When my husband and I first found out we were pregnant, we told his grandmother we would incorporate her middle name if we were having a girl. She was overjoyed! Her husbands name has been passed down for 2 generations so she was thrilled that we were going to honor her...Well, its a girl and im having major second thoughts about using her name. His grandmothers middle name is Lillian, not a big fan of the name but I do like Lilly. My husband and I have decided to name the baby Emily but Emily Lillian is not setting in with me so much. I really like Emily Elizabeth (yes, from Clifford!) Since we already told her we would use her name is it rude now if we didn't? I know it is our child and we can name her whatever we want but I just feel a bit...guilty if we go back on our words.

Ooh that's tough. How would you feel about Emily-Elizabeth Lillian lastname? We read Clifford all the time and I like the name Emily Elizabeth too!

Are you religious at all...sometimes you can use it as a baptism name....and do like they said. Emily Elizabeth Lillian (Last name). I think it might hurt her if you change your mind....or can you comlin lilly or lillian with another name.

I think she would be hurt or atleast really disappointed if you backed out after telling her and getting her excited. You could always give your daughter 2 middle names and have the second one Lillian. I also think part of the problem with the flow of Emily Lillian is that they have the same number of syllables, could you make a slight variation like Emily Lilliana?

I think it would definitely be kind of cruel to not use her name now.
You gave your word, now you should stick to it.
Whether you use two middle names, or a variation of Lillian, or however you can make it work best for you, I think its only right you use it somehow.

What if you named her Lillian Emily, but called her Emily? I think that flows better than Emily Lillian. I know several people who go by their middle name.

Or, what's grandma's first name? Would it work better?

His grandmothers first name is Norma....

Ah. Well. Emily Lillian sounds better than Emily Norma for sure.

Aww, that probably would hurt her feelings. I actually love the name Lillian. You could tell her that once she was born she just looked like an "Emily Elizabeth." It's kind of shady, but....if it doesn't work it doesn't work. And you should love your baby's name.

I am in a similar situation. My husband and his best friend promised each other that they would name their sons after each other. So now when we have a son, we have to add a second middle name that does not go with the name we already have picked out. If you already told her, you should stick to your word. I always wanted to give my daughter my grandmother's middle name. I never told her, though. It turned out the name we picked didn't go with her first or middle name. So we didn't name her after my grandmother.

What this comes down to in my mind is honoring someone you love. Yes, names are important, but more important than how it sounds is what it means. Wouldn't you rather associate your child with a respected member of the family and pass along that heritage instead of a character from a book or TV show just because it sounds pretty? You could end up teaching your daughter so much more about the importance of family and tradition by keeping your word and using the grandmother's name or some variation of it. Naming a child is a very personal decision and a hard one so I wish you well in making this choice.