History Main / LastMinuteBabyNaming

* An understandable example in ''Fanfic/{{Handmaid}}'': by the time [[spoiler: Prince Edmund]] was born, UsefulNotes/HenryVIII had begun to regard his first choice-after himself-as cursed, since he lost three sons named Henry (his son by Katherine of Aragon, his bastard by Bessie Blount, and [[spoiler:the baby Anne Boleyn miscarried after being shoved down the stairs by Thomas Seymour]]). His second choice of Edward was irrevocably tainted by the actions of the Seymours, especially since Jane had named her bastard son Edward. Briefly he considered Jasper and Owen before deciding they were too Welsh and not royal enough for a king's name and decided on [[spoiler:Edmund after his grandfather. He also notes he hadn't thought of a girl's name, but naming Edmund's twin sister was easy enough: [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI her grandmothers were both named Elizabeth.]] He would later use Owen for his second son with Anne.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/IceAge3DawnOfTheDinosaurs'', Manny and Ellie have apparently not decided on what to name their child in the entire 22 months of pregnancy that an elephant-sized animal like the Woolly Mammoth will probably undergo. After the baby mammoth's birth, Manny suggests they name her Ellie, but Ellie decides on the name "Peaches", which was their code word for Ellie to tell Manny she was going into labor.

* ''Film/StarTrek2009'': This happens at the beginning, when Kirk's parents are naming him. He's named for his maternal grandfather, and his middle name is his paternal grandfather's.

** Yolanda and Mike, Darryl and Wanda's [[BlackBestFriend Black Best Friends]], didn't decide on a name for their oldest daughter, Keesha, until after they brought her home. [[ThePerfectionist Bunny]] also didn't initially have names for her twins [[ThemeTwinNaming Wendell John and Wendell Jon]], instead referring to them by the colors on their wristbands ("Puce" and "Teal").

-->-- ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum''

** Similar to the "Babygirl" examples under Real Life, a minor unseen character in ''Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen'' is Miss Female Infant Robinson, who was brought up in a Home for the Destitute, and who got her name due to her dying mother assuming that since it was written down, it must be official.

** In ''Discworld/WyrdSisters'' it's a case of last-minute baby ''re''naming. When giving the orphaned heir to the throne to Vitoller to hide him from the Duke, the witches have no idea what his actual name is, so say [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs "Tom." "John." "Tomjon."]]

->'''King Verence:''' "So I've got to take Esmerelda out to her people and tell them one of her middle names is 'Note Spelling'?’"\\
'''Nanny Ogg:''' "Well, we did once have a king called My God He’s Heavy the First."

* In ''Franchise/DragonBall'', Goku and Chi Chi had a hard time thinking of a name for their firstborn son after he was born. Until Chi Chi's father realized that the baby responded the best to Goku's grandpa Gohan's name and the rest was history.

-->'''King Verence:''' "So I've got to take Esmerelda out to her people and tell them one of her middle names is 'Note Spelling'?’"\\

--->-- ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum''

* Clare on ''Series/{{Lost}}'' doesn't name her baby "Aaron" until after he's born, resulting in a "who's that" reaction from Charlie after she uses the name for the first time.

* In ''Series/SesameStreet'', Baby bear goes to meet his new baby sister. He asks her name, and their parents say they haven't thought of one yet. Baby Bear goes to check the baby out, and while he's looking at her, he remarks "Hey, you're a little curly bear." Their parents overhear him and decide to name the baby just that.

* In "The Baby is Here" from ''WesternAnimation/DanielTigersNeighborhood'', Daniel's baby sister is just "the baby" up until she's brought home and a brief bit afterwards. She is named Margaret on-the-spot when Daniel mentions his favorite picture book, ''Margaret's Music'', and Mr. Tiger recalls a Grandma Margaret that was very dear to him.

--->-- ''Literature/CarpeJugulum''

* Babies born out of wedlock and given to adoption were often given the name of the saint whose holiday it was on the day they were born, so their name day coincided with their birthday.

In RealLife, parents tend to use the entire nine months between conception and birth to think up nice names. They buy baby books, make compromises, and if they don't know the sex of the baby then they'd choose one for each gender, just to be prepared, or maybe they go for something of an {{ambiguous gender}} option.

* Occasionally, a side-effect of painkillers may make the mother loopy enough to accidentally forget her planned names, or try to name the baby after a plant or something random [[LineOfSightName she spots in the room.]] [[CaptainObvious The staff usually waits for the medication to wear off before letting her near the birth certificate.]]