What's in a name?

As we come closer to D day, I have been contemplating our name choices for this baby. Lydia is still adamant that the baby is a girl. The rest of us aren't so sure. Every time I have dreamt about this baby, it has been a boy. Some of those dreams didn't end happily, so I'm trying not to put too much stock in them.

How do you pick names for your children? How did you get YOUR name? I am named after someone that my mom knew and admired in high school. My name is frequently misspelled and/or mispronounced. Those are my starting points: a name with some significance, and a name that substitute teachers don't demolish the first time they see it on a class list.

I also have the baggage of knowing too much about name origins or meanings in other languages. I used to like the name 'Brady' until I took medical terminology and learned that is means "slow." I like the name 'Cameron' but after learning Spanish where 'camaron' means 'shrimp' and being short, I had to cross that off my list.

We plan to continue the use of family names with this child as we have with our girls. They are all named (first, middle, or both) after family members- some more recently alive than others. Both of my grandfathers and their fathers were named 'Frank Henry ___.' While I would like to honor their memories, Frank just doesn't sound like a baby to me. (Ironically, two of those men were born in Canada, one in England, one in Salt Lake. Who knew it was such a popular name combination.) My grandmothers were Edith and Elsie, not my first choices either. Love you, grandmas! With names like Serilda & Dahlia on Tim's side, we're running low on choices there too.

Another obstacle we have is that Tim is from a small town. What's that go to do with anything? In a place where you know every one your age in half the county, you come to know too much about those same people. Any boy name we have ever discussed has been shot down because "So and so was like this" or "So and so did that." I'm convinced we have three daughters because we could never agree on a boy name. Our son Lydia would have been traumatized for life!

So, pending the arrival of baby 4, we are again pondering names. I thought I had decided on a few that I liked, but now I'm wavering in my commitment to them. When Lydia was born, she didn't have a name for three or four days. Luckily, I was in the hospital for a week, so there was plenty of time to think about it. Tim left the first name up to me, since we already agreed on her middle name. Looking back, I don't know that a person on narcotics and recovering from serious blood loss should be allowed to make such a life-altering choice for a helpless child. I might have named her after Nurse Brunhilda. Ever time Tim or my mom called to check on us, the baby had a different name. She was Lucy, Madison, Annie, and some others I don't recall. Eventually, I had narrowed it down to two names. When the photographer came to take her picture and told me she needed to write the name down, I told her my options and SHE made the final decision for me. Luckily, it turned out OK.

I now know why people are starting to sell naming rights like their kids are a sports arena. Names are a big responsibility and kids are expensive. Maybe I could cut a deal with Diet Coke...

Perhaps it's time for a contest. What would you name this child? Boy & girl options, please. (Despite what critics say, we honestly don't know the gender of this child.) Maybe the winner could get a cool prize, like a week with my other kids.

Let's hear your suggestions and maybe I'll even create a fancy schmancy poll for the sidebar one of these days.