On Naming Kids and a Blog

When my husband and I were tackling the almost divorce-inducing task of deciding what to name our daughter, we laughed at, made fun of, rejected, and mispronounced just about every single possible name that has ever existed, does exist, or will exist.  We have both been high school teachers which means many a decent name has been spoiled by many an indecent teenager.  I'm pretty sure we had several conversations similar to the following:

Koy (unsuspecting, innocent husband): "How about Katie?  I like the name Katie."
Me: (super hormonal, back hurting, 8 months pregnant) "No, absolutely not. I taught a "Katie" in Biology.  She seemed a bit.....slutty.  What is wrong with you, Koy?  Do you seriously want our daugher to turn out like that?"

Me: "I like Eva.  It's a family name, and it just sounds so pretty."
Koy (tired of being crapped on by his hormonal wife) "I don't like it.  I don't like any name that begins with the letter "E".

Round and round we went, battering each other's self esteems and casting down countless options for days/weeks on end until finally, I blurted out "Blythe."  Silence followed......then, with a chorus of angels singing in the background, Koy said "I like Blythe."  I'm suprised I didn't go into labor right then from the mere shock of it all.  We had agreed on a name!

While trying to decide on names for our kids, we never really placed much importance on the meaning or origin of the name.  I think a kid's genetic hardwiring and the environment in which he is raised play much more of a role in determining temperment than his name. I must admit though, there is some interesting data out there in case you are interested.

 http://theweek.com/article/index/225232/how-names-influence-our-destinies

I think we just got really lucky that our daughter is incredibly true to her name.  Blythe means "happy."  It's that simple.  She's just a happy girl.  She's two years old, so of course, telling her "no" can bring about moments of extreme UNhappiness, but they are short lived.  She's outgoing, fun-loving, purely and simply happy. 

Naming our son did not take nearly as long.  We managed to dig up two family names that, when put together, sound super "cowboyish" which suits my husband just fine.  My son's first name is Holt.  His name means "man of the woods." I always thought that "woods" meant an area with lots of trees, but apparently it means "fussiness" or "crying".  This child is pretty much the opposite of his big sister.  I have theories as to why, but those probably deserve a separate post of their own.  He's challenging now, but I'm not really concerned.  I have this confidence that once he is running around and talking up a storm, we're gonna see a whole different Holt.  I alwas envision him following his daddy around, talking about deer and learning to shoot a bow.  He's gonna be my little "man of the woods" long before I'm ready, so I'll cling to my fussy baby boy while I still can!

Lastly, naming my blog took about two minutes.  If you don't know about my kiddos, then the name makes no sense.  That's okay though.  Some of my favorite titles to books, poems, movies, etc. are those that are not obvious.  They are the ones that make sense only after you really get into the material.  I also don't expect anybody to actually read this blog.  I could have named it "The Dumptruck Tablesaw" and affected just as many readers. 

I'm off to enjoy the precious few minutes I have left before my "man of the woods" wakes up from nap!