The Name Game

Here is a partial list of the criteria we’re considering when deciding on a name for our new baby:

- Is it pretty, but not too sugary sweet?
- Does it sound good with our last name?
- Will her initials spell something inappropriate?
- Does it work equally well for a little baby and a grown woman?
- Will it be mispronounced/misspelled her whole life?
- Will people make it into a nickname? If so, shouldn’t we just name her the nickname?
- How will it look on a resume?
- Does it sound like a pet’s name/food item/soap opera character?
- Will people frequently confuse it with something similar?
- Will it make her the target of schoolyard bullies?
- Is it too common? Is it too weird?
- Does it fit a little too comfortably into the phrase, “Gentlemen, put your hands together…now appearing on the main stage, let’s hear it for [insert name here]!!”?

In short, it’s dang hard to pick a name for a new baby. And so, when Michael and I finally decide on one, we’re planning to keep it to ourselves until after the baby’s born, lest input from others compel us to reconsider. In reality, there’s no name everyone will love, and people will be a lot more polite once the ink’s dry on the birth certificate.

Truth be told, we decided on our frontrunner name option really early on. We had just found out I was pregnant and I’d seen a name in my new baby-name book. For the sake of explanation, I’ll use the code name “Goldilocks.” I said to Michael, “I really like Goldilocks.” He said, “I really like Goldilocks, too. If it’s a girl, we should just go with that.” After several months, we both still really like it.

And so that’s what we’re thinking it’ll be. Of course, it all hinges on our final, most important criteria – once she’s born, do we take a look at her and say, “Yep, that’s our little Goldilocks”? Because all we really want is a name that fits our baby just right.