What’s in a name?

How fitting? I get to continue my diatribe on names, thanks to this morning’s reminder on the Today Show. If you’re a news junkie like me and your coworkers are anything like mine, they like to leave articles taped to your computer screen or leave tattered magazine pages on your seat for you to find in the mornings. A few months ago, one of my coworkers left a very interesting WSJ article on my chair. It was called, The Baby-Name Business. Since I’d been dancing around the baby name issue among friends and at work, my colleagues assumed we didn’t have a name picked out yet. Little did they know, Jeff and I are crazy and named our unborn children back when we were in our early 20s. I graciously thanked my coworker for the article and for thinking of us and our “indecisiveness” and read on to find out what exactly was this Baby Name Business.

Essentially, people are so hung up on naming their babies, that they’re hiring professionals to make the decision for them. Long gone are the days where people sneeze and choose a name; there are actually name-choosing professionals out there. When I say hung up, I mean they actually put thought into it. While on some accounts, I can completely agree with the debacle of choosing a name that isn’t too trendy or choosing something that “fits” your last name, I’m still a bit shocked that baby naming has become a service. To each his own, I guess. Whatever happened to the old fashioned route and picking up a book and flipping through the pages? Choosing the perfect name is a science and it is a good thing that people are so conscientious about their baby’s name. Aside from the Pilots and MoxieCrimefighters. But hey, who am I to judge?

Me, personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with classic names. So what if all of your friends are also named Jennifer? So what if your brother’s name is Jeffrey and shares it with your beloved? It happens. And you know what? For us, it built character. (Husband) Jeff and I have two of the most common and classic names from the 70s, but we turned out ok. If anything, we turned out better than ok because of our names. I love seeing my byline every month. And now, since I’ve changed my name legally, I love seeing my maiden and married names punctuating my very common first name! But most of all, I love all of the funny nicknames my friends have given me over the years. Rarely, if ever, am I called just Jen by my closest friends. It’ll be, Jenny Rab or Jenrab no space 😉 or Rabbie and lately, Rabulous.

There’s a lot that goes into a name. There was an awesome quote that I’ll never forget in that Natalie Portman movie, Where the Heart is. I think Susan Sarandon told Natalie Portman’s character that she should, Get your baby a name that means something. A sturdy name. Strong name. A name that’s gonna withstand a lot of bad times.

With that said, we can’t wait to share little man’s name with everyone (else.) And yes, it does “match,” it will surely withstand a lot of bad times and yes, it’s very common too. And you better believe that one day, he’ll have his own nicknames to boast about too!