Naming thread

So apropos of Dannette's comment, we do have to come up with a name for this critter.

We're plowing through some lists of baby names and are working on a short list.

We have some time left to go, so in the spirit of many heads being better than two, we figured we'd open the floor if anyone wants to weigh in.

We won't pick one for sure until he's here, and until then I need some way to refer to him, so: maybe little Barack, for now. ;)

    10 comment(s)  

do you have any criteria???? length, number of syllables, ability to shorten/create a nickname, ease of spelling, etc...
      ...posted by Toni on February 24, 2008 9:15 PM

We don't have many absolute criteria actually -- I have a vague preference for names of more than one syllable... One challenge is that we know too many damn people, and so namespace collisions have come up frequently (can't name him X, so-and-so's kid is named X.. can't name him Y, we don't like the 'Y' that we know.. can't name him Z, Z will think he named him after him... hehe... and so on..)
      ...posted by Medley on February 25, 2008 11:07 AM

If all those criteria leave you with no name, I think it's ok to give him someone else's name and let them think what they want:) Just please do not name him Ethan or Evan. I swear, there are too many Ethans and Evans running around these days.
      ...posted by Joni on February 25, 2008 6:34 PM

Here I am at work, listening to some old a cappella songs from Wash U and I come across some fantastic arrangements of "Dust in the Wind", "We Can Work It Out", "Right Here, Right Now", etc.

I think, hmmmm... wonder what good ole Steve Bogart is up to now? I google him.

And here he is, about to be a dad!

Congratulations, Steve! What a wonderful bit of news to stumble across!

How the heck are you! Contact me at my email address above to chat.

Oh, and check here to see what my life as a father has been like. You're going to LOVE it!

I suggest... um... Yasmine for a girl and Skippy for a boy. Congrats again!
      ...posted by Jon Krivitzky on February 27, 2008 5:54 PM

I've already told Medley in IM of my preference for family names; I really like the idea of naming babies *after* someone. She says that's on your list, but you're still looking, so....

I like the name Jesse a great deal. I also like the name Roy. And I like names that are a little old-fashioned (for some reason, they sound extra-masculine to me); sometimes I like the nickname more than the name. For example, Ted is a great name, but I'm not so crazy about Theodore. Of course, Ted can be a derived from other names; I work with a guy nicknamed Ted who is descended from a Greek family, and in his case, Ted is short for Theophil. (Don't ask me exactly how that's pronounced, I've always called him Ted.)

And I second Joni's point about avoiding names that are too trendy - Ethan is definitely on the list of very trendy popular names for male infants these days.
      ...posted by Liz on February 29, 2008 10:09 AM

my boy picks that got shot down for various reasons were: Milo, Gregory, Eli and Alexander. i'm pretty sure we're done, so i'll offer up Linus too.
      ...posted by Toni on March 4, 2008 10:49 AM

Linus is interesting.

Here are some names we're definitely not going with, just for fun --

Igor
Bilbo
Chester
Thor
Dubya
Remy

We are tending to lean most toward two-syllable names, I think.
      ...posted by Steve B. on March 4, 2008 11:30 AM

If you go with Linus, you can't pick Torvalds as the middle name!! (well, you CAN, I suppose - heh)
      ...posted by Dannette on March 4, 2008 1:40 PM

if we had a boy, we would have gone with Daniel as the middle name - it is the middle name of both of our fathers, but that's not to say that Pete didn't consider Torvalds for at least a moment.
      ...posted by Toni on March 4, 2008 4:24 PM

Name it Primary. The next kid is Secondary. If you have a third, Tertiary. See how simple it all is?
      ...posted by Neil on March 4, 2008 5:50 PM

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