The Perfect Name....

Baby names have been on my mind recently. Probaby because my sister is expecting as are two people I work with. Recently one of my co-workers and I had a conversation about what she's going to name her baby. She has given me no hints as to what it might be (if she even knows) so I told her I would compile a list of baby names for her.

While thinking over what names to include on this list, I was reminded of an experience my sister recently had when she asked her 3 year old son what he thinks they should name their baby. These were his suggestions:

1 - Marshmallow Matey
2 - Shrek
3 - Justin
4 - Basketball Hoop

At first this list made me laugh. But then I thought that he must be getting all his ideas from the tabloids. We hear in the news all the time about celebrities naming their babies something no one else would ever think of. Names absolutely ridiculous, such as:

Apple
Coco
Kal-el
Pilot Inspektor
Fifi Trixibelle
Little Pixie
Peaches Honeyblossom
Bluebell
Allegra
Fuchsia
Diva Muffin
Moon Unit
Lourdes
Tu Simone Ayer
Daisy Boo
Enzo
Ocean

And the list goes on and on. What prompts people to want to cause their own children utter humiliation for the rest of their lives? Seriously, if my parents named me Little Pixie or Fifi, I would have court papers drawn up to legally change my name by the time I was three. Because once I hit school age, my life would be over.

I happen to have another co-worker who recently bought a little cockapoo puppy. Over the few days that he had to decide on a name, my interest in baby names caused me to write down all the names he came up with (unbeknownst to him) as he would shout them out from behind his office door. Unfortunately I threw the list away, but the few I remember were:

1 - Penelope
2 - Leonora
3 - Millicent

The name he has officially decided on is Penelope Donatella Monsoon. When he threw out that name, I admit that I might have said "Are you kiddin' me?" But much to my surprise I soon found out that he was very serious. He said he wanted a name that was "exotic". Is that what people think these days? That they have to come up with the most exotic name? And why is it that dogs are getting human names and humans are getting dog names? I really want to know. Has anybody else noticed this trend?

In all this flutter of nonsense, I realized that the decision on what to name a child (or even a dog) rests solely on the parents of that child. So if my sister or my co-workers decide to name their kid Persephone, Marshmallow Matey or Lincoln Log, who am I to stop them? Just because it seems ridiculous to me doesn't mean it's not the perfect name for them.

From this point on I will no longer say "Are you kiddin' me?" when I hear someone shout out a crazy and absurd name. I will hold my tongue. But I make no promises that I won't laugh about it later on.