I love baby names. In particular, I enjoy hearing the crazy things people name their children, or the unique spellings of more traditional names. I feel sort of sad for all the Kortnees, Neveahs, Aidans, and Braedynns out there whose parents went for the fad names. Alright, I'll just say it: I love my son's name. The more baby names I hear these days, the more I love the one we chose. Several people have asked me recently how we chose his name, and it's a story I love telling so here it is. Brace yourself, it's a bit long.
My husband was born with baby fever. Once I caught it too, baby names became a common topic of conversation for us. In the summer of 2009 we found ourselves in the midst of this conversation, and finally chose the names we wanted for the son and daughter we wanted one day. We'd always loved Katherine for a girl, and we chose Jackson for a boy. Not 2 hours after we'd agreed, word came that Michael Jackson had died (seriously. It was eerie). That wasn't such a big deal breaker, but then my cousin gave birth to a little angel a few weeks later and -not content with all our grandmother's antiques and heirlooms - she stole my name. Back to the drawing board.
Let me interrupt here and tell you I had some strict criteria for a name:
1. It had to be something that was neither too common nor too out-there.
2. I wanted our child to have nickname options. I've always hated that my name can't be shortened.
3. I wanted our child to be named after someone special to us.
4. No awkward initials or monograms.
When I finally got pregnant in the fall of 2010 we had to get serious about a name. Katherine had fallen by the wayside, and we needed some good candidates. Elvis suggested Heidi for a girl, which I loved immediately. I could just picture a little girl with Elvis' golden hair, hunting Easter eggs in a little princess dress (you caught me, I can still picture it). I think I was the one who suggested Henry for a boy. They both fit all my criteria, and they had a bonus: Both are German names (to honor my heritage).
When we found out I was going to have a boy, we were over the moon. I just loved the name Henry, and still do. It's a good solid name: even the nickname we chose is a classic (Hank). I know nobody will have difficulty spelling it. And he's named after some great men: Hank Aaron, Hank Williams, King Henry VIII of England, and his Poppa (with whom he shares a middle name). And I LOVE its meaning: Ruler of the house. What could be more appropriate for a baby?
At the end of the day, I'm just glad to be able to say that I adore my son's name more every time I hear it. Way to go, team!
What are your childrens' names, or names you love? Or, what are some of the strangest names you've heard?
Hahaha! I joined your blog because I was scrolling through blogs one night and your's stood out to me as pretty cute and funny. Obviously we have a connection because I did a blog entry about naming my tribe! What a funny coincidence! (Also our oldest is Enzo~the Italian form of Henry) Anyway, you asked about names, my blog is jonesld.blogspot.com (keeping up with the joneses) and the bit about names is called A Rose by any Other Name. I put it up in June 2012. Check it out if you have a minute!
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