The Sarcastic Journalist is a freelance writer and mother of two living near Houston, Texas. She has a degree in journalism and an addiction to magazines. She is hoping never to experience the "joy" of pregnancy again. You can find much more of her home-grown snark at: shenuts.com
In addition to recounting 40 not-so-glowing but hilarious weeks of her pregnancy for our pregnancy calendar the Sarcastic Journalist used her sarcasm super-powers to help make our new edgy sarcastic pregnancy tickers. Check 'em out!
Week 29 : A rose by any other name...
One of my favorite parts about having a baby had to be picking out the names. Since I was a little girl, I would obsess over what names I wanted to give to my child. I am not sure why I did this; I guess I just like names.
My husband and I had very different ideas when it came to names. I was more “This sounds good and so does that! And that!” while he hated every name I liked.
With our daughter, I made a long list of names that I liked. He crossed out all but two: Ellie and Sophie. I picked Ellie.
With our son, we agreed on a girl’s name pretty quickly but couldn’t agree on a boy’s name to save our lives. My main choice happened to be a “color” name (Grey) while his (Ash) was after a character in a cheesy movie.
Every day, I’d bring up the topic of names and every day, we’d argue over it. I thought his name (Ash) was too out there, he thought it was cool. My names (Jonah, Henry) reminded him of someone he’d rather beat up than father.
It was an uphill battle, that’s for sure. I finally gave up my hopes of having a baby boy named Jonah or Jonas and agreed to compromise on the only name we both could like: Sam.
Be careful who you tell about your choice of names, however. I had one friend that would tell everyone she knew one of the first choices in the Great Name Search during our daughter. This name was never seriously considered for more than a few seconds, but she felt the need to tell everyone and let them give their opinions.
So, my advice is simple: Unless you really want to hear what people think, keep your mouth shut until the big day. It is much harder to insult a name if it is attached to a living baby.
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i agree that telling people names u like for a boy or girl...should be kept 2 minimal...when i finally stopped crying after a week of knowing i was prego...i decided well i might as well think of names to get me in a happier mood..so i had liked the names payto and cotia..well i shouldve kept it to myself...first i got criticism,i dont like that name,or dont you like this name instead?seriously it was just a thought,i still have months to go b4 a final decision,but i did let everyone know that if they felt so strongly bout "their"names maybe they should get knocked up push a kid out and let me know how much they still care about "that"name
Comment on 1st Oct '06 @ 1:02 pmThis comment is 1
I am 29 weeks pregnant with my first boy....my boyfriend doesn't like the name i have so far...and i just mentioned to my boss and he had the courage to say it sounded a little "weird".The funny past is that his son's name is almost the same just with two letters more...so i guess that is why....but i don't care..im the one that has been caring the baby in my tummy and i will go thru delivery..might as well pick something i like...right?!
Comment on 16th Nov '06 @ 4:06 pmThis comment is 1
I told a few family members and friends that I was thinking of naming my daughter Zowie. We ended up using that as a middle name instead of a first name and all the friends and family that I told about naming her Zowie still to this day (and she's almost 2 years old) call her Zowie instead of her real first name or nick names that her father and I call her. Its frustrating!
Comment on 28th Nov '06 @ 1:34 pmThis comment is 1
Telling people in our family was worse than telling all of our friends at church. Our 1st borns name is Nathian Jedidiah, My whole family thought that it was the weirdest name they had ever hear and they were very concerned about what kids would do to him as he got older (as if he were going to go by Jed or something- and besides Nathian is only one letter different than Nathan and that wasn't weird). But then I made an even bigger mistake, I told them that we would just call him Nate...Don't ever tell people the possible nick name!!! My entire family still calls him Nate (4 years later) and he is definantly not a Nate, and even worse half of them forget that there is an "i" in his name and call him Nathan.
I should have learned from my sister when she started calling her son James, BJ, which was short for Baby James because he was James III and most of the family after 7 years still call him BJ and my sister hates it.
This time around we are having a girl and her name is Emilia Clare and even though we have told every one her name and every one loves it very much I am reserving the nick names for after she's here and we get to know who she is.
