Playing the Name Game

For most of us moms and Moms2B, playing the name game is one of the most fun and exciting things about pregnancy. Sometimes, the game starts long before we're actually pregnant (see article by Gather member Tiffany D. for proof) and it often continues right up until the moment the baby is placed in our arms for the very first first time.

Both times I was pregnant, I found out the sex of the baby. I'm a planner. Type A personality. But I can completely understand why some mothers and couples choose not to find out. Let's face it, there are so few genuine surprises in the world today. The name game is a lot more fun, too, if you are thinking about names for both boys and girls. 

I'm a fan of the classics. I'm also a fan of Irish names (go figure since my birth name was Erin Colleen). For a time during my pregnancy I was into the more hip names like Logan, Liam, or Griffin. But going down this road proved to be dangerous, as my husband would follow my lead with obscure names better suited for a private detective in a television series than a baby born to an average couple in suburban Boston. Sticking to the classics proved to be much safer territory.

Yet there were very few boys' names that my husband and I could completely agree on. It seems like we spent countless hours every weekend tossing names around. It usually went something like this:

"How about Benjamin?" I'd ask.

"No," my husband replied. "Ben was the kid who stared when I got undressed in the locker room." 

"OK. How about Matthew?"

"Hmmm. I like it. But if he's overweight kids will call him Fat Matt."

"William?"

"I like Will," he'd say, "But I don't like Billy. Billy K. No."

These conversations carried on for months. Interestingly, my husband, whose name is one of the most common in America, would continue to suggest Parker, Duncan, and Spencer. While I would be advocating for one of the twelve disciples, he'd be flipping through baby names books pulling out some of the most obscure names, ones that did not meet my "yelling up the stairs" test.

About a week before my due date with my first son, we settled on two names: Thomas and Tyler. I always felt Tommy was a cute name for a little boy and that's the one I wanted going into the delivery room. But something happened during labor. When they handed him to me I said, "We can name him Tyler."

My husband said, "Yeah? Really?"

And then, like any good woman, I changed my mind.

"No. It's Thomas. He looks like a Tommy," I said. "Thomas it is."

When my second son came along there was barely a discussion. I said I wanted an Irish name and Brendan was the only one we could agree on. Simple by comparison.

So, are you playing the name game yet? What names are appearing on your list?

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