Published on August 6, 2008 By Texas Wahine In Blogging

Naming another human being is a pretty heavy task.  You want a name that reflects who you think this person is, who you hope they become, and what you are comfortable yelling up a flight of stairs.

Should the name  be traditional or unique?  What ethnicity origin should the name come from?  Is meaning important?  How should it flow?  Should the number of syllables be more or less than the last name?  How should you spell it?  Will a common spelling fail to set this person apart from others, or will a unique spelling make him or her an outcast?

It's a BIG job. 

Some families have patterns they use.  Same starting letter for all children or same ending sound.  Some families choose a name they hope no one has ever had before.  Others choose something from their family history. 

Naming a new baby is one of the most fun and most frustrating tasks a parent can undertake.

I remember when I named Xavier, so many older people were vocally negative about it.  "How will he ever learn to spell that?!?!"  An X is about as easy, or easier, than any other letter.  It's just two lines.  In my rural town, it was an unusual name.  Having lived in a few other places now, I see that Xavier is not an uncommon name at all.  Of course, he was been called HA-vier before, but there are a lot of other Xaviers pronounced exactly like his name.

Orian was much harder to name.  I looked and looked and couldn't find the right name for him.  We decided to make one up.  Kind of.  It's like Orion (which he gets called), but rhymes with Dorian.  He's also had his name spelled O'Ryan.  It's a bit of a weird name (I have never come across another Orian), but it fits him perfectly.

Isabella was a no-brainer.  I had, for years, been enamored with little sweet, dainty Isabellas I had come across.  It sounds lovely when spoken, and has so many adorable short versions.  Who doesn't love a little Izzy or a baby Bella?  Her middle name was a little harder to decide on, and it's definitely one that gets a strong reaction...sometimes positive, sometimes subtly negative.  I guess it is hard to pronounce.

Now I'm looking at names for this new baby.  Right now I'm focusing on boy names.  I think boy names are harder to decide on and take a little more effort.  I am thinking I probably won't share the name we decide on until the baby comes.  Putting it out in the open gives friends and family too many opportunities to express dislike for the name.  Once baby is born and named, no one would dare say anything negative (unless it's an old person, like in baby Xavier's case, LOL).

Some of the names I've seen are just bizarre to me, and I consider myself pretty open-minded when it comes to names.  I try to think about what *name* would feel about his or her name at age 80, or what a potential employer would think about *name* based on seeing a resume.

One of the worst things I think a parent can do is name their kid something they think sounds pretty, but has an awful meaning.  I have literally met Tyranny.  She was cute.  I know a girl who is considering the name Odin.  I guess that's an ok name, but I can only think of Will Ferrell exclaiming, "Odin's raven!"  I know some babies with mythological names, and I'm not against it straight away, but I think it's important to know the background on the name.  I have told Adrian we will NOT name this baby Kratos.  He is disappointed.

There is also a trend of smashing two names together.  If you're white, you come up with something like Crannon for Craig and Cannon or Ashanne for Ashley and Anne.  If you're black you put a suffix name with a full name and have something like TreShaun or DaQuan. 

Then there's the unusual spelling of a common name like Davy = Daveigh. 

I am still nowhere near having a potential name for this baby.  I know what's on the NO WAY list, but so far the "I might consider it"s are few and far between.  Definitely no Kratos, though!!


Comments (Page 1)
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on Aug 06, 2008

We usually had a name picked out before the baby was born, but didn't make a firm decision until we held the baby in our arms.  Sometimes we get all excited about a name, then hold the baby and realize "he just isn't a michael".  As it turned out all 3 of the boys names passed the "arms tests".

When Stephanie was born it was a bit different.  The blasted 80s era ultrasounds made it pretty clear we were having a boy ( ;~D ).  As it turned out, we had no idea what to name her.  We talked over a few names, but none of them passed the "arms test".  She did look a lot like those nylons and cotton potato kids that were so popular with hobbyists at the time, so I gave her the nickname "Tater".  Since we didn't have an actual name for her, I even wrote "Tater" on the little pink card in her basinette in the hospital.  Imagine our laughter when we found out that the nursing staff was all agast at what we named our new daughter.

She was about 5 days old before we settled on the name Stephanie, with the middle name Lynn (since that name was in both sides of our family).  Somewhere in the 5 days we realized that she was born on her Great Grandma's birthday, so we added a second middle name Wanda".  So, it took a while, but Stephanie Lynn Wanda finally got her name.

As a side note, I was always of the opinion that people should name the kids what they are going to call them.  I never understood the whole, "Her name is Stephanie, but we call her "Stevi".  I never understood it until we had kids.  By naming her Stephanie she has the choice whether to go by Stevi, Steph, Stephie or all the other names that can be derived from Stephanie.  She can go by a nickname, but doesn't have to write Stevi on her resume.  On the other hand, if we named her Stevi, then that would be the cutesy name she is stuck with for life.

