The Name Game

Naming a child is no trivial task. The kid will be stuck with this decision for the rest of their lives. That's pressure. I don't want to be culpable for baby girl getting beat up on the playground -- Daaaad, why did you name me Yoshinoya??? (Cuz it's tasty that's why, now man up and stop crying!)

It's a particularly touchy subject with me (see my old blog post for more details), so I wanted to ensure that the proper due diligence was put into the selection. There was some general criterion that we considered (I've included both boy & girl names as needed for reference):

Criterion #1 - No names rhyming with bad words, bodily fluids, reproductive body parts, etc
Example: Regina, Lee, Tucker, Mitch, Rick, Cassie (also our dog's name), etc

Criterion #2 - Preferably Judeo-Christian
Example: Mary, Rachel, Sarah, Judy, Rebbecca, Beth, etc

Criterion #3 - No names that are already taken by kids of friends/family
Example: Leah (a favorite of mine - reserved by Janet & Drich), Nathaniel (newborn baby Nathan from cousins Hazel & Nima), Reina (reserved by good friends Nicole & Steve)

Criterion #4 - Our parents had to be able to pronounce it
Obviously :o)

Names That Were in Close Contention
Rach shot down: Eliana, Aaliyah
Eph shot down: Clara, Carolina (pronounced caro LEE na)

And the winner is ..... *drum roll*

Camille Quizon Maniago!

Here's a quick synopsis of the meaning of Camille:

Camillus and camilla were two Latin nouns designating children helping at religious services, much like altar boys. These young boys and girls were chosen among the children of the Roman nobility to attend the priests in the sacrifices for the gods.

An example of a male Camille is the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns.

Camille is currently particularly popular in the French-speaking province of Canada, Quebec, where it was the 8th most popular name in 2006, and in Belgium where it was 14th. There are also indications that it is very popular in France.

The meaning is neither here nor there, and it didn't really sway our opinion one way or another. In the end we just thought the name sounded cool (though the name is going like gangbusters in French speaking countries - oh la la). Ultimately, it was the very first name that we both liked, so it was always the one to beat.

The raging debate now is what her obligatory nickname will be. I personally like "Mimi (mee mee)" and Rach digs "Millie" Milly {Rachel edit: Milly with a "y"}. Rach thinks that Mimi sounds like a fat girl name *ouch* {Rachel edit for clarification: because that's what Mariah started calling herself when she started looking like longanisa in all her clothes}. What do you think? Vote in our nifty new poll to the right!