I swear my shock must have been written all over my face because her eyes got wide and she looked confused and asked me which names I had picked for my not-even-conceived-yet children.
Yes, I have names picked out. And back up names. I have a spreadsheet of names my husband and I have agreed on as acceptable with origin, meaning, current popularity, peak year of popularity and a list of common nicknames for each name.
Overkill? Probably.
I just feel like a name is so important. It is something my children will carry with them for their whole lives, unless, of course, they reject my choice and get a name change.
I want something known but not overly popular. Something easy to pronounce but interesting. I want something that will help them to stand out but that won't hurt their future chances of getting a job. Yes, having the wrong name can hurt your chances of getting a job, for more information read this article.
I want names I will enjoy saying and hearing. I want names that nicknames in a way I like. I want names that empower my children to be well liked, successful, and happy.
Maybe I'm obsessing but I really feel like the names I choose are so important and if I make the wrong choice I, and the child, will have to live with it for the rest of my life.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T STARTED THINKING ABOUT NAMES YET????
I was almost afraid to share the names I had picked out. I was afraid people would criticize them before I had the chance to use them, that a friend might make a face or that someone would tell me some awful story of some jerk they knew with THAT name. I have a great friend who didn't tell ANYONE the names she and her partner had chosen for their son until he was BORN because they didn't want to have to listen to people and all their opinions.
I had decided to guard my names as secret treasures until I had a chance to put them on the baby and say TOO LATE TO ARGUE HAHA I WIN.
Well, not anymore. That's stupid. Anyway, I might change my mind. I'm not even trying to conceive yet so even if I meet my health goals in optimal time (20 weeks to lose 40 lbs, hahaha yeah right, so March) and then start trying and immediately get pregnant (it happens, but not likely) that's still a year before there is a baby that needs a name.
Okay, here are my names. Oscar for a boy and Eleanor for a girl. A year ago I had totally different names (Julian for a boy and Calliope for a girl) but Julian has become EXTREMELY popular so its okay and my dad had a fit about Calliope being 'too weird' plus I don't care for the nickname Cali, so that's out. Now we like Oscar and Eleanor.
GO AHEAD. TELL ME THEY ARE AWFUL NAMES IF YOU WANT TO.
Oscar means Golden City. It's French. It can be shortened to Oz, which I think is great. I can call him Oscar the Grouch when he's cranky and Oscar Wilde when he's acting crazy and The Great and Power Oz when he's being awesome. I hope Oscar will have a good sense of humor, like the Muppets, and a great imagination, like Oscar Wilde. I don't particularly hope he turns out to be a cowardly con man like the Wizard, but I wouldn't mind if he learned a little magic along the way.
See, he's not all bad!
Eleanor. This one snuck up on me. I was recently at a party and there was a baby named Eleanor and I just fell mad in love. It means 'bright and shining'. It's also French but it's the French version of the Greek, Helen. She could be Elli or Nora or Nor or even Lenore (quote the Raven). It's an elegant and mature name and I hope my daughter grows up to be an elegant and mature lady (unlike her mother). I was pleased to find a nice list of strong and powerful Eleanors throughout history, including, of course, Eleanor Roosevelt.
Please don't tell my daughter that I named her after a singing rodent from the '80s.
That's right, not only have I picked named out but I've done research and have a blog's worth of reasons why I like them.
Am I too neurotic?
No comments:
Post a Comment