So, we found out baby #2, coming in November, is going to be a boy, so my husband and I have been talking about names. We've decided on the first name (no, I'm not ready to reveal it) but can't agree on the middle name. Hopefully he'll come to his senses soon and agree with me! lol
Since we're going through this process, I found an article in Parents magazine this month to be interesting. It talked about baby-naming customs around the world.
Germany
You need government approval before naming a child, and officals can veto names that don't clearly indicate the baby's sex (like Riley) or that could possibly subject the child to teasing or harm. I think I had read that it's illegal to name your child Hitler--probably a good idea.
Ukraine
Many leave the naming decision up to their priest. Parents can suggest ideas, but the priest gets the final say at a ceremony eight days after the birth.
Nigeria
Among the Ibo people, baby-naming is a group activity. The father, mother, and grandmother all take turns suggesting names. Guests contribute too. Afterward, the household debates the options. Sort of a group effort, I guess.
India
Parents don't choose a child's name before she's born, since what the stars say about the birth date is a big influence.
3 comments:
Cool info! We get so used to America's culture, that we forget how drastically different things are elsewhere. Good call on not revealing the name. We made that mistake. We had chosen Jacob Laughter. There are a bunch of reasons behind the name, but they didn't matter as much as knowing how much we LOVED the name! Unfortunately EVERY ONE ELSE thought we were setting him up for bullying and heartache. Some of the comments were really hurtful. So we changed it and told NO ONE!!! The funny thing is, a while back I told Christian what we were going to name him. He loved it! He said that he'd rather have the other name!!! Isn't that just how it goes? ;-P
Ha! Jacob is a great choice. My twin sister and I were supposed to be a boy and girl--Jennifer Leigh and Benjamin Arden. But, "Benjamin" ended up being Sarah Elizabeth. Those were the days before ultrasound. I always thought Benjamin was an awful name growing up, but now I love it.
When I was a girl, I wanted to have a little girl and name her 'Heaven LeighAnne'. Then, when we were going through names, I wanted Sebastian. Tommy vetoed that one immediately. Then I wanted Isaac, from Isaac in the Bible, because it means "Laughter". He said he couldn't do that one because it would make him think of 'The Love Boat'. LOL It took us a LOOOONG time to settle on Jacob Laughter, so we were very reluctant to change. But when we did decide on a new one, it happened almost immediately. It was so odd that it was so easy for us. I think it was God leading us to the perfect name for our boy. If he had been a girl, his name would've been Faith.
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