All The Good Ones Are Taken

I constantly brainstorm baby names.  I occasionally involve my husband, much to his chagrin.  He has the wild idea that I should be pregnant before we begin that discussion.  I say that the pressure of a countdown clock will not be good for our deliberation.  I actually think (without saying) that he is right, but I can't help myself.

Lately, these one-sided conversations have taken a cranky turn because I feel like all the good names are taken.  I've reached a time in life when baby births and pregnancy announcements are daily news.  Between the names that are claimed by these new babies and all the negative name associations I've developed over the years, the crop of eligible names is growing excruciatingly small.  When I complained about this issue to my husband, he gave me an ultimatum - he would continue to (passively) participate in my baby name discussions only if I stopped caring about other people.  Stop caring about what other people name their babies, want to name their babies and are named themselves.

He had a point.  The name decision will be a rare life decision that lasts forever.  I think we can agree that changing a baby's name after signing the birth certificate is poor form.  With that, simply choose a name that you truly love.  Even if a high school acquaintance just chose the name for her newborn, even if you were recently introduced to a smelly coworker who has the name, even if your mom has always hated the name.  Once your bundle of joy embodies the name, all other associations will disappear and no one else will matter.  My husband promises me this and I'm extending that promise to you.