My wife is pregnant with our third child. I have a son, Bobby, who turns seven this weekend and a daughter, Mary, who just turned four. The sequel to Bob and Mary will be released sometime in July.
With every new kid comes a name and my wife and I get to decide what that name will be. My wife and I prefer names that are both traditional and family. My son is named after my maternal grandfather, Robert, while my daughter is named after my wife's maternal grandmother, Mary. Maybe not original but in this day and age, it seems it is becoming rare to honor family members by naming new additions after them. Heck, I'm named after my own great-grandfather so it's a family tradition. Only problem is that my wife and I are running short on good, solid grandparent and great-grandparent names for our future kids (that is our children's grandparents and great-grandparents).
As I stated earlier, Robert is the name I gave my son after one of my grandfathers. Problem is, if we have another son, my paternal grandpa's name is out of the running. Two reasons: One, I wasn't close to him (he was a good man but because of my parent's divorce, I didn't get very close to my dad's side of the family) and two, I'm not naming a son Elwood.
Other names borne by our parents and grandparents are out because of other reasons. My dad's name, Craig, is out because, well, Craig just doesn't sound right for a baby. And I'm not really that close with my dad. My father-in-law's name is LeRoy. Look, my father-in-law is a great man but his name is still LeRoy. Some other male names on both my side and my wife's side have their own problems as well. Female names on both sides are out. Two are too old-fashioned and two are weird. Damn weird.
Thing is, you're probably saying to yourselves, just pick a name you like. If it has to be a traditional name, fine, just find a good one that you guys both like. Look, fella, I don't tell you how to name your kids, you don't tell me how to name mine. It is very important to both me and my wife that all our children carry first names that honor either their grandparents or great-grandparents. It's necessary for us.
I've actually gone back to to my great-grandparents and looked at names. I found one that my wife and I both like for a girl: Clara. And one of my wife's grandfather's (she has three because one died and her grandmother remarried) is actually okay: Edward (Teddy for short?). I don't know, but right now, that's all we've got.
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3 comments:
Let's see - you are Joe, and the kids are Bobby and soon to be (maybe) Teddy. Just need a son John to grown up to be president of the US. :)
Heh. I have thought about my taste in names and how it apparently coincides with Joe Kennedy Senior's taste in names. As a Republican, there is certainly no attempt to copy the Kennedys. Oddly, I also like the names John or Jack for a boy. It's not a family name but if my wife and I have a boy (and we name him Edward) and then another boy somewhere down the line, John or Jack (or both since Jack is the familiar form of John) will likely be his name.
It should be noted while I respect and admire both John and Bobby Kennedy, I have nothing but contempt for Senator Edward Kennedy.
:)
Agreed completely on opinions of the more famous holders of the names.
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