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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The Luxury of A Last Name

Sometimes Frank and I jokingly throw around names that we like for our future kids (even though we are a long way off from having any yet!).

The problem is we're both kind of picky.

I like names that are unusual and old-fashioned: Jonathan, Benedict, Sebastian, Francisco (my grandfather's name). Lydia, Beatrice, Cynthia, Catherine. I don't like anything in the top 40 or that reminds me of an inanimate object.

Frank likes names that are original but not unusual. In fact his two favorite names - Olivia and Sophia - are currently numbers 2 and 3 (although hipster Frank liked them long before they were cool). I hear those names and think "olive" and "soapy." Not my favorites.

Ok... maybe it's just me who's picky.

I don't think we'll reach a consensus any time soon (good thing we have years before we need to decide).

In high school I would fill the backs of my notebooks with lists of baby names when I was bored in class (please tell me I'm not the only one!). But I could never pick a favorite because I never knew what the last name would be.

Now when I play the name game, I finally know the last name they'll go with. It makes the game so much more fun. :)

11 comments:

  1. It is wayyyy more fun when you have a last name to work with. And double the fun of that when there's a tiny hidden person waiting for a name.

    Oh the arguments we had waiting for our baby! Must say though, am just a taaaaaad disappointed to see our name floating near the bottom of the top 40. And I thought I had chosen something a bit unusual!

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    1. Oh that sounds like it would be so much fun! What name did you end up picking?

      I love that more traditional names have come back into fashion, but it does kind of put a cramp in our style if we like names that are classic yet unusual.

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  2. We're still waiting for a baby to name after getting married earlier this year, but I LOVE to go through my list of names. I keep one at my office on a post-it so I can look at it all the time. My husband is very apathetic but claims he will be more into it once there's an actual baby instead of theoretical children.

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    1. ha! Such a guy response.

      I like the post-it note idea! For me, the list is ever evolving and that would help me to remember which ones I like...

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  3. I've been matching first and second names together since high school, too. Don't have a last name to go with them yet, but I enjoy it nonetheless. I've also encountered some very interesting names what with working at a preschool and, previously, at a doctor's office, so my list has grown :)

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    1. Oh that sounds awesome! I always hear urban legends of kids with the most outlandish names but so far I haven't heard about discovering any good ones - share your favorites? :)

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  4. Haha. My husband actually has a much longer list than I do, but it is full of pretty random and unusal names. I only have 2 or 3 names. I worry about the day when we have to pick out a child name. I am sure I will be praying for consensus between the two of us.

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    1. Same here! I'm so jealous of those couples that seem to agree on every name and have a list of favorites a mile long... at least I comfort myself with the reminder that we only need to pick one baby name at a time. Hopefully that will make it easier. :)

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  5. My fiance and I already have a google doc of baby names :) We decided to do Marian middle names for the girls and then martyr names for the boys' middle names. We've already decided our first boy will be Pio (after our favorite Saint!) and our first girl will be Philomena. Hahaha... We won't even be married until July of next year :) We're both so excited to shoot for a baker's dozen (God willing), we couldn't help picking out tons of baby names!

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    1. A google doc of baby names is a BRILLIANT idea... now I'm tempted to create one too! What a lovely idea for your naming scheme. There are so many lovely Marian names you can use (Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe...) and of course the martyr names are endless. Will you have a nickname for Philomena?

      I love the comment about the baker's dozen... we kind of have the same thought ourselves. What is it with Catholic engaged couples?? haha

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    2. Well, I suppose Phil might be a strange nickname for a girl :) so maybe we'd go with Mena or a random nickname might arise on its own. In Anthony's family, his siblings have nicknames that just arose out of how they pronounced each others' names when they were younger! Catholic engaged couples are the wave of the future :) 'Cause we'll be the ones with all the kiddies :)

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