Our cousin is expecting a daughter in the spring and recently selected a name. In the car this afternoon, I told N the baby's name. She said, "Ooooo, I like that. But she might want to name it Claire instead."
N and I got to talking about how the names you think you want to name your child when you are young are often not the names you select once you are actually having your own baby. When I was a preteen, I liked the name Jocelyn but there is no way in heck I would have selected this for my child as a 30-something pregnant person. I don't like names ending in -lyn (Brooklyn, Caitlyn, etc.).
Yesterday in a fit of couch-potato-nesss, I watched Freakonomics. One of the segments in this documentary is about what people name their children and whether a name itself plays a role in how successful a child becomes.
I love the names D and I selected for our children because they are common enough to be recognized as "real" names, not trendy made-up ones that don't stand the test of time. But they are uncommon enough that you don't hear tons and tons of kids with those names, as you do Emily or Aidan. I would be willing to bet my children will be the only N, G and M in their classes.
And though I wasn't crazy about my name when I was a kid and still am not a fan of my first and middle names together (Carrie Ann sounds so whiney, but that may be because of the whiney-ness of the Hollies' song), I like each of them individually.
After 38 years, they feel like me. They fit me to a T.
N and I got to talking about how the names you think you want to name your child when you are young are often not the names you select once you are actually having your own baby. When I was a preteen, I liked the name Jocelyn but there is no way in heck I would have selected this for my child as a 30-something pregnant person. I don't like names ending in -lyn (Brooklyn, Caitlyn, etc.).
Yesterday in a fit of couch-potato-nesss, I watched Freakonomics. One of the segments in this documentary is about what people name their children and whether a name itself plays a role in how successful a child becomes.
I love the names D and I selected for our children because they are common enough to be recognized as "real" names, not trendy made-up ones that don't stand the test of time. But they are uncommon enough that you don't hear tons and tons of kids with those names, as you do Emily or Aidan. I would be willing to bet my children will be the only N, G and M in their classes.
And though I wasn't crazy about my name when I was a kid and still am not a fan of my first and middle names together (Carrie Ann sounds so whiney, but that may be because of the whiney-ness of the Hollies' song), I like each of them individually.
After 38 years, they feel like me. They fit me to a T.
1 comment:
Names are so funny, aren't they? Some have such strong connotations to them. Sometimes I'll hear a kid's name and think, "Eww, what in the world made the parents choose that one?" and then I think about how somebody else could be having the same reaction to one of my kids' names, and that makes me slightly uncomfortable.
And isn't it weird that you and I basically share the same first and middle names, but I can't imagine you as Keri Ann and I can't imagine myself as Carrie Ann? I think we both fit our names perfectly, spelling and all.
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