Friday, February 5, 2010

Name Our Baby!

We should find out if we are having a boy or girl the first week in March. Until then we have agonized over the boy name. Not only has it tortured us but we have tortured almost every one we know as well. Believe me, all of our friends, family, and acquaintances wish we would make a decision so we will stop talking about it. Or they have been very dedicated to nominating as many names as possible to the point where we are overwhelmed.




We have the girl name decided but I am 95% sure this baby is a boy. Why? Well, there is the very subjective reason of "it feels like a boy" and then the almost scientific test that I took at Walgreens.

The instructions that come with the test clearly state not to purchase boy/girl clothes based on the results and while it also says there is 87% accuracy, most of the customer feedback is "test was wrong". That could just mean that the people who were upset that the test was wrong posted, but whatever. So, based on my boy results on this test I am declaring that I will have a boy.

Brian refers to this test as the "voo doo gender test" and has decided to ignore the results. Let's talk about Brian's thinking process and how he likes to be right. He will ignore these test results because they are not scientific and will call me crazy for believing them. AS A RESULT, if the test is wrong and we are having a girl he can brag for the rest of our lives how I was gullible enough to believe the test. Now, if the test is right and we have a boy he can go on being apathetic about the test because, in the end, it isn't scientific and it was a 50/50 shot anyway. So in his mind he wins either way.

So let's talk names. I am a big believer in family names. Lily Karrine is named after our mothers, Lila and Karan. Jamison David is named after our fathers, Jim and David. In collecting the available male family names, while we admire and respect the people with those names, we don't think that they would fit our family. So then that opens up a huge world of possible name choices. I don't even know how to narrow it down because I feel almost the same way about all of them - BLAH. No names have won me over.

To make things more complicated, I love classic names where Brian tends to lean more towards widely known but unused names. Example? Atticus. Everyone knows Atticus because everyone has read To Kill A Mockingbird. (I would hope. If you have not read it stop reading this and go to Barnes & Noble and buy it. Then read it. Actually, you can read it a few times since once will never be enough.) But really people - should we do that to a little baby? Name it Atticus?? That's such a heavy name.

For the past few months we have kept a running list of possible names. We are sure that there are more names out there but we just haven't thought of them (or haven't been suggested). This is what I'd like to do - I'll list our baby names below. I'd like you to not only vote for one of the names, but offer another name as a suggestion (if you have one). Just post your vote in the comment section. It can even be anonymous (mom - you better not post your vote anonymously 20 times).

In choosing the names here are some things we've kept in mind:

1. Needs to be 2 syllables since our last name is 1 syllable

2. Would like to have a nice nickname (example: We like Nicholas but cannot have Nick Whitt. Poor kid, we'd be subjecting him to years of teasing. Although that could make him stronger, more resilient, and an over all better human being. But why risk it?)

3. Would prefer that it's not too trendy (example: I LOVE the name Ethan but there are a bigillion Ethan's running around now)

Here are our names with our reasoning for choosing them. Drum roll please.....

1. Theodore (pro:nickname Teddy - we love that! con: Chipmunks?)

2. Charles (pro: classic name con: Prince Charles? I am not a fan of his ever since Diana died. I understand that he didn't cause her death but INDIRECTLY he did. If he had just not married Diana and proposed to Camilla when Camilla was single then Diana would still be alive. But I probably have just shared too much with you about my thoughts on Charles and Diana.Yes, I have more to share on the subject but will refrain from showing that I have dwelled way to long on the topic. I have sufficiently embarrased myself already)

3. Henry (pro: classic name con: not a favorite of Brian's, reminds me of a dog now that Lily and I read the Magic Treehouse books)

4. Gabriel (pro: great nickname - Gabe con: too angelic?)

5. Patrick (pro: similar to Patricia, Brian's grandmother's name, classic name con: Pat reminds us of that Saturday Night Live sketch...)