Comment on 19th Dec '06 @ 7:43 amThis comment is 1
I totally agree with the last paragraph. Keep the name or names a secret until the baby is born and named! For some reason, people don't consider feelings when they offer their opinions on your choices! It's really none of their business unless you ask. Gotta love 'em!
Comment on 12th Jan '07 @ 4:32 pmThis comment is 1
I am 29 wks with my second girl. With my first I was single so it was pretty easy to pick a name b/c it was only my choice, besides my mother’s two cents! Not too mention with my first I knew the name I chose was it, no questions asked and no changing my mind, but with my second it is proving to be a little harder. This time around I am married and my husband and I could not agree on any names so we asked my older daughter (she's four) and the name she said is the name we decided to keep... we just got lucky is wasn't anything off the wall and we both liked it. I believe that if you want to keep your name to yourself, more power to you but also I don't think it is right for anyone to utter anything but positive comments about other couple's choices for names. My cousin is a month behind me and she is also having a girl, I don't like her choice of names but it’s not my decision so I don't say anything negative, not to mention I know what those pregnancy hormones are like!
Comment on 23rd Jan '07 @ 7:56 amThis comment is 1
I got so frustrated with people asking me what we were going to name our child that I just made something up. My husband's name is Dawayne so we said if it's a boy we will name him Dawayne Junior and if it's a girl we will name her Dawaynetta Francine. People usually realized I was being sarcastic and just gave me a wierd look. My mother however loved the name Dawaynetta Francine and now that we are trying again she thinks we should seriously consider it if we have a girl.
Comment on 24th Jan '07 @ 3:56 pmThis comment is 1
We had a hard time choosing a name... my husband said if we're having a boy I could choose the first name. Well after hours of reading baby name books I had a list of names I liked, and guess what? My husband said no to every single one... and this happened a few times. Finally I suggested we just use the first name we said in the beginning before the baby name book search, Caleb, we had both liked it, so now we have our little Caleb on the way :)
Comment on 28th Jan '07 @ 10:58 amThis comment is 1
I totally agree about keeping the name between you and the father. When I found out I was having my first son I was so excited and I just knew I would name him Caleb, after my father who had passed away. I had told my friend who was also preg. and she ended up naming her son Kaleb!! She had hers one month before me. I still used the name since it had so much meaning to me, but our friendship didn't last very long after that!!!
Comment on 9th Feb '07 @ 4:21 pmThis comment is 1
I am due April 29 with my first baby. We had figured out his name in December. I told my family and friends in January that we had decided on naming him Avery Allen. It seems like everyone wants to criticize the name. I had people actually telling me that his name was a girls name and that they know terrible people with that name. My only response is, well too bad I am still naming him Avery!!! If i decide to have other children, I refuse to tell anyone his or her name until birth.
Comment on 15th Feb '07 @ 2:31 pmThis comment is 1
im going through the same thing.i have had my names picked out since i was 15 and have been waiting to have the chance to use them.me and my husband have been together since then and has knoweng about my name choices.now that we actually have a child on the way we cant agree on a boys name, although to me there is only one choice.we even agreed that if it was a girl he could name her and if it was a boy i could. well we wre having a boy and i still cant get him to agree on a name, even after changing my original choice several times.my mom says we should have a name we both agree on.i say let him give up drinking for 9 mnths put up with the pains of pregnancy and push a child out of his body, then i let him name him. so i m going with my original choice unless he comes out and is obviously not a Jonavin
Comment on 26th Mar '07 @ 10:43 amThis comment is 1
I'm 29 weeks pregnant with my first little boy!, and me and my partner can't agree on much at all! we both like the name Wyatt, but my partners last name starts with 'w' and he thinks that it sounds sill! (everyone else likes it). The only other names I like are Seth and Shamus, and he refuses to call his son either of them!!!!! doesn't it make you want to scream! we better decide on something before his 2 I supose! :)
Comment on 28th Mar '07 @ 10:38 pmThis comment is 1
We have had a mixed range of emotions concerning keeping our baby girl's name a surprise. My mom was the one that told us to do it, and more often than not, she says, "So you are going to tell your mother what you are naming her grandbaby, right? I gave birth to you. I deserve to know." And I say, "Don't worry mom, I will tell you. After the baby's born." I have others that say, "Right on!" For us, we wanted people to know the sex, but we didn't want people to play the name association game with our defenseless babe. When my grandmother found out that my niece was going to be named "Sophie", she commented, "That sounds like an old lady in wool socks." Uh, not the type of thing i want to hear when we think we have found the "perfect" name for our child. I agree with the last statement in the article...it is harder to argue or complain about a name when it is attached to a living person (not to mention already typed on the birth certificate!). That's what we plan to do, and I feel like we have received less opinion, suggestions, or comments on baby names. I like it that way.
