Name Game

Years ago, when we were planning our lives together, my husband and I discussed baby names. I liked the name Brody for a boy. My husband said no. He liked the name Dakota or Cody. I said no because I had a dog once who was named Dakota and we called him Cody.

A couple years ago, the subject came up again. Being a HUGE hockey fan, he suggested Teemu Selanne (pronounced Tay-moo Suh-lonn-ee). Of course I said no. The funny thing was, that as time passed, the name kinda grew on me and I really considered Teemu as a first name... don't judge me... I like how "Tay" sounds with our last name and I was jonesing for a baby... any baby...

He also liked the names Delaney or Trinity for a girl... No... Delaney is the name of the granddaughter of a neighbor we socialize with and Trinity had become too popular due to The Matrix (which I still have not seen nor do I have the desire.)

About that same time, he mentioned he would like a Junior. I thought about it a bit and I wondered if the "Teemu" thing was just a bit to get me to agree to a junior... but regardless, the idea grew on me. We would call the child by a shortened form of the middle name, which is something I really like.

So now that we are expecting, we have only discussed names twice. Once I asked if he still wanted a junior and that as long as we could call him by the middle name I was willing. He said yes. Then when I brought it up a few weeks later, he got all huffy and said that was fine since I didn't like any of the names he liked. Confused because I didn't remember seriously discussing names with him, I asked what names he liked. "Dakota or Cody"... no, no dog names... what else? "No, I'll just get mad!" So I suggested some of the more original names that I liked and he said no to them all, I am guessing without even considering them because he was pouting because he didn't get his way... and the conversation was over...

So now that I have thought about it more, I am starting to get upset. He vetoed the names I liked years ago and I never brought them up again, even though he gave me no reasons why he didn't like them... But he keeps trying to push names on me that I have given him very specific arguments against. WTF?!?!?

So I have started doing some research on the first and middle names of his family members and I plan to compile a list of names for him to choose from.

I don't want this to be a point of conflict between us but I refuse to give my child a name that will embarrass them when they walk into a job interview later in life. And he is so stubborn that I don't think he'll like anything I choose just for the simple fact that it wasn't his first choice.

But at least we can compromise with a Junior if it is a boy... God forbid we have a girl... that name is set and there is nothing he can do about that...