6. Finnegan/Phinneas (pro: nickname - Finn con: doesn't mean anything to us, it's just a random name)

7. Brady (pro: combination of Brian and Katie, nice, solid name con: kinda common name, doesn't stand out. Also, name meaning is "descendant of Bradach". That's barely a name meaning)

8. Callum (pro: we like the nickname Cal con: same as Finn, doesn't mean anything to us; it's just a random name)

9. Joel (pro: we like it con: technically it is only one syllable but if you drag it out it sounds like two. Especially if you're from below the Mason-Dixon)

10. Christian (pro: good name to live up to con: too close to my sisters name, Kristen. Could lead to some very confusing conversations)

11. Dalton (pro: family name on Whitt side con: hard to get a nickname from Dalton-inevitably the kid will be called Dalt)

So, if you would be so kind, please vote on one of these and if you have a suggestion add that too. We won't promise that the one with the highest votes will win but it will definitely influence us. We'd love to hear any feedback you have on the names as well, if you want to share.

And, just because it's fun (and for posterity's sake) here are the names that we have discarded for one reason or another:

Sebastian - reminds us of a certain animated crab

William - while it's a family name on all sides, we can't have Will Whitt

George - for an hour about two weeks ago I was convinced this was the perfect name. I blame hormones on that reasoning.

Jackson - already have Jamison. Can't have two names ending in "son".

Jonas - Obviously the best thing is that the kid would have a theme song thanks to Weezer. But that ended up being the reason it was tossed out. We couldn't talk about it without singing the song.

Crockett - This name is all over the Whitt side of the family in the early 1800's. I honestly think I would consider this name if we lived in the south. I couldn't do that to a kid up here. It would be equivalent to putting our son in those adorable short-alls with white knee-high socks and white shoes up here. You can do it in the south until the boy is around 6 but dress a boy like that in New York when he's over 18 months and you're in for it. That's painful for me because I love those outfits. Jamison would look ADORABLE to short alls with white knee highs.

Alright! That's it! Cast your votes!

16 comments:

Unknown said...

I love the name Callum...but I maybe don't want you to use it in case I can talk Nathan into it later on in our life. Names like Callum and Euan always remind me of fun times in Scotland, and I'm determined to take Nathan there someday! I mean, McDoniel and Anderson are both strong Scottish names, right? Probably I should switch gears because my comment is more about me than you, and that's not the point.

I love the name Brady...or Bradley, even though that wasn't actually one you were considering. And the good thing about Brady is that very few people in his generation will be familiar with the "Brady Bunch," but that phrase will be available to him if he wants to start an intramural team in college. He could be very clever.

Kelly said...

1) You totally crack me up. Like tears rolling down my face laughing.

2) Boy names are SO HARD. Ugh. We have an unfortunate last name situation where we can't use any name with a hard "s" sound. Curtis for instance would sound like Curi - Swiggains. yuck.

3) I like Callum and Finneas. They sound author-ish.

Matt and Rachel said...

I vote Charles...and I think Charlie is an adorable name for a little boy -- one we actually considered. I also like Nicholas & have heard some people calling him "cole" from the middle of the name.

One of my favorite names is Hamilton (duh) and we'd thought about that if we'd had a boy. I also LOVE Henry (which is one of Sharon's favorites). Good luck! I think #3 is the hardest to name since you 2 other names to match it with. :)

Also...have you checked the Chinese Gender Predictor? It was correct with all 3 of ours. Might be interesting...

Kristen said...

Callum? At first I misread it and thought you were naming my nephew Callous, like the things you get on your feet from wearing shoes that fit you wrong. Imagine if he got your feet. Then all the podiatrist would be thinking is how his name sounds like callous and he has horrible feet to go with it. Dalton? We can call him Dale for short, in honor of Dale Ernheart, Sr. RIP.

For all of this it is going to be a girl. Or, a hermaphrodite, which would make the naming even MORE difficult, if that is even humanly possible.

Lisa said...

