family Sessions for the Greater Anchorage Area, including Kenai, Girdwood, Eagle River, Chugiak, Palmer, Wasilla, Big Lake, Sutton, and welcomes families from across Alaska.
get in touch
I absolutely love your girl names! And what a fun post. Thank you for sharing!
Such sweet photos! Great Advice!
Perfect names! But yes, coming up with baby names is so very hard! I knew my whole life I would have a Maxwell, but coming up with names for boy #2 and #3 were not easy!
This is so sweet! Love the stories behind their names