How We Chose Our Daughter's Name
Today I'll share the difficult and important decision that every parent inevitably has to make — choosing a name for their child.
From the start, my wife and I agreed that we would come up with a name after finding out the sex of our future child, so we could cut the options at least in half. And so, after a visit to the ultrasound room, we found ourselves faced with an endless number of girls' names.
However, we had a set of criteria that helped us eliminate the vast majority of names and narrow down the field. First, the name had to be exclusively feminine (meaning names like Alexandra, Valentina, Evgenia, and the like were out). Second, we didn't want three other kids at the sandbox turning around when we called our child — in other words, the name couldn't be too popular. But it couldn't be so eccentric that people would wonder whether it was actually a name at all.
To make sure we didn't miss anything, we combed through popular baby name websites and put together a list of roughly 300 names. We printed two copies and, independently of each other, started crossing out the names we didn't like. In the end, we had 4 names that neither of us had crossed out, and after some discussion, two more were eliminated. After that began lengthy negotiations, complete with arguments, reasoning, and everything else.
Based on our own experience and stories from friends, we deliberately kept the names we were considering secret from relatives, so as not to end up under undue pressure from them. Otherwise, some couples end up settling on a name that neither parent actually likes, just because the relatives successfully talked them out of the name they really wanted. It was also important to give the child a name before she was born. Some parents can't come up with a name and the little one goes without a name for weeks (though more likely just lies there :)). So, after several months of debate and deliberation, it all ended with a handshake and the official decision to name our daughter Agata — who hadn't yet been born at that point.
How did you choose names for your children? Or maybe you've already picked a name for a future child? Perhaps your own name kept your parents up at night too?
author: Alexei Khaletsky