The Name Game
What do “Appletree,” “Seaborn,” and “Fohla” have in common? Brace yourselves, readers. They are all given names with which full-grown adults have saddled their sweet innocent babes.
Oh yes, my friends. It turns out celebrities aren’t the only ones who can play the eccentric name game when it comes to their offspring. These are real-life first names given by West Coast parents to their West Coast kids. I know — I’m not doing much for British Columbia’s reputation for housing nature-loving, tree-hugging fanatics by revealing names like this, right?
There’s nothing like telling everyone the possible names for your unborn child to start a heated discussion among the most benign of people. Everyone has an opinion (myself included) — Appletree, Seaborn or Fohla aren’t names I would choose. But who am I to judge?
When it comes to naming children, every expectant parent has his/her own style. What kind of name do you like? Do you want to pick a totally unique name or do you want a classic? Should the name have some deeper meaning beyond its letters? Or should it honour someone in your family? Does the name rhyme with any offensive words or be easily made into a ridiculing phrase? There is a lot to consider. And then, after you figure all of that out for yourself, you have to negotiate with your partner to settle on a name if you’re not both on the same page. Phew. What’s in a name? A darn lot of hard work, that’s what.
My sister made the mistake of mentioning some names she’s considering for her first at a family gathering recently. There was not a single name that did not rub someone the wrong way.
Here’s a rule to live by when it comes to picking a baby name:
Don’t tell anyone the names you’re considering, or else you might end up with no name at all! Some of my fave remarks when I’d naively divulged my baby’s potential names? “Oh, I had a [insert name of relation] with that name, and he/she was such a jerk! Don’t name him that!” Or, “That sounds like a stripper!” Keep your name choices to yourself and reveal it after baby’s been named.
