What is in a name?

William Jeffrey was here. We decided to give my husband's middle name, William, as the first name because it was a family name on both sides and because it was a well recognized name that is easy to spell and understand. Before I even considered having a child my rules for naming a baby were decided on and meant to follow. I did follow them, to an extent. I did not want a name that could be shortened because I wanted my child to be called by their given name (with the exception of the inevitable nicknames). Eliminating names that can be shortened or that have different versions would help this cause. I didn't want a name that sounded made up. Studies show that people who have common, well known names are more likely to be successful. I didn't want the name to end it an e,i, or y. Just because. I didn't want to the name to be unisex because I didn't want there to be any question of gender upon hearing the name. I didn't want the name to be super common so that my child wouldn't lose some individuality when competing against 10 other people of the same name in the same class or wherever. And, I wanted to name to have a good connotation to it. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"-William Shakespeare. I love your first name Shakespeare, but I am not sure I agree with the quote. A name can elicit a certain thought just by the sound of it. So, you may be wondering why I went back on some of these pre-decided rules to come up with William. We didn't decided on the name until about a week or two before William was born. I felt in my heart that it was right. I wanted a name with meaning behind it. My husband was originally against the idea until, after skimming through a baby naming book, I stumbled across names under certain categories (i.e. celebrity, bible, etc.). Under the category, "names that command respect", was the name William. That sold it. I love that my husband and son can share a name. The middle name was easy. It is my father's name. None of my other siblings had used it for their children and I felt that it added that much more meaning to my son. The names come from two of my favorite men that I love.The name has purpose, history, and heritage behind it. It gives a great foundation to shaping my son after the men he was named after.

Now there was a new set of rules. He was not to be called Bill, Willy, Billy, or B.J.. Will was an acceptable nickname but as parents we decided to call him exclusively, William. I cannot control what others will call him or if he decides later in life to go by one of these versions of his name. I plan on calling him William forever. The only deviation I have made for that is coming up with  my own unique nickname for him that I use sparingly and I occasionally like to make a play on words with his name. For example "silly billy" and "where there is a will..iam there is a way" :). I feel so good about my decision to deviate from the rules. The name fits him well and he carries with it two great examples. I encourage all who are currently searching for that "perfect" name for their upcoming child to search within your heart and do not take the task lightly. Your child has to live with the name that you have given them. Consider the implications of each name and keep an open mind. I ended up changing my mind on the rules to which I used to select a name and I couldn't be happier with my decision. I feel confident in knowing that when my son asks where he got his name, I can give him a far greater answer than, "it sounded nice."

Nothing is more pure than a brand new baby.