Shakespeare posed this question in Romeo and Juliet, and concluded that names "signify nothing". I beg to disagree. As Peter and I struggle to find the perfect name for son #2, we are reminded of how awesome a responsibility it really is.
There are many things to consider. Does it sound good? Does it flow well with our last name? Does it put him at an increased risk of cruel childhood teasing? Does it form an inappropriate acronym of initials? Does it mean something weird? Is it hard to spell or pronounce? How popular is it? Does it have any personal or familial significance? Do we know anyone else with the same name?
We were fortunate with Jaden's name. It came to me the night I found out that I was pregnant. I was sure I was having a boy and didn't have any names on a list. The fact that this was causing me angst at that early stage says something about me, doesn't it? Anyway, I started reading through a baby name website and came across Jaden which means "God has heard". I felt a tremendous sense of peace come over me which allowed me to go to bed and actually sleep. God truly had heard our prayers for a child, and what a blessing that child has been!! Jaden's name fits him perfectly. The more we use it, the more we like it.
Now we have to pull out a repeat performance. After all the significance and perfectness of Jaden's name, not any name will do. We've made a list of possibilities and narrowed it down. We even have a front-runner which we're in the process of "testing". Again, I have angst. I am not one of those women who can go to the hospital not really sure what the baby's name will be. I want to decide on a name in plenty of time for it to become natural before the baby arrives so there will be no regrets later on.
Then, there's the issue of a middle name which poses it's own set of unique issues.
Finally, there's the issue of creating a riddle to rival the contest we posed for discovering Jaden's name.
Ahhh, what are we going to do when/if we get to baby #3 or even #4?
So, what does Tape A have to say about all this? Plenty. The gist of it is that I basically need to relax, be diligent but not anxious, and to pray. As I type, I'm watching Jaden crawl around in circles trying to make himself dizzy. He'd still be doing that and bringing infinite joy to my life if his name were something else. I guess Mr. Shakespeare wasn't all that crazy after all. The most important thing is that we love this unborn child and look forward to watching him grow and develop into the man that God will have him to be. It is reassuring that God already has plans for his life, perfect plans. Who am I to pretend it's all up to me?
OK, so I guess I'll give it a few more days to decide on baby #2's name before I freak out :)
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4 comments:
You're funny. I'm not worrying too much yet about a name either but I do realize it is important. I keep trying to convince Brandon that the initials cannot spell anything funky and he doesn't seem to think that's a big deal. We're currently in the testing phase but I think we've got a long way to go before we decide on a name. No riddle for us...our name will be surprise. People can wait, too. So I wouldn't worry about a name riddle. ;)
HA! Try compounding that with 1) not knowing (or wanting to know) the gender, and 2) desiring a German name. Surprisingly, some of Zach's suggestions for male names have sounded a little too effeminate; and some from both of us are overruled simply for not being liked. We have also had the challenge with being concerned about the child being teased for their name, or what the name could be shortened to and whether we liked it or they could be teased for that. It is definitely not an easy process! But it is part of the fun!
Try coming up with something that flows with Kacmarynski. Ugh! Our criteria for a name is that it has to be short, easy to spell and easy to say. We also have to watch out for too many K's and other bad initials. Mine currently are ECK...I know, sounds like I'm disgusted and have phlegm in my throat.
Best of luck in coming up with the perfect name! We're working on ours and will likely go to the hospital with a few choices to see what he looks like.
-Em
Name 'em what you want and like and they'll deal with the consequences. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? Okay so it's got to fit into the equation right, a J, or a B, or a H. Is there anything else that goes well with peanut butter?
Amazingly, no one at Kindergarten has called Marillah, Marillah Gorillah.
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