Moving On

I've had this post in mind since the beginning of my/our pregnancy, but haven't gotten around to writing it until now. Baby names is another one of those frequently asked questions of expectant mothers. I'm sure it's easy when you know what you're having and have already picked a name, but for those of us who don't fall into that category, the question can be somewhat awkward. D and I have been tossing around baby names for years and we keep going back to the ones we liked years ago, although we haven't made any final decisions. Unfortunately, it seems like the names we agree on are now in the Top 10, which isn't what I was going for (since I grew up with, on average, three other Jessicas in my class and I like to be somewhat original, i.e. Top 100). However, I still like the names and most of them meet my criteria, so we'll see.

Due to the longness and unusualness of our last name, I didn't want to be as creative as I could have been with our baby names, but I still like the list we've compiled. Most of the names adhere to these "rules":
*name only has two syllables
*doesn't end with the long "e" sound, like our last name (although I do like one girl's name that ends with the long "e", but it's one the exception)
*doesn't begin with the hard "k" sound, like our last name

We're not too much into tradition or culture or even meanings when it comes to names. Basically we both have to like it and it has to sound good with our last name. If we have a boy, his middle name might be David. If we have a girl, her middle name might be Kathren...a combo of my mom and my aunt's names (they're twins), Kathy and Karen. But nothing is set in stone until it's on the birth certificate!

There is sooo much info out there on the Net about baby naming. Overwhelmingly so. But some of it is fun. The following information is the result of one baby-naming quiz I took recently at BabyCenter.com and it wasn't too, too far off base, although some of the names they came up with are definitely not on our list:

Your baby-naming personality: Trendy
In touch with the times

Interesting, stylish, and savvy, you like the excitement of change. You're always up for new experiences and for having fun. You tend to be charismatic and opinionated, and you have an eye for fashion.

Because you enjoy keeping abreast of the latest trends, today's hottest names may appeal to you the most. According to our baby name trend report, the hot names for girls have two to three syllables, begin with an A, and end in the ah sound. The hot boy names have two syllables, begin with a C or a J, and end in the en sound. Names with nontraditional spellings — such as Khaleb and Jazmin — are also very in.

It's easy to understand the popularity of these names. They're lyrical and have a certain whimsical sophistication that's hard to come by in more traditional names.

BabyCenter Suggested Names:
Girls: Ava, Addyson, Caileigh, Emilee, Emma, Hailey, Isabella, Kaitlyn, Madison, Olyvia, Peyton, Sophia
Boys: Aiden, Caden, Brayden, Ethan, Gavin, Jaxon, Jayden, Jordyn, Landon, Logan

Another fun baby name website I found by accident is called BabyNameScape. It tells you the top baby names in your country, state, city, and even hospital.

Anyway, that's a bit about our baby-naming process. I'm sure we'll find the perfect name for our little baby, but as prepared as I usually am...this decision will wait until we meet him or her. I think it's more fun like that :).