MY HUSBAND AND I DEBATED A LONG TIME about what to name our son. My name is hard to spell and pronounce, so I wanted to give Colin a name that was easy but unique.

One of my early picks was Ronan. It’s different and easy to say, and I like the way it sounds. When I suggested it to my friends and family, they were all very sensitive to my feelings and told me it was the stupidest name they’d ever heard. “Any name but this one,” one relative said. I don’t think other people’s opinions should rule our lives, but I also didn’t want my son to have a name that everyone revolted against so strongly, so I scrapped it. (But, if there is a Ronan reading this, I want you to know that I love your name and your mother.)

I also really like the name Kai. But my husband’s last name is Kaiser. So he pretty much ruined that one.

My husband suggested very few names during the name picking process and mainly assumed the role of accepting or rejecting anything I offered. He limited the search by vetoing any name that doubles as a boys and girls’ name. This eliminates a lot of pretty names. Devon’s a nice one. Or what about Jordan? Both violate Andy’s decree because they are gender-neutral, so they were out.

My mother-in-law suggested Norbert. So we learned that we couldn’t take any of her suggestions seriously.

I like the name Gavin. Andy said “no” because Gavin Newsome shares that name, and Andy was also against all celebrity names. I argued that Gavin Newsome is a pretty minor celebrity, but Andy stood firm.

Here’s a funny coincidence. One of my ex-boyfriends named his son Gavin Richard, and Richard is our son’s middle name! If I had been able to sway Andy, both my and my ex-boyfriend’s son could have the same name! Isn’t that funny? I thought so. But then Andy told me that it wasn’t funny. At all.

We finally chose Colin, and I thought I was being very sneaky because Andy didn’t realize that our son shares his name with Colin Firth, the actor who plays Mr. Darcy. Ha! I snuck a celebrity name in there after all. But then later I found out that every time a woman heard our son’s name, she said, “Oh! Your wife must like ‘Pride and Prejudice’!” so I guess I wasn’t being sneaky after all.

What did my friends and relatives say when they heard we’d chosen Colin? Some liked it. Others didn’t, but they pretended to like it, so I knew they understood the true meaning of friendship at last. One relative said, “Any name but this one.” But I’d already learned to ignore that.

My daughter’s name was easy. I’ve loved the name Annabelle for a long time. We stuck with the name even though, after “Twilight,” a lot of little Isabellas were born. Now there is a horror movie about a demonic doll named Annabelle who wantonly kills children, families, and the name. Andy says it’s a bad flick that people will quickly forget. I am hoping that, as a silver lining, it will scare people off the name.

I’ve started brainstorming names for our third child. Andy says that absolutely and positively there will not be a third child.

I will name him Carson.

Kirstin Odegaard runs the Benicia Tutoring Center. Read and comment on her writings at www.kodegaard.com.

Sharing is caring!