Comment on 8th Apr '07 @ 7:09 pmThis comment is 1
My husband and I have known that we wanted to name our daughter Brooklyyn Skye, almost since we found out we were pregnant. Others, however, feel that this name is a little too out there. His friend's mother said, "I don't like that...it reminds me of the sky over Brooklyn." Not only was that offensive, but it was an unnecessary comment. I look at her name as being no different than a person who is named Asia, China or Dakota...I've learned to take people's comments with a grain of salt.
Comment on 27th Apr '07 @ 6:43 pmThis comment is 1
I agree~! My fiance and I diagreed with every name each other liked. When we would sit with our family(my mother mostly) and talk about different names for our little boy and find one we both kind of liked, we would hear comments such as "That sounds like a girl's name" or "I don't like that because.." or "That reminds me of" and just ruin the name for us!! I would get so fed up we finally decided everytime someone would bring up the topic of names, just to leave it at we don't know yet. Then we would still hear "I think you should name him this or how about that". I felt like screaming this is our decision so leave your comments to yourselves!! It was hard enough for us to pick a name we both liked, let alone family, friends, co-workers, etc!!
Comment on 21st May '07 @ 5:38 pmThis comment is 1
I am 29 weeks pregnant with my 3rd and we've keep names a secret with all of them. The only problem this time is that we don't have any ideas. I like not telling though. With our first my hubby and I knew the day we found out that I was pregnant that we were going to name her Grace. Then my son was born and we named him Gideon Uriah and surprisingly everyone loved it because it totally fit him. Everyone is excited to here what we are going to name this one but they know they won't find out till she's here. We get a lot of suggestions which I don't mind to much b/c they aren't criticizing names we're thinking about. I hate that that’s why we don’t tell, plus we’ve found out the sex of our kids so we have to keep something a surprise. Everyone is thinking that we’ll use a “G” name again but that’s not the case we didn’t do that on purpose. I think that annoys me more than anything, people assuming they know what we are thinking. We're just praying we get a name picked out that we both like and that fits her before she gets here!
Comment on 19th Jun '07 @ 10:59 amThis comment is 1
My husband and I have a hard time agreeing on names. We agreed on a boys name last summer (before we even conceived this one), we both loved it, and his sister who was pregnant took it for her son born a few months later, i was heart broken. this will be our 2nd child and we argued and had such a hard time picking out a name last time we started working on it before we got pregnant this time, so here i am in my 7th month and no names we agree on yet. i have this awful fear of having a break down at this hospital bc i have a nameless child, i'm praying we can agree on a name soon, we do'nt know what we're having so we need 1 boy and 1 girl name, wish me luck.
Comment on 20th Jun '07 @ 2:23 pmThis comment is 1
Let me guess - "Army of Darkness?" What is with men and that cheesy movie? My dh and bro-in-law both love that movie way more than is warranted.
Comment on 25th Jun '07 @ 3:30 pmThis comment is 1
We've decided to make it obvious people are insulting if they comment negatively when they ask about the baby's name. I first say "We decided to name the baby after both parents", then say the names. If they comment negatively after that, it looks worse on them, and so far it's worked! Helps that Paul and Marie are pretty solid names, not too popular, but not out there either!
