The Name Game

For the past couple of years I’ve been keeping a running list of names. I started this list before I knew I was going to be a dad, before I was married, before I was engaged and even before I “re-met” my wife (More on that story in a later post). I’m a fan of names that are somewhat uncommon so trying to remember them off the top of my head wouldn’t have worked for my pea brain.  I showed my wife the list when we were dating and she says it was one of the reasons she fell in love with me. Go figure. But she has since added (and subtracted) names to the list. We’ve actually already used one on one of the two dogs we now have. The other dog name came from a character on “The League,” a fantasy football inspired comedy on FX…and yes, my wife enjoys the show just as much as I do.

“We’ve” decided not to find out the sex of our baby until it’s born. “We” think it’s more fun that way. “We” have no desire to know and therefore ease the preparation of a life-altering occurrence. Grumble, grumble, grumble. Anyway, we have been narrowing down the choices and have a finalist for the boy name. In fact, my wife likes the name so much she now wants to have a boy just to fit the name. That’s fine with me because I’ve been told I’m a big kid anyway.

It’s strange to think that nothing we give our children will last longer than their name. No gift, no life lesson, no advice or encouraging words. Yet, for the most part, we do this before ever having met or very soon thereafter. They carry them all of their life (unless you’re Ron Artest or Chad Johnson) having no input in the decision whatsoever. But the importance (at least to the name holder) is incalculable in its direct relation to their identity.  Which leads to my next wondering…Does a name have any effect on the person’s personality, attitude, values, etc?