Archives for March 2009

Saturday we ventured to the local Barnes & Noble because The Princess’s school was having a book fair (a percentage of profits to benefit her school). On top of that, The Princess’s art had been selected as one of the pictures they would be displaying at B&N during the fair. Good deal, right?

What I realized is this: my daughter’s name? It’s crazy common.

I kind of knew this – but hadn’t realized that out of thirty pictures hanging, four of them would be by other first graders sharing the same first name. When Hubby and I were picking names for our children, the one step we were sure to take was to check the Social Security Administration’s Database and to avoid names in their Top Ten. Though her name isn’t on this list, my GOODNESS, it’s popular. Also not on her list, but rampant in The Princess’s classroom are Noah’s (there are three) and Colton’s (there are two).

I feel bad that my daughter is doomed to have to use her last initial for everything for the next several years (a misery I shared being one of eleventy-billion Sarah’s in my elementary school and everywhere I’ve ever gone).

Naming a kid isn’t an easy task and it’s probably one of the first big decisions we make as parents. My cousin and his wife just gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy and spent weeks narrowing down the baby name field from three to that final name. They said, “We want something that will sound cool but not sound insane if he becomes a laywer or president.” And they picked an awesome name that seems to suit the little guy.

Pumpkin’s name took weeks of intense debate between Hubby and myself, including a process of whittling down a list of twenty names to one and then changing the name weeks later. If I’m being PERFECTLY honest? I don’t love her name. I love the nickname that I use 95% of the time, but when I hear her name I think – Hmmm, maybe that wasn’t the right choice.

Having a Hubby who loved the more traditional names, I was outvoted on a lot of my choices and compromise wasn’t easy. If it was up to me, my kids would have quirky names that they wouldn’t have to share with a dozen of their classmates.

What’s your name style? Do your kids have traditional or unique names? If it was up to you and YOU ALONE would you have named your child something different or would you stick to the name you selected?