What Should We Call It?

Well, we won’t be able to keep calling it Baby Kopp forever, even though I’ve gotten rather used to it. And since I’m super indecisive and picky, Richard and I really need to get to work narrowing down our list of name possibilities. The next four months are going to go by fast and I don’t want to end up with a nameless newborn. Plus, we have double the names to consider since the gender will be a surprise.

Richard and I have a constantly changing list of name options; it takes a lot for a name to make it onto the list and not much for it to get knocked off. Simply meeting a nasty person that has a name on our list is enough for that name to get the ax. After all, we don’t want the baby’s name to have any negative personal connotations or be associated with any bad memories or disliked/strange people.

I also want our baby to have a classic name, nothing too weird or crazy. As someone who grew up with an unusual name, I most definitely want our child to have a name that people will recognize. At the same time, it can’t be too popular. I don’t want Baby Kopp to be in a kindergarten class with three or four other kids with the same name. It’s also important to me that the baby’s name have some personal meaning, like naming it after a relative or someone or something that inspires us.

Another critical consideration is our last name. The baby’s name must sound good with Kopp. And the initials can’t create a bad acronym, like KKK. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to pair a first name that begins with an F with a middle name that begins with a U, because FUK would not be good either (though it is kind of funny, hehe). And since Kopp is such a short, two-syllable surname, it doesn’t work very well with other short names, like Jack and Kate (yes, I was thinking of LOST when I added them to our name list). Jack Kopp and Kate Kopp are just too difficult to say with all the hard k’s…so they had to be taken off the list. Bummer. Clark Kent Kopp also didn’t make the cut because of all the k sounding action (Sorry, Superman).

We’ve thought about keeping two or three names as options for both genders and then waiting until we meet Baby Kopp to select its one and final name. Sort of matching it with a name that best fits our baby’s look or personality. But it’s going to be an hours-old infant…how much personality can it exhibit? I’m pretty sure it’s only going to be sleeping, eating, crying, and looking like an old bald man during those first few hours outside the womb when we’ll need to pick the name. And I don’t see how any of these activities will help us decide on a name, unless we’re naming it after one of the seven dwarfs.

Some boy names that are on the top of our list are Owen, Martin (homage to my mother’s maiden name), and Charlie. I did really like Henry as well, but Emily and Sean “claimed” that name for their future child since their last name is Higgins – name stealers!

For a girl, we like the names Samantha, Molly, and Helene. We’re having a harder time with girl names. There are a few more that I wanted on the list of options, but Richard was disgusted by them (what’s so terrible about the name Charlotte??). He didn’t even like the saint names I suggested, like Monica, Cecilia or Felicity. Seems like a good idea to name your kid after a saint, right? And I thought Richard would be all on board, since he’d probably be a priest if he wasn’t married to me. I was wrong – saint names are a no-no for Richard.

So what, if anything, does Richard like?

Through our name brainstorming, I have discovered that Richard has a tendency to suggest pet names for our child, like Odie or Max. He’s also fixated on the names Oscar and Felix, which remind me of a.) a grouch in a trash can, b.) a creepy cartoon cat with giant eyes, and c.) The Odd Couple. Yet Richard sneered at my suggestions like Milo (yes, it also sounds like a dog’s name, but no more than Odie!). He thought I was joking when I suggested the name Tanner as a tribute to the world’s greatest TV family (obviously referring to Full House here). I mean why wouldn’t you want to name your son after a wholesome guy like Danny Tanner – he’s super clean and a caring dad, albeit a little dorky. Anyhoo, as a compromise, both Tanner and Oscar remain on the list (but don’t bet on Oscar making it to the delivery date).

Let us know what you think – what should we name Baby Kopp? Please do not suggest Fido or Benji.