Friday, March 23, 2007

a rose by any other name

Okay friends and family, here are our name lists. Eben has refused to continue discussing names with me (he sees no point until we find out the sex, and even then, he wants to wait and name the baby in the hospital... we'll see about that!) So I am now turning to you for comment!

For Ebelissa (if it's a girl)
Calista
Monroe
Adelaide
Bennett
Inara
Nova

For Melben (if it's a boy)
Colin
Carson
Deklan
Wyatt
Kyan
Ellis
Yoshi
West
Garland (or Garlan)


16 comments:

  1. Wow this is such a personal choice, I'm not sure that I could ever open it up for comment like this. I would be scared that someone would say about my favorite name, "I knew this really mean girl named so-and-so and so don't name her that."
    What happened to Helen? Did it fall off the list? I like that lots of these names are Southern sounding.
    Well, except Yoshi. And if you name him that, I can get him little Yoshi toys. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ha ha! It's true--at first I was too sensitive to share the names because I was afraid if someone said something negative I would burst into hormonal tears. Then Naomi said that "Colin" sounds like "colon" and I held it together pretty well, so I decided I was ready for public comment.

    Yoshi is a favorite of Eben's, but I'm worried it's more of a boy's name than a man's name--I mean, what if our kid wants to be a cop or something? (Of course, it's a perfectly respectable man's name in Japan. So maybe he can be a cop in Japan?)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yoshi Cook - sounds like LA's next great sushi chef!!! Now I will be really worried if a cute little brown skinned dark hair baby pops out of you and you guys name him Yoshi.

    Otherwise, I like most of them - not a big fan of Bennet cause of the whole JonBennet Ramsey thing.

    I agree with the naming at the hospital - you gotta see if the name fits.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It would be "Ben-net" spelled Bennett, like the last name of Jane an Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. But interesting association--gotta watch out for those!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just don't use a boy name that starts with a 'J'. According to Teresa, the percentage of boys whose name starts with a 'J' who have moderate to serious issues is amazing (>90%). So, apparently Shakespeare was wrong...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am a big fan of 2 rules for names. The first is the supreme court justice rule. Would the name limit his/her career options. This is why Sara and Claire were not Scarlet and Charlotte Marlatt (really thought that would be fun.) The second is Do you want your child to always have to spell there names for people? Now Cook is pretty easy but Inara and Kyan would certainly be names that would have to be introduced and spelled at every new situation.

    By the way, really good lists! Love most of the names. Not so crazy about Yoshi but it is probably generational.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I completely agree with Rose about The Supreme Court Justice Test. That's one reason I like Monroe--she can be a Hollywood starlet and the name will hearken to Marilyn, or she can be ambassador to the UN and the name will hearken to president James Monroe.

    The spelling issue is somewhat tricky, true—although I’ve seen Eben live with that and there is a distinct silver lining when it comes to junk main and telemarketers. Anyone attempting to contact “Evan Cook” is easily refused, no questions asked! ☺

    I love hearing everyone’s comments, thank you all!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I just love them all!!! Here’s a little fuel for name discussion ^_^

    For Ebelissa (if it's a girl)
    Calista (Greek) Beautiful
    Monroe (Irish, Gaelic) Red marsh, From the hill
    Adelaide (Old German) Noble, Kind
    Bennett (Latin) Little blessed one
    Inara (Arabic) Illuminating, Shining
    Nova (Latin) New

    For Melben (if it's a boy)
    Colin – (English) Triumphant people, Young boy
    Carson (English, American) Son of the marsh-dwellers, Christian
    Deklan (Irish) A man of prayer
    Wyatt (French) Little fighter
    Kyan (African-American) Ancient
    Ellis (English) The Lord is my God
    Yoshi (Japanese) Quiet, Good, Respectful
    West (English) From the west
    Garland or Garlan (French) Wreath

    ReplyDelete
  9. I like Inara or Nova for a girl and Declan or Colin for a boy. But I actually like all of the names listed so I think you can't go wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  10. OKAY- you asked- here goes- Do not wait to see what the kid looks like- Mine both would have been named "Baby Squirrel" Pick 2 or three names you like for him/her and then see what your hormones/parental pride lead you to. Left to my own devices, Ben would have been named Wyatt, Liam or Luke. Bennett has a few drawbacks. He or She?? Is it Bennett Cook or Cook Bennett??
    Bennett is pretty popular here and they end up being Ben- a girl? Look at regionality of names- Declan- spelled this way along with Aidan, Aiden and Liam are very popular here but not in Tx.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Continued- Kyan will be called Ryan- so if you have a Sturdy, even tempered kid who won't mind correcting people (a good skill for a future politician) go for it!! Finally- it comes down to personal choice- but Nancy is right- an anglo kid named Yoshi ain't going to make it to the supreme court. Great name but maybe better for a Shiba Inu or a puppy?? PS. Naomi- Colin is veerrry popular here- and whoever said to avoid the J trap is very astute.

    We will love him or her no matter what you name little "short order."

    ReplyDelete
  12. Here is another idea for a boy name: Rainn, as in Rainn Wilson, who could be related to the Cooks somehow, I wouldn't be surprised.

    Then he could always introduce himself, "Hi, I'm Rainn, and this is my mom, Sunshine."

    ReplyDelete
  13. So I like thinking of combinations of names, like
    Monroe Adelaide Cook or
    Ellis Garland Cook

    Actually, those both have the same initials as their parents, which could be kind of cool. A way of passing down a name without actually using the same name!

    So those are my fav's, but I also like:
    Monroe Calista Cook or Monroe Inara Cook
    Ellis Carson Cook or Ellis Deklan Cook (though with the latter it goes EDC in reverse alphabetical order which is kind of weird).

    Those are my two cents!

    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  14. So if you really like Bennett for Ebelissa and want to get around the drawbacks mentioned, put it with another name that goes with it. Like Toni with an "i" is a good girl name - I work with a Toni. Then when her name is discussed, Toni Bennett Cook, people will ask if you were great fans of the singer. You can say there was a singer with that name? How cool.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I like the name Arla. A second choice might be De'Nelle. They both have a nice ring to them.

    ReplyDelete