The Name Game

As Mommy G passes the 27-week mark, I guess it's time to get serious about this whole naming issue. A few weeks ago, we tried a quick little exercise to see if picking a name was going to be easy or not. I put together a list of a few names I liked, and Mommy G did the same. They passed like ships in the night; nary a common name between them. Clearly it wasn't going to be easy.

So we're taking a step back and laying some ground rules in the hopes that they will help us narrow down the search. If you've ever named a kid before, you know that there are a brazilian names out there, and unless you've had your name picked out for your entire life (see: Mariotti, Jimmy), it's a bit overwhelming.

Here are the guidelines that we've agreed to so far:
  1. Must be gender specific (you won't find any Baileys here).
  2. Must not be uber-popular over the last 5 years (so long, Emily).
  3. Must not be common with cousins or immediate relatives within one generation (which really only rules out Karen, Bridget, Mareesa, Aliza, Amy, Alyssa, Shannon, and a few other names that we wouldn't have considered anyway).

And a few nice to haves:

  1. References to biblical names.
  2. Ties to ethnic origins (plenty of options here: Irish, English, Swedish, German, Dutch, Slovak, and Ukranian).
  3. Reuse of an ancestral name from one or both families.

So that's where we stand right now. We'll keep you posted as we continue to work this out...

Comments

You should add one more rule: No names that people will laugh behind the child's back at or mutter under their breaths (what were those parents thinking)??

Also, consider if the name is tied to a character from a book...my friend was going to name her daughter Olivia until I reminded her of the kids books where Olivia is a pig.

Just my two cents...
Anonymous said…
We have another suggestion for a rule. Beware of initials making bad words or having the wrong connotation such as PEW or STD.
Anonymous said…
I bet you could find some really exotic Ukranian names for Baby G! I sometimes think I would be way more sext with a name like "Svetlana" or something! I loved seeing you all on Saturday, and hope to see you again soon...

xoxo Ali
Mary said…
I'm just throwing it out there-but in light of today's "game" (or our latest attempt at one)....how about Golden Tate. I know, I know it goes against all of your rules. Zoltan is another option (Michigan punter). Well. On second thought perhaps you should also steer clear of names of atheletes.

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