Charles is my favorite on the list only because i like the nickname Charlie...not Chuck. It's a good name for a little boy, as well as a cute old man (when he grows up of course).
For a suggestion, how about Braden (or Brayden, Braeden, etc spellings.) Little different than Brady, but close enough that you may still like it.

Julie said...

This is a vote and a suggestion in one because I'm voting for Phinneas, but changing the spelling to Phinehas. This was one of our boy name finalists before we decided on James. Our kids have Bible names and I loved Phinehas (see Num.25) because he was a priest and a warrior, a zealous man who took God's will very seriously and was not afraid to do what needed to be done in a difficult situation. The clincher for me was that God himself commended Phinehas for his actions. There is a negative to this name - there is another Phinehas in the Bible, one of Eli's bad sons (1 Sam. 3-4). Anyway, we don't plan on having any more kids so the name is yours if you want it.
I'm sure whatever you guys choose will be great. Good luck to you.

mostoller said...

wow. You would think with 11 options at least one would be good. Out of those I would have to say Joel or....well no that was it, just Joel. I do like Jackson, even though you threw it out. Not sure why it matters if they both have "son" at the end, completely different name. Maybe even cooler because they both would have "son" at the end. And I liked the idea of Dalton..but when I said it outloud like 20 times quickly it sounded weird. So that one would be out for me.

Suggestions? Well I only made it through K browsing on-line through baby names and here is what I came up with. These aren't necessarily ones I love, but ones that are okay that you may like. Alden, Braden (I do like this name with Brady as a nick name because it is a little different), Carter, Collin, Easton, Fletcher (cause Fletch is a cool nickname) Garrison, Hayden, Harrison, Justus, Korbin. I will have to look L-Z later. And you know whatever you name your baby I will love them. Even if it is Callum and I get all itchy and think of Calamine lotion every time I see them.

Anonymous said...

I love Brady!! Such a cute name...and the combo of your names...great idea!
Suggestions: Travis, Sladen, Jacob, Wesley, Lucas...all had great nicknames

Nattaylor said...

How about Cooper - its a strong name and has a classic flair to it. It fits your 2 minimum and has a great strong nick name - Coop

Rene said...

I am going to beg you not to use Cooper...that is my maiden name and we were actually planning on using it. I commented on Brian's facebook, I like Brady and Gabriel!
Eric said he highly votes for Jonas and thinks you guys are silly for tossing it out! His second place vote is Atticus and third vote is one of the Finns.

Unknown said...

I vote for Theodore or Patrick.

Nix Callum and Finnegan/Phinneas right away.

Before me Anonymous wrote Lucas and Jacob. You really can't go wrong with Jacob. Especially with the whole "Lost" connection.

This thing has autotitled me John - you know me as Jack.

coolhandandrew said...

I would vote for Henry or Patrick, but you should really name him Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Whitt.

Bowsman Family said...

Ted wanted me to let you know that he's honored by your top two choices. (His first name is Charles and he grew up being called Teddy.) He didn't realize he had such an impact on both of your lives that you would want to name your child after him.

My votes would be for Brady, Christian or Patrick. I also work with a little boy named Finn and I love that name, but Finnegan makes me think of the song "Michael Finnegan...begin again". Good luck!!

Unknown said...

SO I dig Crockett, and was going to say that until I saw you had discarded it. I think It would be a great middle name.

Nicholas - Cole, that would work.

Brady is pretty close to Bradley, a name already used in our Family.

I vote for Jonathan. Just throwing that out there...

Anonymous said...

Have you thought of calling him Liam as the nickname for William? I like it.

I'll also suggest Flosec. Why? Because it's the word I'm about to type in order to publish my comment.

--Sharon

Heidi said...

I like Sharon's idea of using William, but having his nickname be Liam.
Christian and Brady are my other two picks from your list.

The non-list name I'd like to suggest (that just occurred to me) is Rochester! Ok, before you laugh... it's where your parents hail from and it's the tortured hero of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre! So, it would have meaning. You could call him Rock or Rocky for short (preferable to Chest or Chester).