The Name Game

This poor baby doesn't have a name. Most people wouldn't be nervous about that, considering we have about four months left in the pregnancy. For us, it is a big switch from last time since we knew for several years before having children that our daughter (should we have one) would be named Jillian. After we learned that we were definitely having a girl the first time, we briefly glanced at a baby name book just to be sure, but absolutely nothing appealed to us outside of Jillian. That was her identity from the start. Currently, we have spent many evening hours scouring websites, a new baby name book, and our brains for another girls name we like just as well. We are attracted to classic, clean, feminine sounding names that are not overtly popular. At the same time, we do not want an unusual name that people have trouble spelling or pronouncing. Though there are a couple of one syllable names I really like, I won't consider using them due the short nature of our last name. Creating a list with those parameters is more difficult than you might think. Unofficially, we have a short list that we talk about often, bouncing back and forth between our favorites. As of last night, we have two names we both feel are "better" than the others on the list. Of course, I like one and Matt likes the other. As I was reading the chapter on narrowing down choices in The Baby Name Wizard Book, I  found a helpful suggestion. The author states that once you have a short list, you need to realize that all of those names are "good". She suggests that we focus on all the things we like about the names, and not critically try to pick them apart (what we have been doing). Rather, she proposes we take each name for a trial run for a day, referring to the baby as Name A for a day, and Name B for another, and then see which one feels harder to give up at the end of the day. So, that is what we are doing. Today, our daughter shall be referred to as Name A, tomorrow we'll call her by Name B. We'll see how that goes! You didn't think that I was actually going to tell you the names, did you???? Baby #2's name will be revealed to others (including Jillian, because she has loose lips) only after she is born.