The Name Game
Grandbaby #4 is scheduled to arrive sometime in June. He has a name, or so I've been told, but Meagan and Andy have decided, yet again, to withhold that information until he arrives, just in case they change their minds at the last minute.
Choosing a name can be a difficult proposition. Before Erin and Meagan were born, I remember checking out various "Name Your Baby" books from our local public library. Back then, thirty-some years ago, we didn't have the luxury of the Internet to make our research easy and relatively painless. Neither did we have the option of finding out, halfway through a pregnancy, whether we would be having a boy or a girl, so we had to be ready with two complete names.
Choosing a baby's name should be much simpler now, or at least, you would think so. But now, in addition to choosing just the right name that sounds pleasing to the new parents-to-be, young couples often consider the all-important meaning of each name, and whether or not any potential name is too popular or too unique.
Uniqueness matters to many parents, but some parents go to greater extremes than others.
My mother has cautioned her children and grandchildren to avoid choosing a name like hers, LaRae, which she always felt was too different from other names. I think it must have been hard for her to grow up with a French-sounding name when her entire family, and many community members, were of German heritage. Besides, she always had to spell her name for people, who invariably forgot to capitalize the R in the middle of her name. (As an aside, I'll also mention that Mom and Dad were thinking ahead when they decided to choose a headstone and have it placed on their burial plot at the local cemetery, to be ready when it is needed someday. But, you guessed it, the headstone had to be completely redone, because Mom's name was spelled wrong. I have seen the second stone, though, and the R is finally capitalized, just as it should be.)
In recent years, I've discovered that quite a few parents purposefully use creative spelling to make their children's names unique. Even names that used to have one conventional spelling can now be spelled several different ways, which means that nearly every elementary-aged child needs to be prepared to spell his or her name out loud whenever the need arises.
And then, there are those creative parents who decide to make up a one-of-a-kind name for their precious little bundle. Some of the names are beautiful, like the little Kalandra I met in my first year of teaching Kindergarten. Unfortunately, other names are just awkward. Sometimes, the spelling doesn't match the pronunciation at all, or the name just sounds too quirky, out of place, or even evil.
When I bring up this subject, Meagan likes to remind me that her name is not spelled the most conventional way. In my defense, I will just say that the spelling of her name is very common in Ireland, where it originated, and besides, the extra a in the middle indicates that the first syllable of her name is pronounced with a long-a sound rather than the short-e sound that is used in the more familiar version of her name.
See? We had good reasons for spelling her name the way we did. And so do most parents who choose to spell or pronounce their children's names the way they do.
It isn't unusual, though, for children to be bullied because their names are too unique, or too easily rhymed with some negative word, or too out-of-fashion. For these reasons, I think it is important for Moms and Dads to at least consider whether or not their children will be teased or embarrassed because of their names.
It's no wonder that parents often agonize over this one, vital decision, because our names identify us for our whole lives.
I can't wait to meet my new little grandson, in just a few short weeks. I am looking forward to seeing who he looks like and what his personality will be. And, I can't wait to call him by the name Meagan and Andy have chosen--or the name that they will finally choose. I'll let you know who he is, soon enough.
Choosing a name can be a difficult proposition. Before Erin and Meagan were born, I remember checking out various "Name Your Baby" books from our local public library. Back then, thirty-some years ago, we didn't have the luxury of the Internet to make our research easy and relatively painless. Neither did we have the option of finding out, halfway through a pregnancy, whether we would be having a boy or a girl, so we had to be ready with two complete names.
Choosing a baby's name should be much simpler now, or at least, you would think so. But now, in addition to choosing just the right name that sounds pleasing to the new parents-to-be, young couples often consider the all-important meaning of each name, and whether or not any potential name is too popular or too unique.
Uniqueness matters to many parents, but some parents go to greater extremes than others.
My mother has cautioned her children and grandchildren to avoid choosing a name like hers, LaRae, which she always felt was too different from other names. I think it must have been hard for her to grow up with a French-sounding name when her entire family, and many community members, were of German heritage. Besides, she always had to spell her name for people, who invariably forgot to capitalize the R in the middle of her name. (As an aside, I'll also mention that Mom and Dad were thinking ahead when they decided to choose a headstone and have it placed on their burial plot at the local cemetery, to be ready when it is needed someday. But, you guessed it, the headstone had to be completely redone, because Mom's name was spelled wrong. I have seen the second stone, though, and the R is finally capitalized, just as it should be.)
In recent years, I've discovered that quite a few parents purposefully use creative spelling to make their children's names unique. Even names that used to have one conventional spelling can now be spelled several different ways, which means that nearly every elementary-aged child needs to be prepared to spell his or her name out loud whenever the need arises.
And then, there are those creative parents who decide to make up a one-of-a-kind name for their precious little bundle. Some of the names are beautiful, like the little Kalandra I met in my first year of teaching Kindergarten. Unfortunately, other names are just awkward. Sometimes, the spelling doesn't match the pronunciation at all, or the name just sounds too quirky, out of place, or even evil.
When I bring up this subject, Meagan likes to remind me that her name is not spelled the most conventional way. In my defense, I will just say that the spelling of her name is very common in Ireland, where it originated, and besides, the extra a in the middle indicates that the first syllable of her name is pronounced with a long-a sound rather than the short-e sound that is used in the more familiar version of her name.
See? We had good reasons for spelling her name the way we did. And so do most parents who choose to spell or pronounce their children's names the way they do.
It isn't unusual, though, for children to be bullied because their names are too unique, or too easily rhymed with some negative word, or too out-of-fashion. For these reasons, I think it is important for Moms and Dads to at least consider whether or not their children will be teased or embarrassed because of their names.
It's no wonder that parents often agonize over this one, vital decision, because our names identify us for our whole lives.
I can't wait to meet my new little grandson, in just a few short weeks. I am looking forward to seeing who he looks like and what his personality will be. And, I can't wait to call him by the name Meagan and Andy have chosen--or the name that they will finally choose. I'll let you know who he is, soon enough.
But, amazingly, God already knows all there is to know about him: For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:13
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