colliemommie | Less exciting, if more immediate, baby names

Oh the joys of naming babies.

This whole making a "short list" for names is much harder than I expected. Apparently, somewhere in the back of my mind I assumed I'd marry someone who was Ukranian like me, or at least some brand of Slavic. I like Ivan (Vanya), Istvan, and various versions of Nicholas for boys and Irina, Elena, Anastazia, Theodosia, and Sohpia for girls.

Problem is, I married Mr. WASP (well, WASC now, he covnerted to Catholicism). Seriously, the family tree his mother has constructed has over 21,000 people on it, goes back to before the Norman Conquest, and contains names like Holland, Howard, Kendall, Neville, deQuincy and Arden. Grandmothers with shady pasts? This family has Katherine Swynford, nee deRoet, aka John of Gaunt's lemain. My baby wil also be the sixteenth-generation grandchild of St. Thomas More. While that makes me really happy (I love More), Istvan does not go with our last name, to put it mildly.

Plus the fact that Bruce has come up with some really nutso names. They say that you never really know a person until you live with them...I say you only truly know someone after you try to name a baby with them. I apparently managed to fall in love with a man who thinks Penelope is the greatest thing in girls' names. These sort of things need to be disclosed before any legal ties are enacted.

He also likes Lucius, Kyle, Nicolette, Mercedes (Mercy), and Glencora. Now I have nothing against Glencora. I really like Trollope, the Palliser novels especially. It has a nice Scots feel to it that goes great with our last name. I like the nickname Cora. However, we have a 5 year-old collie named Glencora. I do call her Button half the time, but this is not a stupid dog. She knows what her name is. Down this path madness lies.

We also have the additional issue that Bruce would really like any boy to be Robert Bruce K the third. Oh dear lord. Why? Can't he be Robert John or Robert Nicholas? I'd really like one of the baby's names to be from my family. Any and all children we have will have his last name, and call me selfish, but I'd like something in their names to be mine. Plus Bruce hates his name. Never has liked it. So why would you do that to your child? And the whole "third" thing. Anyone who calls the hypothetical RBKIII "Trey" will have their ass kicked by Mrs. RBKII.

I understand naming boys after their fathers. I am all for it. My brother is John Matthew, dad is John Nicholas, grandpa was John no middle name, great-grandad was Nicholas. I'm Nicola after him.

Mom's side has my grandfather, Joseph Francis, my uncle Joseph Thomas, and my cousin Joseph (I think William). I just don't get the identical names with the numbers. Seems a little self-important to me.Plus the practical side: you would not believe what issues it causes with the government and credit ratings to have two people with the same name at the same official address for nearly 30 years. Huge pain.

Girls names, again, are tricky. The really Slavic-sounding ones are out, and Sophia is too popular. I found English versions of some names that I like, but Bruce hates Irene and Helen. We do know that the middle name would be Elizabeth. I made deals. (Not really. But I've always liked St. Elizabeth, and she's the patron of barren women and women who have difficulty having children. Incidentally, she got to name her son John, instead of after his father. Maybe I need to page an angel to talk to Bruce. hmm...)

So no joy on boy's names. He wants RBKIII, and I want Robert John or Robert Nicholas.

We do have two front-runners for girls that we both like: Elena Elizabeth and Christina Elizabeth. I like Elena best, but Christina isn't bad. It reminds me of the girl from Flambards, and she had a lot to recommend her.

Less exciting, if more immediate, baby names

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