It seems that most aspects related to pregnancy, birth and child rearing elicit strong opinions. The choosing of a name for the young babe is no exception.
Disclaimer: the views expressed below are none other than my own opinion and certainly are not written as law; they are the guidelines I follow in choosing names but have no bearing on the names chosen by any of my faithful readers (all 5 of them).
1. No Single Syllables. I don’t like single syllable names (no offense Kay, Graham, Wes or Doug). The only possible explanation for this is that I think I remember my mother making some comment about how dogs respond better to 2 syllable names (although what this has to do with childrearing, I don’t know). That said, Stephen does have a single-syllable middle name but it’s not what he goes by so it’s okay.
Disclaimer: the views expressed below are none other than my own opinion and certainly are not written as law; they are the guidelines I follow in choosing names but have no bearing on the names chosen by any of my faithful readers (all 5 of them).
1. No Single Syllables. I don’t like single syllable names (no offense Kay, Graham, Wes or Doug). The only possible explanation for this is that I think I remember my mother making some comment about how dogs respond better to 2 syllable names (although what this has to do with childrearing, I don’t know). That said, Stephen does have a single-syllable middle name but it’s not what he goes by so it’s okay.
2. No Alliteration. While there is a great deal of rhyming and alliteration in general conversation around our house, I don’t care for the sing-songiness of matching names. Therefore we have eliminated Hank, Henry, Honoria, and Helena.
3. Siblings Names Should Be Similar. I don’t think Marcus or LaToya, Emilio or Guineviere would go to well with the boys.
4. Old-Fashioned Is Always In Style. We haven’t named our children Biblical names out of any spiritual calling; we simply like old-fashioned names. They are easy to recognize, pronounce, and spell (I will admit, however, that in the week following Stephen’s birth, I spelled his name 4 different ways). In addition, the frugal and practical side of me thinks of those cute little monogrammed stickers I had (and still have) as a child or the clearance Christmas ornaments that my mom was able to find for all the grandkids a few years ago; I don’t think she saw any that said “Jon Benet.”
5. Gender Specific Names! If by some twist of fate we should have a daughter, I want her to have an emphatically clear girl’s name; and, on the flip side, that rules out Ashley, Beverly, and Tracy for boys.
6. Call Them By Their Name. I want to make sure the first name on the birth certificate is what we call the child. I don’t want said son to constantly have to correct people and say, “Actually I go by….” Also, we don’t shorten the kids to Andy, Steve, or Matt (that would violate rule #1).
7. Consider Nicknames and Initials. I don’t think we have one of those last names that could really spell a “bad word” but it’s still worth thinking of as is the possibility of teasing by other children (“Crazy Daisy,” for example).
So what will we name this next one? We’ve got 12 more weeks to decide, but knowing our history, we can limit our choices to male names (though I’ll hang on to my favorite girl names just in case).
Being one of your 5 faithful readers, I like your reasoning. And I shall never forget that your middle child refered to my second as "Drew Poop Roop". This was something I hadn't considered prior to naming him. I guess with a name like Roop it was bound to come up some time or another, regardless of the first given name :)
ReplyDeleteFunny! We have our own set of rules too including not knowing anyone already named the name we choose (for first name only). I will admit, however that we might break one of our own rules if we have a boy this time. We're still not firmly decided, but have narrowed it down to 3. Two of those begin with an "A" though which would go against the rule of not having siblings names begin with the same letter. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.
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