Monday, June 16, 2008

What's in a name?

I find myself completely confounded at the prospect of naming this little one. It's important to me that not only does it sound good on the surface, but that it has a really good meaning. Shakespeare said, "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." But is that true?

A few that I've liked fell off the list quickly when I found out they meant things like bitter or tiresome. Seriously...who in good conscience could give their daughter a name that means those things? I happen to believe that the name bears real significance - that it's one of the first real identifying characteristics we place on our children, and that the name we speak over them has life in it. And so I'm stuck.

I am 40,000 names deep into my 75,000 baby names book. I have a long list of maybes, but none that really sing to me yet. I have 11 weeks to go - let's pray that changes soon!

13 comments:

daedra said...

elyse = noble
You can have it if you want. I'll steal Naomi, I don't care if backwards it spells i moan . :)

Mighty Morphin' Mama said...

Me too!
Funny though, as important as meaning is to me, I can't for the life of me remember the meanings of my kid's names without looking them up. oops.

Brittan said...

our child's name does not even exist on any baby name websites! therefore it doesn't have a meaning unless you pronounce it or spell it differently. but i understand what you're saying. tricky, tricky!

daedra said...

mitten

Sarah said...

I can't do Elise - it's my niece's middle name. I do like it though :)

k@lakly said...

I went with names that weren't even on the radar, my son's is now and my daughters will never be, I hope.
I looked for surnames that incorporated our heritage. Maybe that will give you some new ideas:)

niobe said...

I completely agree with you.

But, just as a complicating factor, some (not all, but some) of the "meanings" given for baby names don't really have all that much to do with the name itself, but seem more like an attempt to give some kind of significance to a very abstract or ambiguous word.

Jeremy said...

I bet you could get some good product endorsements if you named your baby "Adidas" or "Jet Blue" or even "Mountain Dew".

Or you could just take your name and Nate's name and mash them up and come up with a new name like Natarah or Sarte (that's pronounced sar-TAY).

When all else fails, name your kid after a cartoon character, like Betty or Veronica.

Jeremy said...

or you could be lame and come up with a name that doesn't exist anywhere and doesn't mean anything.

Like Xenu or Jesus.

R said...

i think that giving names, be it babies or puppies, is one of the most stressful!
i chose Tae because it was korean. it does mean something dum like Kick or Uses feet, but i thought it fitting with soccer. oh well, it was better than "bang" or "mo'
actualaly, i kinda like mo.

linds said...

Lindsey Star Ross... a perfect name... absolutely perfect. ;)

Kendra Lynn said...

Names are very important..for sure.
My girls are Meredith and Kelsey. They both have sort of weird meanings..."Dweller at Ship Island" and "Keeper of the Sea" or something to that effect. But, they both symbolized stability to me...dweller and keeper...stability. I liked them.
My sister just found out she is pregnant again, and is having a horrible time thinking of names! It is never easy.

Danafesto said...

Sarah, let us vote on your faves? Or is that too private, like, you don't want me to come up to your little girl when she's 5 and say, "I know your mom thought about naming you Ergelgru"

I promise I won't do that.

Although, I was the one who sided with Nate about Ross Ross Ross for Joshua. lol. That kid made out like a bandit.