As it turns out, she's gone by just about every derivation there is.  When she was younger I called her Stevie, but her mother and brothers called her Stephanie or Steph.  For awhile she went by Stephie, but when we moved to Wisconsin there were 3 Stephanies in her class, one already using Stephie.  So she started going by Stevi (but without the E, to "make it more of a girl's name").

What's in a name?  Everything anyone wants to throw into it. ;~D

on Aug 06, 2008

When I picked my kids names I kept in mind the nicknames that could potentially crop up. 

So I went thru anything they could be named by others that might stick.  Their names were so plain they never ended up with unusual nicknames.  My third son was originally going to be called Benjamen David until my husband called him Bennie in the hospital.  That's all it took for me to say "no way."  So I changed his name to David John at two days old.  I did call him Baby Davy for a while but until he hit college he was always just David.   Somewhere in the last few years he's picked up the name Dave by his own choosing.  I don't call him that tho. 

When Ethan was born they told me they were going to name him Maximus Ethan.  I did not like that name so I said..."Ethan is nice."  I was sure glad they didn't pick Maximus because all I could think of was "maxi pad" when I thought of potential nicknames.   I'm sure glad Amanda's dad had a dog named Max.  Saved the day.......

 

 

on Aug 06, 2008
ParaTed: I had never heard of Stevie as a nick for Stephanie, but I like it!

I am always amazed at parents who can wait until after the baby is born to pick a name, or who change the name after birth. That has never happened with me...my babies have always come out matching their names, although I guess it could happen!

KFC: LOL, I try not to worry too much about name calling although I would never name a kid Luke because all I can think of is Luke the Puke. Haha.

I like "plain" names, and I think they are good for a kid because like you said, they can have the nicks they want, but they are not going to be likely to be judged negatively based on their name. I just haven't been able to give my kids the more traditional names. Well, I guess Isabella is more traditional. Unfortunately, it's become very trendy too.

LOL @ maxi pad. Haha.

I know some babies named Max, but I don't think any of them are Maximus. It's definitely on the adventurous side for a name. Ethan, though, is definitely a classic boy name.
on Aug 06, 2008

Well, I do not have any Children yet, but I love thinking about names for people in general. My favourite names for boys are William, Erik, Liam, Desmond, Henry, Julian, and if you want to be adventurous, Alasdair.  For girls I like Lily, Alice, Pearl, Matilda, Lucy, Amelia, and Virginia.  I like the names that aren't as common, and I really like names that I associate with powerful people, especially for boys. 

on Aug 06, 2008
I made my life easy when I picked my children's names. My older son was names after his 2 grandfathers, Carlos Humberto. Carlos, and every variation English and Spanish of it, is a very common name in my family. My younger son was slapped with the Jr at the end. I we were to have a girl we would call her by her mothers name Sue. Now if it was another boy, then w would have a tough time trying to figure that out.

I consider myself lucky to be named Charles. My dad wanted to call me Muhammad because he was a big fan of Muhammad Ali back then but my mom put a stop to that. She wanted my name to be like his but not the same so I got the variation of Carlos. My sister however chose to be crafty about her older daughter's name. The older has her name backwards from Iria to Airi (talk about unique) and her middle name was a combination of both her grand mothers, Amali, Ama for Amada and Li for Lila. Leave it to my sister to be so creative.

I have heard some really weird ones that make you wonder what the parents were thinking when they came up with those names. But one in particular stands out for me that I just will never understand how the father could do such a thing. The guy wanted a boy and wanted to call him Antwan like himself but was surprised with a girl. Persistent he decided to call her Anwanette. I'm sorry but while I have been able to find quite a few Antwanette's online, I just think some names were not meant to be changed from male to felmae, and this is one of them.
on Aug 06, 2008
I know a William Williams and I shake my head at that one. I like William but that's like naming a child Robert Roberts or Steven Stevens. All I can think of is the button at Staples that says...."that was easy." Ya, too easy.
on Aug 06, 2008
Amanda: Great name choices.

When I was younger, before I had kids, I wanted to name a daughter Thessolonica, LOL. At least your pre-kid name choices are good!

I know a little Julian and he is a doll baby. I like Liam too but my husband is not a fan.

Charles: LOL, the Jr thing drives me crazy!! I have an uncle Junior and and my husband's father is a Jr although he goes by his first name. Does your son go by Junior or by his first name?

I think it's nice to carry family names on in future generations, it's only the "junior" thing that bugs me. I think because it seems like a redneck thing to me! LOL.

My name was going to be Brandy, but my great-grandmother told my mom over her dead body would she name me after a liquor. Haha. So I have the less common "ie" ending. Super.

My mom wanted to name my brother Quincy.

