Hi My Name Is ...

What's in a name?  I am finding picking out a name for our future child to be incredibly stressful!  There is so much pressure when you think about the fact that their name means everything.  In many cases it becomes their first impression.  A teacher reads their name prior to seeing their face.  A potential employer will read their name on a resume long before they get called for that first interview.  And you will be saying it everyday for as long as you live so it better be something you love, right?  Before becoming parents was a reality we each had loads of names we just loved.  Well turns out we have great taste because most have either been used by other family members and close friends or become so popular you might as well start using their last initial before leaving the hospital.  Big time bummer.  While we are still searching for those perfect names we have encountered plenty of names we will not be using. 

Let's face it we have all come across a name or names that leave us shaking our heads.
While I could go on for hours I will keep it short and sweet by sticking to my personal favorites :)

I'm going to start with those names that on their own are perfectly acceptable but when paired with your last name, warrant a shame on you.  We experienced this during our name search.  The first boy name we ever agreed upon was Jackson which would be perfect if we always called him Jackson.  But then we combine Jack with our frequently mispronounced last name you get something eerily similar to "jackoff".  Jackson was immediately scrapped and back to the drawing table.  These individuals ... not so lucky.

Gay Cummings - Being that Gay in this instance is female helps a bit but still ... shame on you.
Cherry Knipple - Pronounced 'nipple' ... enough said and shame on you.

Let's move on to those names that I assume parents choose as a direct reflection of their child's future personality.

Princess - Every little girl is some one's princess we got it
Adorabelle - Adorably creative I will give you that
Nemesis - Yes I have the picture to prove it here and this one ought to be considered child abuse

Now to the parents who choose to go with creative pronunciation.  Teachers love these!

La-a - (La dash a)  Yes folks the "-" is for real part of the name.
Lampshade - (Lamp sha day) How silly of you to think someone would be named lampshade
Shadynasty - (Sha dynasty) You saw Shady Nasty didn't you? It's okay to giggle

And hand in hand with creative pronunciation is creative spelling. 
Maycen - Obviously because Mason was already taken
Alyxzandyr - Something against vowels perhaps?

Please don't get me wrong here I do not see anything wrong with wanting your child to have a name that makes them an individual.  Amanda was one of the most popular names the year I was born and eventually I was known by my last initial as well so I appreciate the need to be different.  But I personally don't think your child's name ought to be a showcase for your personal creativity.  Heck if it was up to me we would all get to name ourselves as adults but alas this is not the case.  So for now we are choosing to go over the classics while steering clear of the top ten and revisiting family names from the past.  Wish us luck and stay tuned for the reveal once baby C arrives!