So far, I've only had positive comments about our choices. :)
Comment on 12th Jul '07 @ 5:25 amThis comment is 1
My boyfriend and I aren't telling the names we have picked out for that exact reason... It'll be harder for somebody to voice their dislike for the name once it's been given to the child. Family and friends are going crazy trying to get us to give hints or even just flat out tell the names. I do love hearing people try to guess. I am almost 30 weeks pregnant and the sex of my baby is still a mystery. Not by choice mind you. People are convinced we're keeping that a secret too. However i do have another sonogram coming up in a few days. Pray that something will be able to be determined one way or the other.
Comment on 19th Jul '07 @ 11:19 pmThis comment is 1
I totally agree.. keep the name to yourself. I have always wanted to name my girl (in case I had a girl) Valerie, but this is something I have talked about much before getting pregnant. Then I got pregnant and my husband agreed to use the name. My husband's best friend and his wife were pregnant as well. We have been friends for many years now, and they always knew I wanted to have a Valerie girl. Now, she already had her baby like one month ago, and I am 29 weeks now. Her baby girl's name is... Valerie... I won't use the name anymore; eventhough I am expecting girl as well. I just won't stand that they could tell me in the future, you named yours after mine....
Comment on 26th Jul '07 @ 12:54 pmThis comment is 1
May I also recommend keeping the name to yourself incase you decide to change it later on. I made the mistake of telling everyone my future baby's name and now relize that even if I wanted to change it, it would be difficult because everyone already knows her by the name I choose.
Comment on 26th Jul '07 @ 8:39 pmThis comment is 1
Love the entire article. It's great to have a story to tell about how you came up with your babies' name. I, like everyone else, agree with the last paragraph. When I found out I was pregnant I was sure I was having a boy. The father and I were looking at names on line...making fun of most of the unusual ones. When we came acrossed Houston, he blurted out, you guessed it "Houston, we have a problem." After we both finished groaning at the lack of wit, it became a joke that we were going to name our son that. When we found out we were having a girl, I was shocked and all I could think of was the name Houston. I loved it for a girl. I thought it sounded so pretty. we decided to spell it Heustyn, to girl it up a bit.
Of course everytime I tell someone the name I get one of 2 reactions...1) A long pause to roll it around in their head a bit then an "I really like it" -or- 2) No long Pause just a flat out "Seriously?" with an 'I really hate it' look on their face.
It's really disheartening to know that some of my "friends" will hate to call her by name...But I'm holding strong...I LOVE IT!!
Comment on 13th Aug '07 @ 12:16 amThis comment is 1
Funny about that girl's name. My name is Elli!
Beware those who like this name...it rhymes with "Smelly"
lol
Comment on 23rd Aug '07 @ 9:20 pmThis comment is 1
I totally agree with not telling names until the birth...I'm 30 weeks and wish I would've kept my mouth shut...my mother-in-law keeps "suggesting" spellings that she likes, even though my husband and I have already agreed on a name.
Comment on 3rd Sep '07 @ 6:09 pmThis comment is 1
this is so true do not tell anyone the ntme u have pick because somebody is gonna try to change ur opinion or even worst still ur name
with my daughter me and my guy had a name we both immediately agreed on years before i even concieved now with my son we are 7 months and cant agree on anything i guess it is harder to name boys
Comment on 15th Sep '07 @ 12:36 amThis comment is 1
My husband and I are naming our daughter Giselle Sophia and have gotten a lot of mixed reactions about it but it doesnt bother me so much this time around. When I was pregnant with my first, however; it really hut my feelings but we went with the name anyways and now the people who didnt like it LOVE it so dont put too much importance on what people say =)
Comment on 2nd Oct '07 @ 11:57 pmThis comment is 1
I am 8 weeks pregnant (tomorrow) and we have already decided on names.. A boys name was picked out last thanksgiving at the table.. My brother and I are close and something was said about baby names. (Neither of us were expecting at the time) His girlfriend is due in Dec and I am due in May. He said if I ever have a boy his name is going to be John Hamilton... I wailed out that he couldn't do that ... (that was the name we had picked for a boy) Well he is having a girl and we have no clue yet as to what we are having. We are going to find out the gender and let family know... so that they can buy the "right" gender clothing items. We have a girls name picked out but aren't telling a soul... not that I know of...