KFC: We have a really common, boring last name and we could totally do something like that to a son, haha. We joke about names like that, but would never do it.

I wonder if those parents consider how a name like that might embarrass their child later on?
on Aug 06, 2008
I had never heard of Stevie as a nick for Stephanie, but I like it!


Stevie Nicks is probably the most well-known "Stephanie" who goes by Stevie. In fact, my sister to this day won't believe me when I tell her we didn't name her after the singer. I've always been a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, and to a lesser extent I've been a fan of Stevie Nicks. I didn't know Stevie Nicks's middle name was "Lynn" until a few years after Stephanie was born... Honest, I didn't! ;~D
on Aug 06, 2008

I considered the name Vashon both times for my boys.  I read a book a long time ago, can't even remember the name, but there was a guy in it named Vashon and I liked it.

My husband said no way, and my family made fun of it.  It's still such a joke several of them have it as a password on different computer things...hahaha.

The other name I tossed around for thirty seconds was TORNE.  Said like torn, rhymes with corn...hahah.  I had a dream I was in a movie theater and a voice came over the speaker and said...TONYA NAME YOUR SON TORNE!  then the word TORNE flashed on the screen.

Freaky.

hahaha.

My husband said he didn't care if Abraham, Isaac and Jacob came to me and told me to call him Torne, it wasn't happenin.

How we played it was this...if we had boys, dad picked the first name, I picked the middle.  A girl and I would pick the first name, dad the middle.

We had two boys, Hunter and Gavin.  Hunter's middle name is my maiden name, Thomas...so Hunter Thomas...and Gavin's middle name is Tobias...Gavin Tobias.

I gave them both "T" middle names after me.

And Gavin is just like every Gavin I've ever known...wild.

on Aug 06, 2008
ok there's another one.....Thomas Thomas....gah! Now I've got this double name thing stuck in my head....

Hey T....I'm with your hubby....Vashon? Torne?   But I do like the names he picked out as well as the middle names you did...so together you guys did good! Good idea btw.

We named our first after my husband's side of the family and my husband so he's a III. So then we named the second one's middle name Russell after my dad so he's Brian Russell. So both dads were taken care of. So when we had David I threw in the name John to take care of my grandfather who was still alive at the time. His name was John so all three boys had some grandfather attachedment, and made everyone happy.

I guess the tradition is sticking because Ethan is Ethan Richard named after his maternal grandfather and now Troy is Troy Russell named after Brian and of course my Dad. So now all five boys have grandfather names as part of theirs.





on Aug 06, 2008

I recommend Bob. It's a classic. Robert sounds nice, and you can just shorten it to Bob later.

on Aug 06, 2008
You also gotta think about what their initals would be. Like I knew a Frank Allen Goins once and a Terry Ulyess Ramond Dempsey...   
on Aug 06, 2008
You also gotta think about what their initals would be. Like I knew a Frank Allen Goins once and a Terry Ulyess Ramond Dempsey...


True. My grandpa's name was Leslie Smith Dunn. Imagine the crap he took for the initials LSD. ;~D

Nowadays he'd probably take crap for his first name, but back in his day, Leslie was a boys name.
on Aug 06, 2008

Thank goodness with my last one he was a boy because we could not agree on a name. It was frustrating and scary. Then to break the tension I said how about Noah Christopher for a boy. He said I love it. Thank Goodness we have a little boy.

Now my middle son's name is Max, not Maximillion or Maximus, just Max ( @KFC). He is no dog but if you give him a treat he will be a good boy. I named him after a soap opera star. I told him for the longest time I named him after Mad Max. Then at his 16th birthday we had the talk. He took it well.

#1 son is David James, both family names.

I like all of your children's names so you will do well, if you both can agree. Good Luck.

on Aug 06, 2008

You also gotta think about what their initals would be. Like I knew a Frank Allen Goins once and a Terry Ulyess Ramond Dempsey...

Ouch!LOL!

 

I know I keep saying this Tex, but my son Adam and I had this conversation, earlier today!lol!  He wondered what other names I had in mind for him..because he was glad he wasn't given some weird name. I told him he was almost named Geoffrey, for some reason I loved that name! Plus I loved the clothing of Geoffrey Beane, a disigner, so I was thinking about that!lol! then he could have been Jeffery, but we have a Jeffrey in the family (spelling different) I didn't want that name, so then when he was born, it just came to me so that is his name!  I was also thinking of Alexander or Lucas!lol!  small world (with Lucas)uh?!

 

My first born was a variation of my grandmother's name Jestina, our daughter is Jessica. The last one, Amanda, I loved the name, and especially love to call her Mandy!  All three have their dad's, grandfather's, and grandmother's name as a middle name!

 

Samantha would make a nice name if it's a girl, you can call her Sam!

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