Rejected Baby Names
There is a delicate balance of so many factors that go into choosing a name for one's child. It's very humbling as I realize how much one's name shapes his or her personality. A name like Fred for a boy would be so different than say, Tyson. Or how about Augusta vs. Brittany?
(No, none of these are on the table, in case you were wondering.)
We want saint or Biblical names for our children, but that really doesn't narrow the field down very much.
I also would like a name that is relatively easy to spell and pronounce, so our children don't spend the rest of their lives enduring their names being butchered.
Other than that, we have a plethora of options lying before us. Thankfully, I don't feel an urgent deadline, as we do have twelve weeks left til my due date, and if this Baby is anything like Noah, he or she will shoot our name choices out of the water as soon as we behold Baby's unique personhood.
We will continue to deliberate until Wee One arrives, however. I think that's part of the fun. Here are some actual conversations that have taken place in the past 6 months between Patrick and I.
Patrick: How about Zeus?
Me: (In complete fear and astonishment, thinking MY HUSBAND HAS LOST HIS MIND). Um... no?
Patrick: I'm kidding.
Me: Oh! Thank goodness!
Me: What do you think about Cain?
Patrick: I think you mean Abel.
Me: Right, I always get them mixed up. {Sidebar: Cain doesn't exactly go well with out last name, now that I think of it.}
My mother-in-law (while proudly showing us her family genealogy book): You could always go with Didace.
Me: What kind of a name is Dee-dahs?!
Patrick's sister, Katie (Pointing to my mother-in-law): Her dad's name.
Gulp.
Then there was the idea of Elijah, which as lovely as it is, sounds an awful lot like my sister's new baby's name. We already have Noah / Norah cousins, so clearly, it would be overload to have four children between us with almost identical names.
(This isn't sour grapes, in case you were wondering, as I love my sister's name choice, and wasn't particularly attached to Elijah in the first place.)
Oh yes, and I am still fond of the name Micah, which we had intended to be Noah's name. When I told this to our pastor, he said, "Oh Michael! That's a great name!" When I corrected him, he said "Hmm, interesting." Then when I informed him that Elijah was -- at the time -- on the table, he said, "Oh! Now that is a good name!"
(No, none of these are on the table, in case you were wondering.)
We want saint or Biblical names for our children, but that really doesn't narrow the field down very much.
I also would like a name that is relatively easy to spell and pronounce, so our children don't spend the rest of their lives enduring their names being butchered.
Other than that, we have a plethora of options lying before us. Thankfully, I don't feel an urgent deadline, as we do have twelve weeks left til my due date, and if this Baby is anything like Noah, he or she will shoot our name choices out of the water as soon as we behold Baby's unique personhood.
We will continue to deliberate until Wee One arrives, however. I think that's part of the fun. Here are some actual conversations that have taken place in the past 6 months between Patrick and I.
Patrick: How about Zeus?
Me: (In complete fear and astonishment, thinking MY HUSBAND HAS LOST HIS MIND). Um... no?
Patrick: I'm kidding.
Me: Oh! Thank goodness!
Me: What do you think about Cain?
Patrick: I think you mean Abel.
Me: Right, I always get them mixed up. {Sidebar: Cain doesn't exactly go well with out last name, now that I think of it.}
My mother-in-law (while proudly showing us her family genealogy book): You could always go with Didace.
Me: What kind of a name is Dee-dahs?!
Patrick's sister, Katie (Pointing to my mother-in-law): Her dad's name.
Gulp.
Then there was the idea of Elijah, which as lovely as it is, sounds an awful lot like my sister's new baby's name. We already have Noah / Norah cousins, so clearly, it would be overload to have four children between us with almost identical names.
(This isn't sour grapes, in case you were wondering, as I love my sister's name choice, and wasn't particularly attached to Elijah in the first place.)
Oh yes, and I am still fond of the name Micah, which we had intended to be Noah's name. When I told this to our pastor, he said, "Oh Michael! That's a great name!" When I corrected him, he said "Hmm, interesting." Then when I informed him that Elijah was -- at the time -- on the table, he said, "Oh! Now that is a good name!"
Only boy names? :)
ReplyDeleteI was positive with both Benjamin and Nathaniel that they would be boys. Thank goodness they were because I was never content with any of the girl names we had chosen. Have fun searching for names in the coming weeks! Only 12?? (Easy for me to say right?) We keep the entire Craine family in our prayers, but especially you and the littlest member :) We can't wait to meet him... or her :)
I love Cain Craine:) However, I think that if one were named Abel, people would forever say things like, "Is he up for it? Are you sure he can do it?" just so you would reply, "Yes, he is Abel."
ReplyDeleteI love picking names although it is a weighty task. I firmly believe that the Lord has a name, we just need to discern it. Looking forward to what you come up with.
Choosing a baby name can be so daunting! I remember feeling so terrified of choosing a name for Lucy. We wanted something that would be cute for a child yet still respectable for an adult. We really like to have a Saint name thrown in either as a first or middle name.
ReplyDeleteI think Elijah is a great name for a boy. I personally don't find Elena and Elijah all *that* similar but maybe if it was between me and my sister I might feel differently. Either way, I am excited as heck to meet your new little one!!! :) I love babies :) especially babies with such awesome parents. We are praying for you guys.
After we settled on A's name, I remember that every time someone mentioned the topic of names I would cry that night before bed convinced that we were "ruining our child's life" by saddling her with an unusual name. But now we can't imagine her with any other name; it suits her. Since we named her out of love, she will be fine.
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