Tuesday, July 29, 2008

No-Name Boy

My latest obsession, besides researching things like infant bath tubs on the Internet ad nauseam, is what this baby boy is going to be called. I have become a frequent lurker on baby name blogs like this one and this one. I have been thinking about it so much that every noun is starting to sound like a plausible name. Computer? Is that a good name? Mouse? That has sort of an off-beat, funky sound to it, doesn't it? Mouse McBride, hmmmm.....

One of our favorite names is Teddy (Theodore). The other night, in the middle of the night, I was woken up by a leg cramp, a.k.a. a "charlie horse." I was screaming and writhing around in such a way that might make one doubt that I am capable of the non-medicated birth I am hoping for. Anyway, all my carrying on eventually woke Brandon up and he asked what was wrong. "I have a....a....Teddy graham" was all I could come up with at the time. I think I was obsessing so much on the name "Teddy" that I replaced the "Charlie" in "Charlie horse" with Teddy and then Teddy horse didn't sound right, but Teddy graham seemed like a plausible answer. Hmmmm....Graham...that's a nice name too. Hadn't considered that one yet.

This name stuff is making me totally nuts. I keep thinking that we will just know what to call this person when we see him. I hope that happens. I know that I am probably very influenced by all of the baby naming resources that are literally at my fingertips via the Internet. I think sites like nymbler and name voyager are making parents feel like the "right" name is out there if they just look hard enough and Google long enough. The blurb on the back of the baby name book I'm currently reading says this:
"Yes, your baby’s perfect name is out there. The trick is finding it. The perfect baby name will speak to your heart, give your child a great start in life—and maybe even satisfy your relatives. But you can't expect to just stumble on a name like that in an A to Z dictionary or on a trendy list. That’s why you need The Baby Name Wizard. Created by a name-searching mom, it uses groundbreaking research and computer generated models to pinpoint each name’s image, examine its usage and popularity over the last 100 years, and suggest other promising ideas. A perfect guide to the modern world of names, The Baby Name Wizard will engage you from the first name you look up and keep you enchanted through your journey to the just-right name for your baby."
Could it be that all the "computer generated models" and "groundbreaking research" are actually making our job as the official namers of another human being harder rather than easier? Suddenly perfectly good names like James or John or even (gasp!) Charles, sound so plain, so obvious. I mean do you really need a computer generated model to lead you to John? Did you really do your baby name homework thoroughly if all you could come up with was John?

Then there's the flip side of that. If everyone's using these complicated web-savvy ways to find a baby name, then why not be a real trendsetter and come up with a name that is so anti-what-everyone-else-is-doing that you're actually sort of cutting edge? Doesn't that make John, like, way more hip than say, Milo?

Uggh. I just need to have the baby, see what mood we're in at the time and give the little guy a name. Whatever the name, we will love it because we will love him and he will be the cutest _____ we have ever seen, I'm sure.

3 comments:

Katherine said...

I feel your pain . . . with the names and the teddy grahams. I mean, charlie horses. :)
One trick I learned for those middle-of-the-night leg cramps was to point your toes up. It works like a charm -- if you are awake enough to remember what to do! :)
As for the names, it took us a while this time around. I had a long list, but I think Ben was waiting for some grand inspiration for the name. It's a tough decision!

Raegan Brown said...

I was lying awake last night thinking about names for you. I like the idea of keeping it classic/basic as a way of going against the grain w/o really having to. Especially with your last name. You can carry a 'plain' name like John w/o it being too generic (like it would be with my last name.)

So... I was brainstorming in the area of people our dad's age names. (Admittedly these names sound strange for babies but those people were babies once, too.) In that age we've got George, Bruce, Thomas/Tom, etc. Then of names our age you could go with Gregory/Greg, Brent, I like Teddy, too.

Don't take my advice though. I unwittingly names my children popular names as evidenced by the fact that they are both in the latest Pottery Barn Kids catalouge!

Robin said...

I could hardly keep reading after "non-medicated birth." Are you going for it??? You know my feelings on the issue, so I need more info ASAP.

Good luck naming Baby Mc 3. And by the way, I have only ONE friend with a "John" Clara's age. :)

RAK