Baby Names



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I hadn't realised how hard it would be to pick names for our baby.

For a while before we were pregnant, possibly even before we were married, we had talked about names we liked. Of course, at that point it was all hypothetical, way off in the future, our kids someday names. (You have all done that too, right!)

 In fact we had quite a long list each of names that we liked. Some we could agree on, some we couldn't. (Dave, I'm sorry, but I still think Indiana is a girls name. And calling him "Indy" like Indiana Jones isn't going to make it any more butch. Or make him get less beat up on the playground. iloveyoubabe ;) )

Throw into the mix the fact that I work in a school. That means I come across lots of kids. And lots of slightly feral kids. The kind of kids when you hear their name alone, not even in reference to that child, it makes you shudder. Three years working in a school, and two years teaching swimming to kids prior to that eliminates a lot of names.

I also have a name that is easily mispronounced. Sharen. It is NOT SAID LIKE "SHARON!!!!!"
Sorry. Apparently I still have some undealt with anger about this issue.

Clearly, names that might be mispronounced are off the list.

I have always been a little worried that when the time came to name my child I would pick a name I loved at the time, but then what if I hated it in a few months or years? Has that ever happened to anyone?
It's funny, how now this little baby is REAL, and on it's way to our arms and life, that a lot of the names we really liked, we suddenly don't like anymore.

I have realised that it is an incredible responsibility to give our child his or her name. It becomes their identity. It is their label for life. I want to give our baby a name that has a great meaning to it. Something that they might be able to identify with, or will be a facet of their personality. I love the idea of finding a Scripture that fits the meaning of the name we choose, and that becoming like a prayer or spoken word over their life.

Naming this child is a great honor and responsibility, one we are not taking lightly. It is the first major decision we will make for his or her life, and one that they will wear the consequences of for the rest of their life.

No pressure right?!