Baby Name Story
by Dani Hamblett
When you leave the hospital with your precious, new bundle, you aren’t just taking home a baby. Along with the car seat, diapers and nasal aspirator, a huge pile of responsibility also gets loaded into your car: you are in charge of every decision affecting this little person for years to come. Gulp.
One of the biggest choices probably came up before the baby was born, or for some maybe even before pregnancy – the name. Naming a baby seems like such a fun game, what with all the books and apps to help you, until you’re pregnant. And then it feels like an extremely important decision that will set the tone for your child’s life. (And is it just me, or does naming boys seem so much harder than girls?!)
Couples may think that they are on the same page going into it but, become surprised at some of their significant other’s choices once names start getting thrown around. “My husband mentioned the name ‘Dewey’ one day and we had a good laugh,” one mother shared. “But then he kept bringing it up and I realized, he isn’t joking.”
Sometimes reaching a compromise means neither person gets the name they had in mind. When a friend was expecting, she and her spouse both wanted their own mother’s name, Marie and Jean respectively, to be used as their daughter’s middle name. “So, we settled on Maddison,” she said. “He liked the extra D. I didn’t think it was necessary, but there it is on the birth certificate.”
If not the family tree, inspiration may be drawn from something special in the couple’s life. Bria Howe and her husband, David, had no trouble agreeing to pay homage to one of their favorite bands, the Beatles, by naming their kids Jude and Lucy. “There was almost no discussion,” Bria said, “we just agreed.”
It’s difficult enough for two parents to come to an agreement, forget about the fact that family members and complete strangers will also weigh in, if given the opportunity. My husband and I chose to keep our son’s name to ourselves until after he was born; that way we could avoid any potential nose scrunches or people trying to talk us into a name they wished they had used.
Besides interloping strangers, there are other hazards that the name-choosing couple can face. Remember the Seinfeld episode where George declares the name “Seven” for his yet-to-be-conceived child, and then his wife’s pregnant cousin names her baby that? For this article I sent a survey on the topic of baby names out to a few friends; of the respondents, only one said they didn’t worry about another pregnant person stealing their intended name.
Overall, a baby name should not just feel right for the parents doing the naming, but also for the child. Think about your own name and how you felt about it when you were little – did you have a pre-planned speech ready for the first day of school each year when the teacher called roll? Think about whether his or her name will serve them equally should they choose to be a rock star or an accountant. Naming a baby shouldn’t be the time to be funny or cute just for the sake of it; this little person has to live with your choice for his or her whole life. So, take your job seriously and look for something meaningful, but also practical, and please, stay away from the celebrity name books.
Dani Hamblett is a freelance writer, part-time grad student, wife and mom to a 1-year-old baby boy who has a family name that would work equally well for a future president or a member of One Direction.
