Thinking about names

So, if the baby is healthy and good, which it seems to be so far, we are going to have to choose a name for it. That's a daunting task. I love names and I've planned baby names all my life. In junior high I wanted two girls named Tessa and Alyssa. I thought that pair was the height of chic. I named all my pets carefully and with human names.

So the fact that this is the big leagues, a real baby name, has me scared. I don't want to do it wrong. My friends named their son something "interesting and different" five years ago. Aiden. That's right. Just like every other little boy you meet. You can't walk through a classroom without tripping on three.

Then there is the friend of a friend who named her son Finnegan, no nickname. I think it's selfishly pretentious to name your kid something terrible just to announce to the world that your smartypants self reads James Joyce. I am sure she doesn't think it's terrible. She picked it after all. I just can't imagine how that was the best name of all the names in the world.

Then we have friends who asked us if they could claim the name Jayden in case they ever had a boy. We quickly agreed. They can happily have Jayden, a name that makes me think of high school students, not the college educated professionals they are. It makes Finnegan sound more and more appealing.

It's so easy to judge. This one too hot. This one too cold. But which one is just right?

So today I asked Dad about his grandparents' names. I am interested in family names and I don't know past my own grandparents.

So, my great-grandparents are: Mary and Walter Alva, Myrtle Millie and Charles. Dad doesn't know what Mary's middle name was or if she had one. He told me Charles' middle name and my pregnancy brain has forgotten. Not a bad list. Still, I don't think Myrtle is making a comeback this generation.