What’s in a Name – The Art of Naming your Child

As the world waits breathlessly for the royal baby to be born, this week I read that many women in the UK right now are holding off naming their child because they’re waiting to hear what Kate and William will be naming theirs.  Apparently, over there, you have 6 weeks to name your child after birth and Kate is due any time now so they’re waiting to name their baby the same.

Seems kind of ridiculous to some of us over here maybe, but then again, we have celebrities recently naming their kids things like North and Blue Ivy… And, we have other people naming their kids after favorite celebrities too.

People come up with all kinds of clever and unique names. There are always the traditionalists who go for the family names or a mashup of two family members; my high school friend’s name was Joneva, a combination of her Mom and Dad’s name, John and Eva. You could always use a familiar name and just spell it differently.

Some name their kids after movie heroes, book characters or Disney characters. Some stick with biblical names or name every child starting with the same letter of the alphabet. Then there are the holiday names for a child born in December, Noel or Holly.

Then you get to the more unusual names. I worked with a lady years ago named Sundae Sweet. You’ve heard of people having the same first and last names…Chris Chris? Then there was the famous Texas daughter named Ima Hogg. Her daddy was the Attorney General and the Governor of Texas back in the early 1890’s.

Recently, there was the controversy over the parents in Jersey that named their children after prominent Nazi historical figures including Hitler. (read this story here).

There are also baby names that are against the law in other places…. (read this story here).

Every year the Social Security Administration puts out a list of the most popular baby names for the previous year. You can even find baby naming apps on line.

The bottom line is, people since the dawn of man have tried to give their children a sense of identity in choosing their names. We all want our boys to have a strong name and our girls a pretty name. All parents want to give their child everything and put their dreams and wishes into their beautiful new, sweet baby and his/her future. We choose names that make the family happy, us happy and hopefully our child happy. Naming your child is truly an art born of inspiration and love.

So, what’s in a name?....oh, just….everything!

Fifty Shades of Baby Boom

Yes, I admit it….I’ve read the first two of the three Fifty Shades (E.L. James) books….as have millions of women now. I initially had little interest until the buzz got so loud it was barely avoidable and it piqued my curiosity. I also was approached by a total stranger in a sushi bar while reading a (different) novel on my Nook and asked if I was reading Fifty Shades. The lady was so excited and breathy to hear if I’d read the popular novel and when I told her “No, I’ve heard a lot about it though” she said, “OMG you simply must!”.


In addition to the sexy story and erotic passages that happen in the book, women are falling in love with the steamy characters and, I think, the emotional fantasy it stirs. It’s been called “emotional crack” for women. This racy book, they claim, has really revved up their sex lives. I’m guessing their men are enjoying this renewed interest even if they’re not sure where it came from.

Recent talk suggests that we’ll be having a Baby Boom of Fifty Shades babies that should hit sometime in 2013 judging from when the books seem to have become so popular. Some ladies are admitting they are reading these novels two or three times and are even considering naming their newborns after the characters in the books.

Women have always related to and named their kids after certain characters in books and movies that moved them. Movies such as Body Heat (1981), 9 ½ weeks (1986) and Original Sin (2001) may have caused their own “baby boom” in their time.

Now we know that the Fifty Shades movie is a reality and the casting efforts are in full swing. Fans seem to be leaning towards either Ian Somerhalder (Vampire Diaries) or Ryan Gosling (The Notebook) to play the sexy Christian Grey leading role but the casting is a very make or break thing since every woman has their own idea about who’s sexy and perfect for the part. Production is still a ways away so we have plenty of time to find the perfect Mr. Grey.

Have you named your child after a character in a book or movie? What actor would you pick to play Mr. Grey in the movie?