History Main / LastMinuteBabyNaming

But not in media or TV shows... In most media, parents go the ''entire'' nine months without even thinking or talking about this important issue. When it ''finally'' comes to the birth, one of the parents says "What should we call him/her?" and then they patch together a name right on the spot while holding their child -- with minimal, if any, need for discussion on the matter between the two parents. A LineOfSightName or DeadGuyJunior names are very common. Naming it after the mother or father's deceased parent is a particularly common option. If it's a kid's show or book, then an older sibling may even be allowed to choose the name. On the other hand, the GiverOfLameNames is also liable to show up.

* 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 end up going with Ellie's suggestion of "Peaches", which was their code word for Ellie to tell Manny she was going into labor.

* In the ''Manga/SoulEater''/''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' crossover [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9883704/1/He-ll-Never-Be-My-Son He'll Never Be My Son]], Crona was named like this, since his parents, Medusa and Orochimaru, consider him a [[GuineaPigFamily test subject]] and didn't bother to come up with a name for the whole [[BizarreAlienBiology thirteen months of witch pregnancy.]] Medusa rejects Kabuto's suggestion immediately (he said she should name the baby [[SigilSpam Arrow after her]]), and decides to base the name Crona (from ''kuro na'', meaning "dark one") off Orochimaru's suggestion of Kurohebi ("black snake").
* In Creator/AAPessimal's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' fic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11536013/1/Hyperemesis-gravidarum Hyperemesis Gravidarum]], which deals with Assassins and motherhood, the daughter of Johanna Smith-Rhodes and Ponder Stibbons is done by an informal committee of family and friends gathered at the new mother's bedside. Only one of Johanna's suggested names makes the final cut, and then only as a middle name. The child is finally named after a student Assassin for whom Johanna has a mentor's regard, and only after her name is translated from "Cenotian"[[note]] The nearest thing on our world would be Hebrew[[/note]] then into Morporkian [[note]]English[[/note]] and then into Vondalaans [[note]]Afrikaans[[/note]]. It is observed that the daughter cannot fail to grow up multi-lingual.

** Also from Friends: Rachel and Ross had decided on a name before the baby was born but realized it didn't fit. When Monica tells Rachel that she plans to name her own future daughter Emma, Rachel likes the name so much that Monica lets her have it.
** Later, when the woman giving birth to the child they are adopting then has a second child (unknown twin), they name the boy after Monica's father and the girl after the children's birth mother, Erica, despite the fact Monica has thought up a ton of names beforehand.

--->'''Frank Jr.:''' [[GenderBlenderName Chandler is a girl!]]

* The goblins in''{{Webcomic/Goblins}}'' have a culture that combines this with MeaningfulName. After goblins are born, the baby is subjected to a naming ceremony led by the clan's shaman. During this ceremony, the shaman will have a vision of the baby's future which inspires a prophetic or descriptive name, such as [[HairTriggerTemper Complains of Names]], [[TheLeader Chief]], and [[IdiotHero Fumbles]]. One shaman had a reputation for being terrible at performing the naming ceremony and wound up giving babies names such as "Go Away I Have A Headache" (shortened to 'Hava') and "Stop The Ceremony I Swallowed A Bug".

* A tragic case in ''Literature/OutOfTheDust'' occurs when the reverend presiding over the funerals of the protagonist's mother and infant brother asks her father to posthumously name the child, who had died without a name. He's so in shock over the losses that he can't do it, so the protagonist takes it upon herself and gives the baby the name Franklin.

* In Jewish custom, a baby isn't given its name until the 8th day of its life, when it's formally dedicated and boys are circumcised. In Biblical times, this included going to the temple and offering a sacrifice, though it's naturally a bit different today.

* Pets are often given their names spontaneously, often in response to something - coat markings, a habit, an amusing incident - that's observed when they're selected or brought home by their new owners. As most kinds of pets give birth to litters, not singleton offspring, it's also common for home breeders to wait until after the birth to start coming up with names, as they don't know how many names they'll actually need until then.

* Also, the one with a man naming his sister's twins "Denise" and "De Nephew".

* Similarly, in ''Literature/TheSaddleClub'', Max and Deborah were certain their first child was going to be a boy and planned to name him Maximilian Regnery IV (Max himself being Maximilian Regnery III), only to end up having a girl. They decide to name her Maxine.

* In ''Film/TheNamesake'' this is a major plot point. Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli hadn't thought of a name for their son because Ashima's grandmother in India is supposed to name him, unaware of the fact that babies in the US are expected to have a name before they leave the hospital. They give him the name [[Creator/NikolaiGogol Gogol]] temporarily, until he gets to preschool and they come up with the name Nikhil.

* Foundlings, in older days, might have been named just about anything. In more recent, bureaucratised times, at least in the USA, they are usually given birth certificates with the [[MrSmith "placeholder" names]] of ''Babyboy'' and ''Babygirl'' registered, pending adoption and renaming by their adoptive parents. Some of the girls retain the name "Babygirl" into adulthood.

* {{Justified|Trope}} in the first ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' [[WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie movie]]--Stu and Didi apparently thought that Dil would be a girl, and had to revise their plan to name "her" after Stu's mother.
-->'''Didi:''' He doesn't look like a Trixie.