What's in a Name?

     From the moment my husband and I picked the names of our two children, we loved them! After searching online through name databases, digging through books, and selectively asking for suggestions from people, the names seemed to “pick us,” if you will.

     Picking a name for a baby in utero is not always the easiest task. So many factors seem to play a role. Maybe you love a name but despise the meaning. Everett might sound great, but when you see that the name means “wild boar,” you might think twice before naming your son that. Or you have the opposite problem: you love the meaning but don’t particularly care for the name. For some, there is pressure to use family names, or to name the child after someone (so as to follow tradition). And still, it is difficult to escape the opinions of family members when selecting the name for YOUR baby.

     My sweet Mother still can’t believe that we didn’t name my son Anthony (or some other Italian name) because “he looks so Italian” to her. She would never say she dislikes the name we chose, but it’s clear that she’s still baffled by the fact that we chose a German/Welsh name for a baby that looks very Italian. A distant cousin of mine can share in this struggle, and maybe you can as well. Naming her son Peyton, and straying from the overly-used name of Tom or Tommy in her family, her grandpa at 91 asked, “Peyton? Well what are you going to call him when he grows up?” Um……Peyton. That’s his name.

     How have you handled these pressures and expectations with naming your children? And how have you been able to help your family embrace Tristan instead of Tom, or Laiken instead of Luke? It’s a generational jump for sure. How have you helped them make that leap?