Thursday, May 08, 2008

The NAME game

Choosing a name for your child is a huge deal. It is the first major part of their identity, and even though they have no say in the matter, they have to live with it the rest of their lives! Some friends we know have their children's names picked out years before they even conceive, and gladly announce it to the world. Others in our inner circle have chosen to keep the name a secret as an extra special something to look forward to on the baby's birth day. There are fun things about both methods. With Carson, we had it narrowed down to four names by summer (Spencer, Chase, Morgan & Carson), then 2 names by September (Morgan and Carson). I really liked the nickname "Mo." We honestly didn't decide (although others thought we did and kept it secret) until about September 20, and he was born on the 22.


This time our tastes had changed a bit, so Morgan and Chase were out. (I still liked Chase, but Trent vetoed.) Some parents choose names with a purpose: they find a name with a deep meaning, or all Bible names, or all President names, or all K or J names. We go for names that we like and that are cool! How's that for superficial?! (We do try to throw in a family name if possible.) For some reason, it's also important to me that the name not be extremely popular. I frequently checked the Social Security website of most popular baby names for last year. (This probably stems from having one of the THE most common names of my generation. But, I'm not bitter, Mom. ) In the Top 50 is OK; top 10 is not. In '05, Carson was 89th. Perfect. And lastly, this time I wanted a name that did not end with "n" like Carson. (Or Ethan or Nathan or Braden or Hayden.) Something different.
I feel like choosing a name is such a big decision that I don't like to rush it. Trent was the opposite, and wanted to nail down a name as soon as possible, so we could start calling the kiddo by name. The weeks before we found out the gender, he was really getting down to business. Each night he would sit in bed with the name book and a highlighter, throwing ideas out at me while I tried to fall asleep. He thought it would be fun to announce the sex of the baby AND the baby's name at the same time, but that was too soon for me. To me, it feels like choosing a wedding dress. It is such an important decision, and there are so many options, that I don't want to have months to sit around and wonder if I made the right decision, thinking of other good options.


If it was a boy, our top names were Spencer, Brody, Max & Sawyer. Yes, Sawyer. Trent was really into that one. We actually decided on Brody, but that point was moot because it was a girl, and I was not ready to pick a girl name. But over the last couple of months, we widdled down our list. Some girl names we liked: Reese, Paige, Sydney, and even our joke-name Phoebe made it on the list after I met some really cute little Phoebe's and my aunt informed me that it was my great-great-grandmother's name! For real! But once we told Carson what we were thinking and he started calling her by name, it was official. To celebrate the decision, we had it embroidered on her very own Mickey Mouse ears. So, for those who don't know, we are 99% sure (nothing's permanent until the birth certificate is signed) that our little gal's name will be....



14 comments:

Kristi said...

I Love Sydney and I can't wait to meet her.

By the way...I'm so glad Carson isn't a Brody. I went on a date with a guy named Brody once. He was cute when I met him at a party (that was at night on the beach)... not so much when he showed up with his shirt unbuttoned with a hairy chest and a gold cross. GAG! It was the fastest date ever. I faked a phone call and went home.

Peaby said...

I like Sawyer too...but that's a moo point.

sarah said...

Love the Mickey Ears!

woosterweester said...

I am already in love with little Sydney! Can't wait to meet her...hopefully not just on the blog!

Diane Davis said...

Yep, I've been thinking of her as Sydney in my mind since we talked. It is a great name. I think it's fabulous that Carson gets to call her by name too.

Diane Davis said...

Yep, I've been thinking of her as Sydney in my mind since we talked. It is a great name. I think it's fabulous that Carson gets to call her by name too.

Aj Schwanz said...

Hurrah! Great name combo: Carson and Sydney. They'll never be confused who's getting their name yelled down the hall (I have a friend whose three kids' names all end with "ie", and since we all know that kids don't listen until the end, they never paid attention to who their folks were talking to).

I can't wait to see a picture of your little ones wearing their Mickey hats. A happy Disney moment that I think Walt & Steph would highly approve of. :)

johnsonandjohnson said...

Cute! I love it!

Don said...

I too love the name Sydney. Just think...a name with 2 Y's in it. That's tre cool.

BTW, an aside to Kristi...What BRODY did you ever date? I don't remember the "boy!" Is this another I'll-wait-til-I'm-an-adult-and-they-can't-do-anything-about-it revelations???? :)

Steph said...

Sydney...precious girl. And it is a good thing you got her some Mickey Mouse ears. It's a very important part of childhood. She is officially "in" with me. :) I also love that my name is synonymous with Disney. Makes me happy!

Anonymous said...

One of my best friends named her daughter Sydney and I love it! I like it when people just pick a name they like! That's how it should be...can you imagine being that mom of the 16+ kids and having to keep coming up with "j" names? So silly! Then there's me who has Alexis, Isaac and Eliza...seems simple enough except the girls mostly go by Lexi and Liza...whew! And try to call "Liza! Isaac!" down the hall! Anyway, love the mickey ears, love the names, would really love to actually see the kiddos someday! :)

Anonymous said...

super cute name, can't wait to meet her

Emily said...

You've got a great naming strategy.
Sydney is super cute!

Anonymous said...

its hard to find the perfect baby name, I also love family names.