Mama Monday: What's in a name?

After reading this article, I was inspired to explain our choice for our daughter's name. Oh yeah, and I was inspired to vomit after reading it. Really?

When we found out we were expecting, I already had a girl's name in my pocket; it had been there for almost a decade. My criteria? I wanted a name that was nowhere on Social Security's database for names. I wanted it feminine and for it to conjure up beautiful images. Some names don't create any image (and that's OK, too), but I definitely didn't want anyone thinking of something unpleasant when they said my child's name. I met a Larkin (my friend's niece) many, many years ago. She was precious, and I never heard the name again. When we found out we were having a girl (almost a year ago!), I asked Matt if he liked it, and it was easy as that. And bonus for the English major daddy, there is a poet by the last name of Larkin. Changing the "i" to a "y" made it more feminine, we thought. That way, when you see it in print, you are more likely to guess that she is a girl rather than wonder who this amazingly qualified and well-rounded individual you are about to interview may be.

We kept her name a secret, which I highly recommend. It was so fun to pull it out when she was born, and we didn't have to field any insensitive comments about it. We did consult babynamewizard.com, which is the most useful name site out there.

So, did we have boy names?  Of course. Thank God we had a girl because for 20 weeks, choosing boy names was dreadful. Again, we wanted unique. That is pretty difficult with boy names...you risk him sounding silly or feminine. Boy names are no fun. I liked Campbell (a family name), but I kept finding it as a girl name and of course had the "soup" comments from "helpful" people. There were others, but we might save those for a few years down the road. The reoccurring theme, however, was British. And, no, it wasn't Simon.

I am in love with our daughter's name. I am protective of it. I get possessive and don't want anyone to use it....crazy, I know. I just value individuality so much and want to pass that onto her. Coming from her mama, who was always "Stacie T." from kindergarten all the way up through college. There was always another Stacy/ey/i/ie. I hope she likes her name! There is always that fear, too. If she changes it, I will be pissed!

But I digress....the most important thing is that the name is special to the parents and (I think) has some sort of meaning. Her first name was treasured by me, and her middle name is her grandma's name. Naming your child something absolutely ridiculous (see above) is selfish and is blatantly saying to the world, "look at me, look at what I can do!" at the expense of your child having a meaningful, respectable moniker that he or she deserves.

How about you...do you like your name? And how did you pick your child's name? 

PS--Don't get me wrong...I love most of the beautiful names on the most popular list (Kate and Ava were already taken in my family!) I died a little inside when Ella went to the top because I loved that name first and it was my great grandma's name. If you chose one for your son or daughter, you chose a name that the world will love and everyone will understand:o)