What was important to you when choosing the right name?

A name we find beautiful, short and strong. My daughter is called Joyce, which wasn't very common, although it was a well-known name. My son is called Mike, a very common name, but I thought it was cool and short. And for our third child: Chloë for a girl and Joey for a boy, both again short and strong.

Thanks, Madeleine!
Funny thing is, my current boyfriend is also named Mike, just like me. Son

We want to name after (1st after my mother-in-law and 2nd after my father-in-law if it's a boy - if it's a girl, we still need to think about who, since my mom already has a granddaughter named after her), but with a fresh, modern name that's not too common (definitely not in the top 20). So far, everyone really likes the name of our little girl and finds it original, so that's already a success

Joyce, I've got that in my head too for the third one! Beautiful name with a beautiful meaning. For us, it's always important that it's a name everyone knows how to spell so the little one doesn't have to spell out their name their whole life; we find that really annoying ourselves. We also think it's important that it sounds good with the last name. So no ending with the sound that the last name starts with, and we give each child in the household their own initials. So not all the same first names and then getting mail and not knowing who it's for. We were also more drawn to the 'ordinary' Dutch names. Personally, I don't think all those exotic and experimental names suit someone with a Dutch-sounding last name like 'de Vries' or something similar. We now have two sons, both with names that apparently are in the top 20 or so, but not the 'trendy names'. Not consciously or anything, we just found them nice. No issues with double names yet and everyone knows how to spell and pronounce them. Plus, they're not in the top for nothing; almost everyone finds them nice names. Good luck with choosing!

That it's a clear, easy-to-spell name. Not too modern and not too old-fashioned. One of our surnames starts with a K-sound, so we don't want the first name to start with a K-sound either. As for the rest, we don't know yet. I think we'll really start looking after the gender determination.

The name Joyce is a very common name and a really nice one hihi
But we're often asked how to spell it!

bkr900, oh yeah, those are also some considerations of ours, e.g. not having the same first initials in the family. So E. at the beginning is out anyway for nr 2
I actually don't have a problem with all names in the top 20; some of those purely Dutch 'evergreens' could probably come in here (if we can name them after family members with them, because we like that). Then you know that in 20 years not everyone will be able to tell just by the name that your child was born around 2014 (or thereabouts). So no passing trend.

We had indeed read on a forum about people named Joyce that they often have to spell it that way.
Yeah, I think... how else? I only know it as Joyce, plain and simple, right?

I also find a somewhat timeless name quite nice, not those names that are hugely popular for three years and then disappear.
The Noa's, Jayden's and Lynn's are popping up like mushrooms around here, but in ten years, no one will be called that anymore, I think... Then you're really one of the 2010s hype. No, I personally find that a pity. Although Jayden and Lynn are nice names in themselves, Noa is two-sided, and that's not so nice either, is it?

My niece is indeed also called Yara, just like a girl in swimming lessons. I had to get used to it for a moment. But it is indeed a nice variant of the well-known Sara. Which I also still find lovely for a girl. I'm also pregnant with the third. Then there are fewer names left to choose from, I think. A part falls away because it looks too much like the names we already have, and a part because it deviates too much. Plus, we've already used our first and second choice, of course. I think we'll choose a name this time that deviates a bit from our previous choices. Because we already have two short boy names, otherwise you get a bit of the "quack quack quack" effect haha, and I don't want that. I wish you lots of success with choosing the name, it'll surely work out!

Thought it was a bit of a weird choice.. Lunapark haha, but indeed, I also like Luna!