some baby names I like
I love to name things. I name my hats, my little teething birds, my quilts. And of course I love to name my children.
I'm very happy with the names we've chosen so far: Everett, wild boar, strong as an ox. It's a family name and one with a strong, stubborn history, very much like the boy himself. Truman, honest, reminiscent of presidents and writers. Both names are full of honor and don't lend themselves to scatalogical nicknames. I love them.
I thought I'd make a list of potential names for baby #3, as I'm inspired. This list may be a few long or hundreds ...
- Alden (for girl or boy). Pros: it has the sounds that Everett loves, "al" (he prefers "allo" or "adillo" for some strange reason). It's unusual and lovely, stately. Con: I stole it from the name of the three-year-old daughter of one of my friends from undergrad.
- Calder. Pros: Cool, architectural, modern. Cons: I'm totally copying another Portland Calder.
- Clara
- Daphne, Pros: I love it, it's a name I would have picked when I was six, and a name I'll still pick. Cons: Somehow, it doesn't suit with "Hanson."
- Gilbert. Pros: how cool would it be to name a son after me? Cons: Would Jonathan ever go for it? And would it be weird?
- Greta
- Isabella. Pros: I love it and would totally have picked it for a baby had I locked in names when I was 12. Cons: far too popular.
- Jonathan, Jacob, Andrew, Gabriel, Nathaniel, Daniel, Noah, Erik, Matthew, Michael, Benjamin, Caleb, Elijah, Luke, Henry, Edward, Jackson, Isaac, Timothy. Pros: All lovely, historical names, mostly Biblical and all such awesome, strong-sounding monikers with mostly good meanings. Cons: we know far too many Jonathans, Jacobs, Jacksons, Andrews, Matthews, Michaels.... etc. etc. etc.
- Josephine. Pros: Cafe Josephine in New York, Josephine Baker, seems very Roman. Cons: Josephine is the name of my favorite coffee shop owners' baby.
- Lucy. Pros: Chronicles of Narnia (Lucy always my favorite), and it's just such a happy name. Cons: I'm so not the only one to have thought of it.
- Matilda
- Nora
- Olive. Pros: It was the name I picked out for the unnamed baby when Truman was still without gender; it's a great grandmother name. Cons: Already used it for Truman, seems wrong somehow to re-use.
- Oliver. Pros: Nice English-historial name, redolent of the "olive" I love. Cons: Sounds dorky.
- Ruth. Pros: It was my grandmother's name, and I loved her. It's a lovely name.