What’s In A Name? A Baby Name

My son’s names mean something very special to me. After he was born, they took on their own meanings. The names are not just important roots carefully chosen for him; they are adjectives that instantly bring his strawberry curls and big brown eyes to mind. His name could never be anything else. It’s perfect for him.

We have discussed what to name our second child. All I can say is hopefully God doesn’t see fit to bless us with a girl, because she might end up being called Baby Girl. As for boy names, we are still debating that one with a bit more success. 

I think we can all agree that naming the baby is very important. Lots of thought and emotion goes into choosing a name for your child. Everyone has different opinions. What’s important to me might not even figure into the equation for you.

Some want their children to have unique names, special and unheard of names. That was the driving force behind a friend’s name. Her name is literally Unique. Others just want names that aren’t shared by family members or close friends. This quest has a friend of mine scrambling for boy’s names that can’t be found on her Facebook friend list. 

For some it’s important to have names with a history, family names that pay homage to loved ones. The heartfelt desire to honor my uncle’s mother and my aunt’s grandmother is what led to my cousin’s name. She has both of their first names for her first and middle name. It’s also the reason we chose to name my son after his paternal grandfather. Another friend opted for a name that would be unique, but still have roots in family tradition when she named her daughter. Choosing a more modern version of the old name (Ann), she named her daughter Brianna. 

A lot of people turn to baby books and baby name websites to help them choose a name for their bundle of joy. Often these resources include the meaning of the name, the origin, and alternate spellings. This can be especially helpful if the parents-to-be are interested in giving their baby a name with a specific meaning. For instance, if you wanted to name your daughter something that meant beautiful, a quick search through one of these resources might suggest names like Belinda, Bella, or Callista. A friend of ours with an Italian background used these resources to choose traditional Italian names for her children. 

My husband and I are still debating a list of names for our second baby. We don’t yet know if it’s a boy or girl so we have some time, but I really would like to have a name chosen before we go to that ultrasound. We can’t seem to agree right now, but it’s clear that the method we used to name our son (a family name) won’t work this time around. We can’t think of any that we like. I’m searching for a copy of our family tree while he files through some baby name websites. I’ll let you know what we come up with.

In the meantime, how did you choose the names for your children? Did you do like my husband and just focus on something that sounded nice with your last name or do you have a system like me? Was it easy or hard to choose a name with your spouse? Did you have good natured arguments about it or did you agree from the very beginning?

Written by: Sara Parise