that which we call a rose...

On the one hand, when it comes time to choose a name for my child I feel a great deal of pressure. You know, all those so-called "studies" about how a name can shape an individual. On the other hand, I don't buy into all that fuss and I feel like there are other aspects of bringing a child into the world that I ought to devote my attentions to.

This Thursday we find out the gender of our baby, assuming said baby cooperates. Richard doesn't understand why I bother discussing names before we know the gender. That's just like Richard, to be so practical. But pregnant women are not practical. I think about all things baby to pass the weeks, names especially.

I've developed a "Litmus Test", if you will, for baby names. My primary resource is the Social Security Administration website where they have compiled a database of the popularity of baby names, I assume based on applications for social security numbers each year. It is so convenient for mothers-to-be like myself and I find that I easily waste as much time on this site as I do on Facebook.

My rules are three-fold:

1. The name must not be in the top 100 baby names for the previous year. (This rule was not in practice when we named our first child.)
2. It must fall somewhere in the top 1000 names. I don't want my child's name to be too unusual.
3. It cannot have climbed more than 300 points in popularity over the past 10 years. (A sure sign he/she will have to attach the first letter of their last name throughout gradeschool to identify his/her-self.)

That leaves a great number of names for me to choose from. And yet, we still haven't chosen one. It doesn't help that, as I have mentioned many times, I am totally impaired when it comes to making decisions.

At least after Thursday I can eliminate 50% of my options.