A Name, A Name, Whats in a Name?

That’s right, Baby names! (This is Travis, by the way and I’m about to get on a rant!) I have noticed ever since getting married that there is a unique culture that has surrounded baby names. Specifically, its the concept of "Baby Name Stealing." Before I dive into this topic like a hippo jumping off a bridge, let me explain something about guys vs girls.

To do that, I will use an example to illustrate my point. When a Woman is walking in the mall and they see another Woman wearing the same outfit as them, they think, "oh crap, that girl has the same outfit as me!" followed by some thoughts of self doubt, "oh, she wears it better than I do." and finally, "I need to go change."

Please don’t think I am bashing on women, I am not saying they are petty or shallow, I am only pointing out that women get a lot of the basic human need for feeling special by being unique or different from other women in a culturally desirable way. Whether that means looking especially cute or being the best at something, women tend to thrive on being set apart from their peers and to be a "cut above" in a general sense. (Not just women feel that way, but they thrive on it more) So when they see someone with the same cute outfit that they specifically picked out for themselves because they felt great about how it made them look, it takes the wind out of their sails a bit to see someone who did the same thing and could potentially outshine them in the comparison of outside views. Anyway, enough of my women theories for now, I'm probably already in hot water with all women as it is. This are just hypothetical views, I'm not saying all women are 100% this way all the time.

So when a Man is walking through the mall and sees another man wearing the same clothes as he does, he feels pumped, like, "Hey Dude, nice shirt!" to which the other guy will be like, "sweet! you got style bro!" They'll walk by with big doofy grins on their faces thinking, "oh man, that guy has the same shirt as me, rad!" and actually we get a little bit of an ego boost because we feel validated that the clothes we chose are acceptable and desirable in society. Either that or at least we're not alone in our bad sense style. Men also thrive on the acceptance of other men, but in a slightly different way. We want to be cool and stylish just like women do, but we get that validation from being similar, rather than different. Again this is only a simple theory and not a way to categorize all men. There are always exceptions and exclusions.

The point is baby names. Women want their baby to be unique and have a name that is just for them, so when it comes to finding names they like, they immediately become protective of it in case other women in their social circle hear it and decide to use it before they can. Baby Name Stealing is essentially the concept of using a baby name that you heard from someone else before they have a chance to use it for their baby. It can also come after the fact, but that is more of Baby Name Copying. Same undesirable outcome. Because of this you find in Utah people get very secretive of their baby names until they have one on the way and almost arrived just in case someone who is further along decides to use it. Also you find in Utah unusual ways of spelling or combining names. Like using "ie" instead of the traditional "y” or other variants. Basically people can get really upset about baby name stealing/copying, so just beware. It is less often men who are bothered by it, because like clothes, they get pumped when they meet another person with their name. They think, “man, this guy must be pretty awesome to have my same name!” We immediately form a bond with them and have a little club to celebrate their likeness in name. Because of that we don’t see it as big of a deal if they have the same name. We will typically agree that it is lame if someone legitimately steals or copies the name. But there is one important point that we are all missing, and that it is completely reasonable for another set of people to independently come up with the same name as you did. People get hung up on the fact that they liked it first and thought of it before it was “cool.” Both men and women are guilty of this; it happens a lot with music bands and listening to them before they were cool. (BTW, I listened to Dashboard way before they were popular, I just didn’t like them. J) Also clothes and TV shows and whatever else to make us more cool. (see I told you that it wasn’t just women who like to be unique to be special)

Anyway, this is a rant remember? And rants tend to get sidetracked, as this most definitely has. But that’s just what happens when you have an ADD fueled writer. That is not a drug, it’s a condition.

So here is what I am going to do, I am going to post all of the baby names that we have on our list for your viewing pleasure! If you like them and think, “Gee, that is exactly what I want to name our baby!” Or you may think, “Hey, we were going to use that name too!” Or even, “They stole that name from us!” Well my friends, go right ahead and use it!

BUT, be forewarned, I will not be deterred from using a name from our list even if you name your child this and they are related, best friends, or otherwise going to grow up with someone with the same name in their close proximity. So just know that if you use a name on our list, we could very likely use it too. Just dont accuse us of copying you later. :) I am not saying that our list is the end all be all, we can add to it as we go on having kids or use none from the list. And im not saying that because I publish my list it makes it more legitimate to your claim to the name. The point is, I don’t mind sharing. :) For me, it’s a compliment if you like one of the same names that we like, it means that we didn’t come up with something stupid like naming our kid after our major in college. (poor Audio Science)

Without further adieu, our list of baby names:

Boys:
Milo
Rex Travis
Theodore (Thor)
Leonidas (Leon)
Phinneas (Finn)
Calvin
Hobbes
Emmett
Harrison

Girls:
Mabel (Maeby/Maybe)
Evee
Hattie Jane
Gwendolyn
Genevieve
Alexandria
Penelope
Miriam
Adelaide

Names in ( ) mean the nickname we will probably call them by. Two names means a middle name included. We actually have a separate list of middle names that I can share on a less long post. We also have a second list of alternate names that we werent both equally as enthuesiastic about. Maybe we'll share that sometime too.

So that is my rant and rave about Baby Names! Good luck with naming your kid! Its a tough market!