Baby Name Blues

So am I the only one obsessively Googling Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck to see if they’ve FINALLY named their new baby girl? I am? (Blush.) Well, what do you expect, I’m in the throes of a baby-name quandary myself right now!

To catch you up, I’m due in less than 2 mos. with Baby #2. Even though I am generally a fan of being surprised in the delivery room, we decided to find out the sex this time because my 2-year-old son, Miles, was going around announcing to everyone that he was getting a new baby brother.

Wanting to manage his expectations and make the transition from only child to sibling the least traumatic possible, we found out what we’re expecting. Turns out, Miles was right: it’s another boy! (Although doctors will tell you they can’t be 100% certain from a sonogram. Either way, we’re safe; the nursery’s green.)

For some reason, Miles has been calling this baby “Henry” from Day 1. I’m not sure why. It probably has something to do with Thomas the Tank Engine. (Henry’s the green one, right? Or is that Percy?) Thank goodness he didn’t latch onto “Fergus.” And while lots of people have said they like the name Henry, the baby’s father doesn’t happen to be one of them.

Last time, I believe Miles was the only name C. and I could agree on. So it’s not like we could go to choice #2 this time around. When I tell people we can’t decide on a name, they think I’m just being secretive. “Oh, come on! Just tell us! What are the choices?” they chide us. Um, that would imply that we’ve narrowed it down to 2 or 3. People, believe me when I tell you I’m still going through the baby name book from cover to cover several times a week.

So what’s the problem? I’d like to place the blame squarely on my husband and his Irish surname. It narrows the field considerably. And while I like a good Irish name as much as the next lass, I can’t see calling my bundle of joy Seamus or Declan. Sorry, I just can’t.

Every name I like, C. hates. His reasons range from “The class bully in the 3rd grade was named that” to “It sounds like an ‘80s pop star.” Alrighty then. And every name he likes, I don’t. For fear of offending anyone (that is, beyond the Ferguses and Seamuses and Declans out there) I won’t reveal the names I’ve rejected. It’s just that if I can’t picture myself calling out that name a million times on the playground, and if it doesn’t suit a baby in diapers as well as a teenager and a grown man, I can’t get behind it.

So we’re stuck. It might come down to a poll or coin flip in the delivery room. Lucky for us, we’re not celebrities, so we don’t have to deal with silly baby-name suggestions from the media, nor will we be publicly ridiculed if we choose to name our child Bronx Mowgli or Charlie Tamara Tulip.

You know, Henry is starting to sound better and better...

LINKS O’ THE WEEK: I had some fun with the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator. I’d be “Engine Nighthawk Palin.” And this Baby Name Genie features a genie with an attitude. He gets ornery if you keep asking for more names.

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