What's in a Name?

One of the more interesting things Jude and I have realized is that the older you are when you have a child, the harder it is to find a suitable name. Not to agree on a name, mind you, but to find a name. Many names that might otherwise be perfectly fine won't work, for the simple reason that one of us is carrying baggage around attached to a name as a result of a past relationship, incident or unpleasant memory.

We're having a boy, so certain names are off limits because I don't want to be reminded of one of Jude's ex-boyfriends every time I tell my son to stop pulling the cat's tail. Similarly, crushes she has or in the past, has had, on celebrities or public figures eliminates other names . . . no Matthew (Broderick), no Fred (LeBlanc), no Matt (Damon), etc. You get the idea.

Then, of course, there's the fact we have different ideas about what would be a appropriate name for our son. Early on in the process, Jude mentioned she liked biblical names. "Great," I said. "Me, too. Like Malachi, Ezekiel or Jeremiah." "Uh, no," she replied. "Like Luke or Mark." Wow. Jude also rejected, out of hand, "Psalms" and "Moses."

No one believes this, but we haven't selected a name yet. When friends ask if we have decided on a name, I remind them that Jude and I are the type of people who pack the night before we are scheduled to leave on a 10-day trip. Seriously. Also, we do agree that as silly as it may sound, we want to actually see our son first, before we decide on a name for certain. I mean, we don't want to settle on "George," then see our son for the first time after he is born and realize he looks more like a "Henry."

Theoretically, we have a list of possible names, although we haven't really started compiling an actual list. We do agree, however, that either one of us can exercise veto power to exclude a name from the list if that name, for whatever reason, is just not palatable. With that in mind, Jude has vetoed "Phinneus," "Huck," "Earl," "Tater," Woodrowe" and "Theodore."

I find myself thinking about names a lot, these days. Especially in church . . . and when I'm driving . . . and when I'm trying to sleep . . . and when I'm running. In other words, most of the time.