Comment on 9th Oct '07 @ 8:07 amThis comment is 1
It is interesting that you are married to a human being that is still thinking about "beating people up". Hmmm, I would worry that my husband was not ready for fatherhood with comments like that.
Comment on 2nd Nov '07 @ 11:21 amThis comment is 1
My god, Ash. Yeah i know what cheesy movie its from. I thought i'd be the only one who had to hear about that name...
Comment on 19th Nov '07 @ 11:40 pmThis comment is 1
blah the spam on this one is horrible :(...
but anyway.... i had so much trouble with names... i wanted sillhouette and he wanted mary... i wanted some sort of unusual boy name that i cant remember now.... and he wanted henry.... and once... durckemer
ended up naming my son jonathan jewel... and my daugher katilin cheyenne.... and yeah it was KAT-ill-in..... well i hated her name.... it wasnt soft enough for a sweet little girl.... so... at 5 months i took her to the courthouse and changed her name to heather angelanna.... * you can change your babies name for free for up to a year after birth... at least where im from*
and THIS baby.... the name will be somewhat uncommon.. but i wont say what it is because i dont want ppl to steal it :P... but ill give the info that a first and middle name just didnt seem to sound right... we added another middle name and now the name flows perfectly... and her initials are L.C.A.C when it would have been L.C.C because switching the names around to where it was C.L.C just didnt work when you said the name... .ahh youre confused.. hehh.... yeah it happens :P
Comment on 24th Nov '07 @ 5:33 amThis comment is 1
I feel that if you like a name and decide to name your child that then do it. The baby will you YOURS and your sig. other. No one else is carrying this baby for 9 months. I picked out my baby names before I knew what I was having. We found out we were having a boy and I went with Jeremiah. I came across a couple of people who thought I should change his name. I told them that he is my son and if I want his name to be Jeremiah, his name will be Jeremiah. After I put my foot down about his name they pretty much shut up about it.
Comment on 20th Dec '07 @ 4:11 pmThis comment is 1
My husband hated his own name and so he picked a new one for himself. He chose "Ash" from the same cheesy movie. I actually like the name and we may use it for our son.
Comment on 26th Dec '07 @ 7:37 amThis comment is 1
Picking out names, to me, has been the easiest part of my entire pregnancy! If it was a boy, he would be Gabriel Alexander. If it was a girl, she would be Adaleigh Grace. Addie Grace it is!
Comment on 31st Dec '07 @ 8:15 amThis comment is 1
Whew, baby names are really tough. I had both of my kids names picked out when I was 16. Luckily my husband is pretty easily swayed. I have no idea's for this baby. I really wasn't expecting to get pregnant again, so here we go again. Good luck everyone. God bless!
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Comment on 19th Jan '08 @ 6:42 pmThis comment is 1
Im 29 weeks pregnant with my fiances first baby which is a girl. and we argued for almost 26 weeks about a name. But i agree keep the name to yourself. Even when people asked and i told them one of the names i liked but my fiance and i decided not to use everyone had something to say about it.
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I love the article I learned my lesson the hard way. I am 30 weeks pregnant with my first my husbands 2nd. When my husband and I found out we started picking names like the minute the second line appeared. We had for a long time agreed on Maxine (my grandmother's name) for a girl middle or first was undecided. NO idea for a boy. We had also thrown around lots of girl names we loved especially Olivia. Well one day my husband said how about Ollie. I loved it for a boy or a girl. And then the comments started. And also we told my stepson 4 the baby's name. He didn't care but now we know we are having a girl and we decided to go ahead and name her Olivea Maxine and maybe call her Ollie. Well my stepson still calls her that which we don't mind. But the people we told get really confused. Some still call her Ollie even after their rude comments. I kinda want to call her Vea but haven't announced it because I would hate to say that and then she get here and everyone call her that and it not fit HER.
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