More on the Name Game

I had so much fun reading about everyone’s baby name stories from this post. I also enjoyed playing around with some baby name tools a few of you shared like Nymbler (thanks, Kate). Nymbler allows you to type in names that inspire you (like the names of your current children) and then it generates a list of new boy and girl names.

Based on my husband and my tastes, it came up with the following list of names: Jonas, Solomon, Mitchell, Isabelle, Sierra, Danielle, Molly, James, Mason, Michelle, and Noe. I like some of the girl names and James, but I’m definitely scratching Noe off the list. Talk about giving your child a pessimistic start.

Even though Madeline picked out her share of celebrityesque names (Glitter), just for kicks I checked out Yeah Baby’s Celebrity Name Generator that Suzannah shared with me. According to the site, we should name our baby Blintz Spice Wicker. Sounds like a Polish pastry that might go well with a latte.

Another fun site with lots of features I recently discovered is called the Baby Names Garden. It includes all sorts of baby name lists like the “Top 100 Baby Names,” “Unusual Names,” “Unisex Names,” “Victorian Names,” “Biblical Names,” and more.

One of my personal favorite baby name resources is The Baby Name Survey Book (a hand-me-down book from a friend). The book not only reveals names’ meanings, but it also provides information on people’s popular perceptions of names.

So, according to the book’s wisdom, you may want to stay away from naming your little girl Barbie since she’s seen as “a cutesy, childlike girl who is blonde, spacy, and plastic.” (Go figure.)

Don’t want your girl to be pegged as a smoker before she’s even been tempted to light up? Then don’t name her Vicki because “people picture Vicki as a small, plain tomboy who is caring and smokes heavily.”

Dreaming of having an all-American boy? Consider naming him Jeff, which “evokes an image of a tall, strong, good-looking guy who’s friendly and kind.”

Sure, the book can’t be taken too seriously, but it is fun to read about the connotations belonging to certain names.

For more baby name fun on the Web, check out Danielle Bean’s recent column at Inside Catholic, which takes a look at baby naming responsibilities from a Catholic perspective.

By the way, our big, 20-week ultrasound is today. We’re very fickle around here and still have not made the big decision about whether or not we’re going to find out the gender before the baby’s born. My blog poll was very close with “yes” winning by a narrow margin. We’ll have to wait and see.