Coming up with a name for a baby can be a long, ongoing process. Some couples can agree on a name in no time, whereas other couples can disagree for months on end. Michelle and I fit the latter profile.
Much like George Costanza on Seinfeld (where he announces that if he ever does have a child, he would name it Seven), I had decided back when I was 17 years old that if I ever had a child, and it was a boy, I would name him Drake Johannsen. Don’t ask me why. So when the Baby Name debates started, I would always throw in Drake. (I have to admit though that as I got older, the name did lose its appeal. Plus, Michelle hated it). We would spend hours upon hours on possible names.
My name suggestions tended to be somewhat out there: Locutus, Morpheus, Three, Carlos. The main reason I threw these names into the mix was because I knew they would rile folks up. Michelle would tell someone I suggested a particular name and people would go up in arms. Funny.
What surprised me though was the suggestion of “Common Names” like Doug, Ron, Pete, Bob, Andrew, Bill, Steve, etc. Throughout the pregnancy, people would ask if we had a name yet. We would say no. But if we did mention the possible “Common Name”, every single person had a smirk/harumph/experience/opinion about the “Common Name” and how we shouldn’t name our baby with the “Common Name”. Ok, that’s your opinion. But what if we liked the “Common Name”?
And that’s the thing; coming up with a baby’s name can be very personal. So, after I hear someone tell me their new child’s name, I don’t diss them. They most likely went through a lot of pain and trouble to finally reach a decision, so I’m not about to go and burst their bubble with the typical snide response of “Why’d you name him/her that?”
It wasn’t until about the 4th month of the pregnancy that we finally did decide on Dax Michael. Michelle and I both liked the name Dax and it was the unanimous choice out of all possible names. After months/years of disagreement, this one name did it for us. We both knew that it was THE name the moment it left my lips. That moment of enlightenment when Michelle and I looked at each other, raised our eyebrows, and said…"cool".
Based on my observations, people who like the name Dax tend to be more open-minded, whereas people who don’t like it tend to be more conservative. Michelle and I tend to walk the middle of the road on issues so that’s probably why we ended up with the open-minded/conservative name: Dax Michael.
By the way, if we do happen to be blessed with a second child, my new suggestion will be Roofus.
Let the debates begin!
Posted by cat at November 17, 2004 04:02 PM