Friday, August 19, 2011

Why Don't Babies Come With Name Tags?

Seriously. Choosing a name is insanely hard. I don't have any problem finding names I like. I could write you a list 50 names long with names that I like. The problem is finding names that I can actually use.
Since we are not finding out the gender, we need to be prepared with both a boy name and a girl name. The girl name is easy - we've had it decided upon since before we found out Monster was a boy. No thinking necessary there.


It's boy names that are the big issue. I have a thing for names that end in -er. Asher, Parker, Oliver, Hunter, Cooper, Connor, Carter, Sawyer, etc. But our last name ends in -ers. I don't want our child to have a first & last name that have a repetitive sound.

And I'm not a fan of alliterations in names, and since our last name starts with an R, all R names are out. (Riley, Rhys, Rowan, Ryder, etc.) We do have the middle name for a boy chosen, and it starts with W. So a W first name is out as well (even though I love Wyatt).

And I'd prefer not to have any of us or our kiddos have the same first initial - just to make everything easier. So that means B, S, and L are out. The girl name we have our heart set on starts with an M. So we have to take into consideration that if this is a boy, we don't want to choose an M name and have to re-think our girl's name down the road. So M is out too.

Since we have the middle name chosen, the first name also has to flow well with the middle name.

Now I know there are still plenty of names out there that don't start with R, W, B, S, L or M.
But my requirements don't end there! I also don't want a super popular name, so I refuse any name that has been in the top 100 (of the U.S.) for the past 5 years or so. If it's not in the top 500, even better. Monster's real name has not even been in the SSA's top 1,000!
Yet, it's not some totally out-there ridiculous name, either. I'm not naming my child Moxie Crimefighter or Pilot Inspektor. ;)

So that means the traditional, popular names are all out. Names like Michael, Jacob, Ethan, Matthew, Jonathan, Alexander, Daniel, Anthony, David, Benjamin. I have nothing against these names - I just prefer more unique names for my children. Which means anything rhyming with ayden/aiden/aidan is out. The Aidan/Jaden/Kayden/Hayden/Brayden trend has been around far too long.

I also want a name that will grow with the child as they age. For example, if you name your child Mikey (not Michael, not Mike - but Mikey) it will be cute until the kid reaches about 10 years old. Then they will hate it. Imagine typing up a resume with the name Mikey. Not very professional. Or names like Princess. I'm sorry, you may think your little girl is a princess, but it's not a very grown-up or professional name. I want a name that can fit a baby/young child/teenager/adult equally well.

And then, on top of all of these "requirements", I still have to like the sound of the name! Take Ernest for example - it definitely fits the bill. Not in the top 500 for the past 7 years, isn't popular, doesn't start with any of the forbidden letters, and even flows well with the middle name.... but the name itself just doesn't sound good to me. (No offense to anyone named Ernest or anyone with kids named Ernest. I just don't like it for my child.)

As I mentioned at the begining, I have no problem finding names I like. It's just all the ones I really like don't go with our last name, or don't go with the middle name. *sigh*

If all babies were born wearing name tags - with the name that will be the BEST name for them - then I really think all of this would be a lot easier!



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2 comments:

alethea said...

Who knew it could be so hard? Some parents just pick super common names and then they're done with it. I don't like that, but it seems to work for them...

The name will come to you, ask God what the name should be if it's a boy. God is really good at naming people. He renamed people all throughout the bible.

Unknown said...

Yeah, good point Alethea! :)

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