OK, which one of you jokers forgot to tell me about how hard it is to pick out a name for your child? :)
We've narrowed our list for both genders down to about 75 name combinations each...
You want something unique, but not dumb.
You want something original, but not "invented."
You want it to sound good when you say it out loud, especially when you have to yell it. :)
You want it to sound important, just in case your little one becomes the President some day.
You don't want the initials to spell out any dirty words.
You don't want to choose something that the other kids will turn into a tease.
You don't want to pick something that will make your teenage child hate you (any more than they already will.)
Our goal is to get it down to 10 options for each sex by the time the big day arrives. The list get's nicely cut in half once the baby is born. Hopefully choosing from the remaining 10 will be easy.
"Welcome to the world ?????"
As a teacher, I noticed some names rolled off the tongue more easily than others. Like the French do, a vowel between consonants performs this:
ReplyDeleteSara Fisher had a vowel sound, the schwa 'a', between the final consonant r and then came the F sound, so her name rolled off my tongue easily. Like poetry usually does.
Then there's my disant cousing who named his son, Sebastion Dangerfield Wiers. Then there's Senator Strom Thurmond. These names do NOT roll off the tongue easily. They make you almost stumble.
The French will drop word endings just like we do: we say wannabe instead of want to be, bc it rolls off our tongues well.
Danny Boy rolls. Johnnie Cake rolls. Chadwick Stewart Clydesdale would not roll in a thousand years.
Onomatopoeia is an excellent word that rolls off the tongue, yet what it stands for is often the opposite of rolling words!!!
Another idea--Names for boys that I personally liked as a kid began with explosive consonants--these letters 'explode' out of the mouth--they don't blow or slip out gently. They sound good for boy's names--also they are easier to hear in a crowd of noise. Soft fricatives are hardest to hear. But some feel they sound more romantic when whispered. Maybe you've noticed that lots of girl's names sound 'soft' when spoken--ie, Sara, Felicia, Sue--there you have it--romantic!
One more idea--length. In my day, longer, clumsy to say, names got shortened to one syllable in length in elementary grades OR worse, they did not get spoken except in derision. R's in names are often hard for little kids to say correctly--so those names can get murdered by little kids.
Hope I have confused you well. LOL
Dad Fisher
Ok, first of all, the name thing would be easier if you knew the sex of your baby. ;) (just kidding).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, good luck deciding.
For inspiration our kids names are:
Katelyn Elisabeth
Russell Eric (who we just call Eric)
Jackson Avery
Nicholas Edwin
Everything can be shortened to a 4 letter nickname (Kate, Eric, Jack, Nick) for when they are younger and then they can use their full names when they are older and more "professional" (if they so desire).
However, with a last name like Hoorn, it is inevitable that there will be teasing. I think kids can make ANY name funny. lol
Can't wait to hear what you guys decide on! :)
You made a wonderful selection. She is just beautiful.
ReplyDelete