Katie writes:<\/p>\n
\nMy husband and I are expecting Baby #2 in a few weeks. We do not know the sex, which is driving me CRAZY! We have no girl name at all because we totally disagree on girl names. Well, actually we both like Anna. But have heard that “Anna Banana” is all she’ll ever hear, which isn’t so great. Care to comment on that one? (otherwise my favorite girl names are Caroline and Madeline. My husband’s are Brianna and Savannah–and we both HATE the other person’s choices and will not budge! Suggestions?)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nBut, this really isn’t my main question. I have two other questions about our boy names:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1. Our boy name, Andrew, was chosen a long time ago (when pregnant with our daughter). It was always, always my favorite boy name without question. But, now we live up the street from an Andrew, who is my daughter’s 2-year old friend and will be in her preschool and who we see ALL THE TIME. And, well……he isn’t MY Andrew. And he screams and bites and his mom is always screeching his name. SCREECHING! And it is kind of ruining the name for me. I like the nickname Andy, but not Drew and neither nickname sounds particularly great with our last name, which starts with a D (and it gets to D sounding with the nicknames). Also, it would be very confusing to have two Andrews running around, since we hang out every day. Is this name permanently ruined for me? What are the chances that we’ll always live right near these other people? And if so, will it just be too confusing? And will the name ever regain its favored status in my mind? Or will I always hear the screech and see the biting and screaming Andrew?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2. Also, the middle name we have selected for a boy is “Wesley.” This is based on the place name where my husband and I met. Is this weird? Would you find it weird to be named after a place your parents met? Because I kind of think it is kind of…..strange… now, but my husband really loves the idea. What do you think?<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\nI’m going to take the last question first, because it has captured my imagination. I say no, it’s not weird to name a baby for the place the baby’s parents met, and I say it’s sweet. I tested it out to see how I’d feel if my parents had done that with my name—but then I couldn’t remember where they met. Er. But I imagined it with a few cities and states I knew they’d lived in and colleges they’d attended, just to get the idea, and each time I thought of one, it seemed cool to me. I even started wishing they HAD named me after where they met. (A related issue is babies named for where they were conceived, and THAT would totally skeeve me out. Even “where my parents honeymooned” is icky to me: I don’t want my name<\/span> reminding them of…those memories.)<\/p>\n
Up-to-the-minute update: I’d emailed my parents to ask where DID they meet, and my dad just emailed back. He pointed out that if one child is named after the place where the child’s parents met, it may set a precedent: will the next child have to be given a special place name as well? He further points out that associations and feelings may change over time. He may be tactfully referring here to the idea that the parents may, for example, split up and no longer consider the place they met to be a place of sweet romance and new beginnings but instead a place of ill fate and inevitable disaster. Or whatevs. But that’s a danger with any<\/span> name honoring someone or something: perhaps there is a falling out with the dear friend or relative, or perhaps the beloved college changes educational philosophies, or perhaps the favorite author ceases to be a favorite.\n<\/div>\n
Okay, now on to the other naming issues!<\/p>\n
I think Anna is one of the most perfect girl names there is, and if you agree on it and you don’t agree on any other names, I think you should use it. I do think the nickname Anna Banana is inevitable, and I’m sure a lot of Annas get pretty sick of it—but did you see that custom-printed M&Ms ad where they show “Happy Birthday” and “Anna Banana” printed on the M&Ms and a cute girl having a birthday? That made me think that although it may be a little tiresome, it’s still pretty CUTE. (I can just picture all the Annas clenching their teeth as they read this.)<\/p>\n
I notice that your husband’s other choices both end in -anna. Are there any ending-in-anna names you like? Adrianna, Arianna, Elianna, Gianna, Joanna, Julianna, Lianna, Lilyanna, Marianna, Susanna?<\/p>\n