Your Pregnancy: Week 22 for Dad
By: ePregnancy
Noms de Guerre
It’s time to talk names. Baby names. The moniker you will permanently brand your littlest loved one with for all time. Names are an expression of your style as parents and a reflection of the child to which they are assigned. The pressure to pick the right name can feel like an Acme anvil is teetering just above your Wile E.-esque head. So, poll your friends (you might want to stay away from family, unless you love Aunt Gert’s crazy middle name enough to use it). Read lists. Pick up books. Most of all, have fun with it -- this can be a great opportunity for connection between you and your partner.
Daddy Dispatches
Tony, father to a gorgeous baby girl: The topic of names has come up many times among my dad friends. Just a few weeks ago a couple of us discussed the banning of names in certain countries, while others have all weighed in on the endless search for the perfect name. Few of us opt for the George Foreman method of child naming, so the rest of us are left to analyze and ruminate over the thousands of naming options available.
Picking something that's somewhat unique without being embarrassing or trendy isn't easy. That's why there are so many Aidan's and Emma's running around the playgrounds nowadays. I stumbled across a cool tool the other day which helps you chart the popularity of names over time, which would have been an awesome resource before I went into the psychotic tailspin that left my daughter nameless for two days after her birth. Sydney, for example, seems to have been virtually non-existent before "Alias," while Myrtle seems to have been out of favor since before my parents were born. I'm disappointed that my own name seems to have fallen out of favor, despite its prominence among the Mafioso and breakfast cereals. Who wouldn't want to be associated with that?
There are other tools out there if you're really looking for something unique, but for my money the best source of names has just started its preseason. That's right, the National Football League sports some of the greatest names in the world, endlessly repeated by Al Michaels and Kenny Albert, modified by Chris Berman, and programmed into Madden '07. What child wouldn't be proud to be named Boomer, Trung, or Amederboro? Who's going to pick a fight with Kwaku? Or Demon? Or Takeo?
Of course, I am always happy to help expecting parents with the tough decisions in life. Hopefully these tools and suggestions will make your decision a little easier. Now if you don't mind, I have to go play with my daughter, Spergon.