6.03.2008

Zestpoole, Walkasheaqua, Tugdick*...help us decide!

As time is winding down, we are left with one of life's biggest decisions...what in the world do we name a little person?? If you scan the shelves at any store that sells books, you'll see book upon book of names, some claiming to list over 100,000 name choices!! How is someone supposed to narrow it down to just one name? It sort of reminds me of the menu at The Cheesecake Factory (have you looked at that thing??) - way too many choices to remember what you saw on page one. You have to take notes as you flip through it so you can remember what sounded good!
I have never been very good at making decisions, especially when there are too many choices in front of me (luckily our name book only had 60,000+ names to leaf through). Somehow though we have narrowed it down to two names. The hard part will be picking the winner - I have convinced Mark that however determined he is for "his" name to be the winner, to wait until he sees the little one before his mind is completely set in stone.
Mark has very rigid guidelines for picking names. Some of these were that it couldn't be on any "top" lists - top 10, top 100 etc. I am like the anti-bandwagon jumper. For some reason, unless I liked it prior to a rise to fame, I will not join in the fun of something if it has become a pop culture phenomenon (i.e. Harry Potter - I just refuse and you can't make me)...I know I am weird like that. Anyway, so no top baby name list entries is the first guideline. My next guideline was that the name has to be a "bit" different, and by a bit I mean every so slightly - like Melanie. People are familiar with it, but it's not the name of every other girl in your kindergarten class. Especially for a girl being given the last name of Smith, you need something a "little" different (I am afraid we won't be naming anyone Emma, or Joseph). Mark's next guideline is on a little different wavelength than mine, but the name can not be associated with anyone in the adult entertainment industry (Sorry Jenna and Traci).
So after the names pass those and a few other guidelines, Mark must do his usual anal rituals of googling names to see what comes up, how common it is, what searches it finds... checking social security records, the FBI's 10 Most Wanted lists...whatever he can find. It's a long process folks. For me, I just wanted us to go through our book individually, make up our lists and see if we had any of the same names written down (I think we wound up picking one name in common that we both liked). Then the fun part of vetoing names came. I have to say I was quite surprised with some of the names Mark came up with. After hearing all of his suggestions for a boys name (can I just say how glad I am that we're having a girl?!), I wasn't expecting most of the names he said he liked for a girl. I will leave it to him to share those with you at a later date so he can explain why he liked them (and why I vetoed them).
So here we are with our names, and Mark has made me swear not to tell them to anyone. He is so impressed with his name choice that he thinks once it is revealed everyone will bow down at his feet due to his pure genuis-ness.
What I want to know, is what do you think our name choices are? I wonder if anyone could guess what Mark has chosen. I am willing to bet that no one will be able to guess his choice, although if you really know Mark, it won't be a huge stretch to understand why he picked this name.
It's such a huge responsibility in naming a kid. You don't want them to hate you forever for the name you saddle them with, and you don't want a name that will make for obvious teasing on the playground...it's a big decision! So hopefully our child will not hate us no matter what we decide to name her!
And with that - let the guessing begin!! Don't disappoint me!
*A great big Thank You to the Utah Baby Namer (http://wesclark.com/ubn/) for the name suggestions!

9 comments:

Mark said...

Mel pretty much nailed our selection criteria. Here are some of the names that I liked but she vetoed; Belle, Penelope, Adara (means beauty and virgin in Greek and Arabic, but Mel thought it sounded like a new line of Buicks), Addie, Maribel, Nakia, Kalila (means beloved or sweetheart in Arabic, but Mel thought it sounded like a disease). I had a few others, but this should give you some idea. The names I liked of Mel's that were later eliminated were; Nadia, Harper and Genevieve. The boys name I like is John Rambo Smith. I am willing to make the guessing game interesting to the tune of $50 to however can guess my name, it's not listed above and my Book Club for A-Holes post may be an indicator.

btw, nice to see Mel picking up the slack on the dick jokes.

Anonymous said...

You seriously made me read that whole thing and then didn't even give us your possible baby names!!! They'd better show up before she's (are you sure?) born!

I think John Rambo is a perfect girl name, but that's probably out. How about Janie Rambo? Ramboina? Kyrambo? Based on Mark's hint, I'm going to guess he went with McManus or Piggy.

Meg said...

Hi! I've been MIA for quite some time.. just trying to get back in the blog groove :-) So no baby yet huh! How you holding up? I loved the below posts so funny and the brussel sprouts just cracking me up. I find them quite yummy as well. Please keep us posted and for sure send me your address. I have a little something for you and the newest addition..

Heidi said...

I am going with "Ayan." Though, "Hagstrom" is pretty awesome as well!

Shelly and Ben said...

My votes are in for Taloola and Honoria. Ok, so seriously, I'll say that the names are maybe....oh heck, I can't think straight. I'm sticking with Taloola and Honoria!!!

Kyndra said...

I think it is Loralei because Mark is a closet Gilmore Girls fan.

Anonymous said...

Okay so I wasn't going to post cause I have no idea what name you would choose, but since Mark made a $50 reward I will try my luck. I am pretty much just going through your book club post and am listing any possibilities: Ayan, Camas, Francis, or Bronte. These are my guesses. I am going to guess probably not Bronte though since you have such harsh feelings against her. My top two would be Francis or Camas. Hope all is well. Keep us updated!

Anonymous said...

My guesses are Pip or Marley. Personally, I think Marley is a great choice:) Mel, I hope you're feeling good and enjoying your last few days of "rest"

Higa said...

I'm of the same belief as Mark... I don't want to share the name I like for a girl for the fear of someone else stealing it. Although, when I tell people they get silent and say 'oh that's nice'...
My guess is Sophia