Friday, December 31, 2010

Losing Sleep!

I can't decide on a name for little sis!  I mean I tell everyone I talk to that we've liked a certain name for a really long time and I still love the name but the reaction from my side of the family has me losing sleep at nights over it. I've spent at least 5 hours altogether in the middle of the night just this week thinking only about this.  I honestly can't think of another name that I like. Why is naming a child so hard??? Why do people have such strong opinions? And then if we do end up defying my family and naming her what we want I can't think of a middle name. Ugh!!!!!

The big problem is that I have specific requirements for this name like:
  • I can't have had a student with the same name. This limits the list considerably when you do an average of 30 students times 4 years. For those of you who don't do multiplication that's 120 names out the window!
  • I actually don't want to name our little girl after anyone I know or have ever met. That's what I mean by "Unique". It's not that I don't admire anyone enough to want to name her after them. It's not that I don't love their names either. Maybe I just want her to have a name of her own. Or maybe I don't want her to have the problem of teachers having to say her last name with her first cause there are 3 other girls with the same name. I'm not sure why really. 
  • If you would meet someone in an assisted living home with the same name it's not gonna happen, cause I've worked there too. I know those names are coming back but I immediately can smell and old person smell when I hear the name. Dumb I know. Especially when I have a name like that. Anna is an old name and I love my name. Yep, I'm ridiculous.
  • It has to have a positive immediate word association.  That's why the name Chester wouldn't work for me when John would say that's what we're going to name Cache. I would immediately think, "Chester the molester". Or I love my Grandma's middle name, Arabelle, but when I think of that name I think of a milking cow. Not what you want others to think of your little girl.
  • And... that's another thing. We named our first kid Cache. You can't have one child named Cache and the next child named Sally. That just doesn't work. One name we really like is Valli, but again, when we would introduce our children as "Hi, this is Cache and this is Valli", people may laugh right out loud at us or even worse, them. 
  • I also like names that have to do with nature or a place, or can be associated with the month somehow. Hence, Cache. Since this little girl will most likely be born in February I've tried to think of names that aren't too ridiculous. Valentine just isn't going to work for a name. 
  • I don't want it to be too trendy. Again I don't want her to have to go by a nick name or be called by first and last name just because there are 3 other Jessica's in her class. Yes, that's happened to all Jessica's I'm sure. But Jessica really is such a pretty name.
  • It needs to be able to have a good nick name. I like the name Dixie, but she may get called Trixie Dixie. Not too positive. 
  • It must be gender specific. I don't want anyone wondering if she's a boy or a girl. The teacher should be able to look at the student list before she/he sees the kids and be able to put them in a seating chart boy -girl- boy- girl if wanted or needed.
  Yes, teaching is part of the reason I am no longer capable of choosing a name. You can see I need help in more ways than one. If you have heard of any names that fit my unreasonable criteria I would love to hear them. Just know that I may come up with some irrational reason for not liking it so don't be offended if I don't choose it.

Also know that just because I am so picky with my own kids names I have not and never will be as critical of others choices for their own children.  :)

9 comments:

Lisa said...

Tough criteria! But I love helping pick names, so here's my ideas...

Since you said nature/places names, flower names are sometimes really nice. Lily is mega popular now, so I'd shy away from that one, but there's lots of other options like:

Violet
Iris
Laurel
Ivy
Rose

And I also vote for the name you guys like. To heck with what other people think! It's your kid, and if you find a truly unique name, SHE will define it. Not the other way around! Good luck!

Annie said...

We aren't telling people the name until our baby is born. Then no one will say anything about the name (and if they do, that would be insanely insensitive). I won't name a child after any of my former students either. That's around 720 names for me...gooooood luck girl!

julie said...

Annie is right not to tell. Some of our family members seriously freaked out an insane amount at the name Finn. SO much so, that even though he wasn't born yet I still thought it was so mean! I mean, saying you don't love it is one thing...going on for months is another. And what do you know, now that he is born, not one person has said something negative. Funny little rules.

So, if you have a name and love it...do it. After she is here and owns that name, they won't oppose it anymore. It's amazing how quickly people get over it. One family member who was most opposed to Finn said, yeah, it's fine now. Haha, and she was the worst! So don't lose sleep!

Trixie Dixie isn't one of the worst nicknames out there. :) And every kid gets a nickname, no matter what. It's a rite of passage. We've all survived. And if not first name, then last. So basically, Quit losing sleep! hahaha. I know, easier said than done. If you want validation, tell me your name. I'll be kind. Even if I don't like it. But of course I'll like it. Okay..this is too long.

Lisa said...

I love the name that you and John picked a while ago. It's pretty and feminine and all hers. It's unique, but not at all strange.

In the end, regardless of what you name little sis, the people in her life will love her for who she is, not what she is named. And they'll all come around to the name when they meet her anyway.

Whatever you choose, I'm all for keeping it to yourself until she's born since it's such a stress. You DO NOT need stress right now!

Love you!

Katie said...

Ha Anna! Loved this post...so funny! But so true! A lot of people in our fam didn't like William as a name...they kept thinking of all the nicknames he could be called, like Willy (ew!). But now that he's here, Will totally fits him, and no one calls him Willy (whew!). People shouldn't voice their opinions so much...Especially to a pregnant woman!

Totally agree with the previous posters about doing what you like. And I LOVE the suggestions above...Laurel and Violet. SO cute.

Cassidy said...

Yes, just keep the name to yourself until she is born. My MIL hated both of our kids names, but that wasn't making me change my mind one little bit.

And I love the suggestion of Ivy, so cute!

Traci said...

Oh you crack me up! Problems only a pregnant woman would ever even worry about! :) We had a hard time naming Tag, it literally took us until we walked out of the hospital to write his name on the birth certificate. But I love it now and it fits!
Just wait till you see her, and besides girls are supposed to be easier to name than girls! :)

M and M said...

It was so fun to see you today! I hope your appointment went well and that things are looking good. I am sure grateful for your example and friendship. You are amazing!

Court and Brade said...

i love the name you told me a while ago... But here is the thing-- DONT let it effect you if some people DONT like the name... cause they will STILL love your little girl, regardless of if they don't prefer the name. i know, i know... it is SO HARD to pick out a name. BUT honestly, after i had Coop, I decided it DOESN'T matter what you name your kid... it doesn't matter what others think. the only thing that matters is that YOU AND JON love it! Oh, also, she doesn't have to have a middle name! really, swenson can be a "middle" name when she gets married. brady and i actually don't know if our girls will have middle names, we are undecided. this is long, BUT i think the name you were thinking is absolutely beautiful and very unique, without being a word you guys made up ha ha. i hope you choose it, not just cause i think it is beautiful, but because you really love it :) miss you.