The Name Game
Possibly boring baby stuff, so feel free to skip if you like.
Choosing a name seems like an immensely weighty task, and yet fun at the same time. What if the child's peronality never matches the name? What happens if a name, after we've bestowed it, becomes horribly besmirched by some infamous criminal or traitor? I'd prefer something not too common, yet not too "out there" either. Thus far the Captain has been of little help...he is very noncommittal when I volunteer selections. So, for the hell of it, here are some of our current faves. Feel free to make comments, fling out additional suggestions, point and laugh, whatever.
Boys--
Julian: seems strong and masculine and yet artistic, sleek and vaguely sexy. I like that it shortens to "Jules." The only Julian I've ever known in real life is a Mardi-Gras float artist in New Orleans, who is a great guy I'm honored to call friend.
Michael: (Captain's suggestion) I think it's a little too common, but the name of one the archangel has got to be powerful. Also, it is the name of the man who introduced Captain and I. And in Captain's words, "I have many friends who are Mikes, and Mikes are always good people."
Frederick: (also Captain's suggestion) The name of his much-admired and loved maternal grandfather. I personally think it's a shade old-fashioned, and hate the shortening to "Fred" (although "Rick" isn't so bad.) Perhaps as a middle name?
Orion: One of my current favorites for boys. I like the reference to the stars, as in the constellation (I've always felt that there was something magical in the stars we saw when Captain and I met in the Caribbean). Also the fact that in Greek mythology, Orion was a great hunter who was the son of the God of the Sea. Lots of good background there so far--I still need to look up the full mythological history. Plus, it's identifiable but uncommon. Minus: tendency to get confused or misspelled as O'Ryan?
Valen: Probably the most oddball of the boys' names, I came across it on a list of "alternative baby names" and liked it. Does not seem to have a history or meaning, although I like the vague relations to the words "valiant", "valerian", and "valentine."
Girls--
Girls names have been more difficult, they all seem to be either too common, too old-ladyish, or too frou-frou girlified.
Alexandria: (Captain's suggestion) He had a close friend named "Alexandra" who unfortunately met an untimely death a few years ago, but I felt it would be far too creepy to name a child after a murdered woman. We compromised on the possibility of Alexandria, which I think is a little fussy, but I like the idea of shortening to Xander.
Sabrina: aside from the teenage-witch reference, I think it's quite elegant; somehow delicate, strong and beautiful all at the same time. And by the time the girl would be old enough for it to count, Sabrina the teenage witch should have faded into the collective pop culture...right??
Neris, Thalassa: two names derived from mythological sea beauties, perhaps a little too odd (although Thalassa Thorne has a catchy ring to it.) I've been favoring names with either sea or star connections, due to the manner in which Captain and I met.
Okay...comments?
Choosing a name seems like an immensely weighty task, and yet fun at the same time. What if the child's peronality never matches the name? What happens if a name, after we've bestowed it, becomes horribly besmirched by some infamous criminal or traitor? I'd prefer something not too common, yet not too "out there" either. Thus far the Captain has been of little help...he is very noncommittal when I volunteer selections. So, for the hell of it, here are some of our current faves. Feel free to make comments, fling out additional suggestions, point and laugh, whatever.
Boys--
Julian: seems strong and masculine and yet artistic, sleek and vaguely sexy. I like that it shortens to "Jules." The only Julian I've ever known in real life is a Mardi-Gras float artist in New Orleans, who is a great guy I'm honored to call friend.
Michael: (Captain's suggestion) I think it's a little too common, but the name of one the archangel has got to be powerful. Also, it is the name of the man who introduced Captain and I. And in Captain's words, "I have many friends who are Mikes, and Mikes are always good people."
Frederick: (also Captain's suggestion) The name of his much-admired and loved maternal grandfather. I personally think it's a shade old-fashioned, and hate the shortening to "Fred" (although "Rick" isn't so bad.) Perhaps as a middle name?
Orion: One of my current favorites for boys. I like the reference to the stars, as in the constellation (I've always felt that there was something magical in the stars we saw when Captain and I met in the Caribbean). Also the fact that in Greek mythology, Orion was a great hunter who was the son of the God of the Sea. Lots of good background there so far--I still need to look up the full mythological history. Plus, it's identifiable but uncommon. Minus: tendency to get confused or misspelled as O'Ryan?
Valen: Probably the most oddball of the boys' names, I came across it on a list of "alternative baby names" and liked it. Does not seem to have a history or meaning, although I like the vague relations to the words "valiant", "valerian", and "valentine."
Girls--
Girls names have been more difficult, they all seem to be either too common, too old-ladyish, or too frou-frou girlified.
Alexandria: (Captain's suggestion) He had a close friend named "Alexandra" who unfortunately met an untimely death a few years ago, but I felt it would be far too creepy to name a child after a murdered woman. We compromised on the possibility of Alexandria, which I think is a little fussy, but I like the idea of shortening to Xander.
Sabrina: aside from the teenage-witch reference, I think it's quite elegant; somehow delicate, strong and beautiful all at the same time. And by the time the girl would be old enough for it to count, Sabrina the teenage witch should have faded into the collective pop culture...right??
Neris, Thalassa: two names derived from mythological sea beauties, perhaps a little too odd (although Thalassa Thorne has a catchy ring to it.) I've been favoring names with either sea or star connections, due to the manner in which Captain and I met.
Okay...comments?