The Name Game

Both Grandmas posted a comment guessing what frequently asked questions we get asked most frequently... and Grandma Hurd guessed correctly to the one: "Have you picked a name?" The answer, "No, not yet" is the appropriate answer to that question. *sigh*

Yes, we have a bit of a challenge in the name department. I come up with suggestions, which Paul readily dismisses. He can't really give reasons most of the time; the names I suggest just don't strike him in the right way, I guess.

Paul has come up with a couple of suggestions, which I don't mind, but don't necessarily prefer. He came home from work one day and said, "The nurses at the hospital have been trying to help me come up with names." So I asked, "What did they suggest?" The only name he could remember was Shea, because the others he readily dismissed (just as he does with my suggestions). I told my sister a few days later about the name, and she said, "That's cute... and you could give her a middle name Lynn. Shea Lynn." "Cute," I thought. So I suggested that to Paul. "Yuck," he said (or something to that effect; I don't quite remember). So Shea's okay, but Shea Lynn is unacceptable. And we differ on spelling too... He thinks if we spelled it Shea, people would end up calling her "Shee-a," so we ought to spell it Shay or Shae. So that's a possibility that we haven't crossed off the list yet.

The other suggestion he came up with the other day was Sally. I like it... but it hasn't quite settled with me. It would be cute for a little girl, but how appropriate is it for a grown woman? And the fact that it's a nickname for Sarah feels a little strange. Does that mean she'd be named after her mommy?

Yesterday I got on the internet and Googled "Baby Namer." I found some good sites to help me figure out our next baby naming steps. Probably the most helpful site I found was Oxygen's "Find the Best Name for Your Baby." It includes perceptions, namesakes and potential drawbacks for names parents are considering.

Another gem I ran across was called "The Utah Baby Namer." Okay, so I knew that historically Utah had been known for some very strange names. But to see many real names posted on this web site was hilarious. If you visit, make sure you read "What's in a Utah Name" to understand how these names come about. I guess that Paul and I are somewhat guilty of a Utah name with LittleMum... one feature is combining either parents' names or grandparents' / ancestors' names. And LittleMum is a combination of Grandma Hurd and Grandma Fisher. We figured it an appropriate tribute to the women who brought us into the world and mean so much to us. Hopefully LittleMum's name is not too bad... at least it's a name that can be seen in other regions. My niece and her husband recently named their new daughter Avrianna, which is a combination of four grandmas' names (Avis [maternal great-great-grandmother], Carrie [maternal grandmother], Anne [maternal grandmother], and the fourth which I can't remember). Avrianna made my favorite name for my little one, Ava, a little less desirable. I wanted to pay tribute to my sweet grandmother as well. But Paul didn't like it anyway.

The Utah Baby Namer led me to another fun tool, although I don't know how helpful it is. It's called the NameVoyager, and it shows the popularity of any name you type in from the 1880s to 2004. Apparently, my parents were on the leading edge of a trend when they named me "Sara" in 1974. The names Sara and Sarah were very popular in the 1980s.

And then I started on a very big tangent, Wes Clark's "Avocado Memories." Wes and his wife run the Utah Baby Namer site, so I linked to this find from there. Wow, this guy has so many incredibly fun memories of growing up in Burbank, California in the 60s and 70s. He has posted photos that he took of his home growing up, documenting his parents' interesting attempts at home decorating. His memories encouraged me to look back at my own childhood (hey, we had avacado appliances, mustard yellow carpet and a wood-paneled station wagon), and I think it would do the same for you. I had intended to make this post yesterday, but got sucked right into Wes Clark's world. Enjoy!

So, back to the original intent of this post... the name. Although I could just decide and tell Paul that's the way it is, he does have strong opinions and I'd like him to have a say. He may still get some inspiration or something... and a few weeks ago he said, "just don't think about it for a while and maybe I'll come to like something I didn't like before." Time's short, but I figure we'll come up with something. Even if we have to bring the baby home as "Baby Girl" and call her real name in.