jenniferschwab - What's in a name?

Yesterday Andy and I found out that we are expecting a little man in June, and Andy is really excited to have a son. We are still settling on a middle name, but his first name will be Jack, after Andy's grandfather.

We've had a lot of discussions on what makes a good baby name. Andy is very concerned that we give our kids strong names, and anything that sounds remotely ambigious is out of the question. "William" is a name that's come up as a middle name, and I'm partial to it, as it is my Dad's name.

Nowadays you can buy a book that has a million and one baby names and their meanings, and I've spent a lot of time looking through it. "Jack" means "God is gracious" and "William" means "protector," which makes for a pretty strong name in my opinion. But it's funny to think that back in the day, people really did name their kid, "he will have many woes" and "has no real friends."

I distinctly remember the day that my parents asked me if I wanted to change my name. It was awesome. I was 10, and my Dad sat down with me and asked me if I wanted to change my name. He explained that when I was born, they liked "Jennifer Leigh", but that was what they had picked out. It was not "my" name. If I wanted to be known as something different, we could do all the paperwork and legally change my name.

I was in shock....and it was the coolest question anyone had ever asked. Who did I want to be? I took a week to think about it, and finally decided that I felt like a Jennifer Leigh. It fit me and I liked, and from that day forward, I chose to be Jennifer Leigh. Talk about an empowering moment. It was like I was formally choosing my own destiny, and I have always appreciated that my parents were willing to do that.

I just hope that I'm not so attached to "Jack William" that I can do the same thing for our son someday.