Bloggity Summer Camp: A Rose By Any Other Name

Greetings Humble Readers...

I have to tell you, I have been looking forward to today's Bloggity Summer Camp topic ever since I first saw the list of topics that Calliope posted.  I have such strong opinions about this... it's almost ridiculous.

Calliope asks, "What names would you NEVER name a child or pet? What name do you wish you had been named? Do you like the name of your blog?"

Oooo... I love it!  So here it is, my list of rules for naming babies.  (some of these rules could apply when naming a pet) 

I swear that I will...

• NEVER name a child after a piece of fruit, an inanimate object, a colour, city where they were conceived
• NEVER give a child a name that is not easily pronounceable or spell-able
• NEVER give a child a gender neutral name
• NEVER name a child something that rhymes with tick, tock or weenis
• NEVER name a child something that I will be embarrassed to holler when it's time to come for dinner
• NEVER name a child something that should be a pet's name
• NEVER name a child something that sounds like it should be a nickname
• NEVER name all my children with names that all start with the same letter
• NEVER name a child something that falls in the top ten of the most popular names lists

Honestly, my personal guidelines for choosing names comes down to four rules.  My children will have OLDER-FASHIONED, GENDER SPECIFIC names, with USUAL SPELLINGS, that START WITH VOWELS.  I have had my children's names chosen for a long long time, and my poor Beloved didn't get a whole lot of say in the matter.  He did get to choose the middle names though.  :) 

As for my name, I wish my bio-mom would have put a little thought into it.  A nurse gave her a little booklet of baby names while my bio-mom was in labour.  Hence I ended up with a name I have disliked for my whole life.  I always wanted to be a Sarah Jane... or something like that.  Instead, I got saddled with a gender neutral name, spelled 'the boys way', and a middle name that could be misheard to be a boy's name as well.  Because of my name, I was mistakenly put on boys softball teams, put in boy's wards in the hospital, and other tragic events.  I could never find key chains or those cute little door plaques with my name on them spelled correctly.  When I was 13 I changed the spelling of my first name, but I actually still have to deal with issues from that decision. 

I'm not a big fan of my blog's name.  I've had another one in mind for a while, but whenever I get close to changing it, I always find a reason to hold off.  Maybe in the fall...