October 27, 2010

Naming 101



Next week we find out whether we're having a boy or girl. I feel like the days are going by extra slow as the day approaches. In the spirit of this event, I remembered a super cute blog my friend Kristina did a while ago about their naming philosophy. I can't remember her 'rules', but I'm sure some of the feelings are mutual!

Disclaimer: the following are personal preferences of Ben and Lisa. If you or your child's name happens to fall in one of these categories, don't be offended! This is meant to be tongue-and-cheek, I promise!




Our Naming Rules

1. No gender neutral names. We tend to like names that are either more masculine or more feminine. Also, we want to avoid anything that could generate confusion.
2. No intentionally calling our child by their middle name instead of their first name. Again, generates confusion.
3. No last names used as first names, or as my friend coined them, 'country club' names. This is a newer trend. I honestly like some of these names, but because it seems to be a trend I try to stay away from it.
4. Must have a strong meaning in either the first or middle name (preferably both, but at least one)
5. No double first names like Mary Katherine or John David.
6. No alternate spellings i.e. replacing C's with K's, I's with Y's, or A's with ae's. This is a slight pet peeve of mine. I can't see using baby's name as a way to express one's ability to be a creative speller. Exceptions might be made if it's easier to correctly pronounce the name using an alternate spelling.
7. No top 10 names,
8. And the other side, nothing too weird or unusual. My objective measure of this is when you tell someone your baby's name, they don't look confused.
9. Only names that mature well with the child. Some names sound super cute for kids, but not-so-classy for adults.
10. Personal prefs: love girl names that end in -a or -elle. We also like boy names that can't be shortened to one-syllable nicknames, though they're hard to come by.




Granted, these are just current tastes of ours. Maybe they will change!

What is your naming style? Pet peeves? Loves?


2 comments:

Kristina said...

love it, we do have very similar rules. Except I broke one of mine.

No hippie names.

Adoration Joy is a total hippie name. oh well. ha.

Erika said...

I especially agree with #2 and #9. I may or may not possibly break all your other rules when I name my own children, though. :) Well, probably not all at once with one kid. But over the course of my sure-to-be MANY children...maybe. :)