Name the Baby
What follows is the archive of posts (in descending timeline) to a blog my wife Marlee and I kept while she was pregnant during the summer of 2006 and we were making lists of potential names for our son. The name of the blog was Name the Baby : A blog for naming our impending son. The winner was Thomas Reed Givens - we chose the name from our final list after looking at him in the labor and delivery room in the hospital for about 10 or 15 minutes to see which one fit him best.
She posted under the name 'girlnextdoor' and, as you can see, most of the work was done by her. She spent a lot of time looking through books of baby names, reading about the way certain syllable accents would fit our last name better, and making spreadsheets of various name combinations.
I liked the name Thomas because it reminded me of Thomas Jefferson and of a pretty cool guy I went to school with named Thomas. We both liked Reed because of how Southern it sounds (we wanted a fairly Southern name) and because it reminded us of the songwriter Lou Reed.
Two days after we named him, I was thinking about what the situation was like for my parents when I was born and the house we lived in at the time. I suddenly remembered that our house was on Thom Read Drive. Weird.
Short list mix and match
girlnextdoor
2006-08-16T06:25:00-07:00
2006-08-16T13:28:51Z
2006-08-16T13:28:51Z
Rather than post entire first-middle-last combinations, I thought I'd list some single names we seem to like. Perhaps we can mix and match among these:
Avery
Thomas
Benjamin
Reed
Wade
Lucas
Mason
Any others to add to the list?
Short list for T-minus 3 weeks and counting
girlnextdoor
2006-08-15T08:56:00-07:00
2006-08-15T18:43:21Z
2006-08-15T15:57:48Z
Avery Thomas Givens
Avery Benjamin Givens
Thomas Reed Givens
Thomas Wade Givens
Thomas Dorn Givens
Lucas Reed Givens
Lucas Benjamin Givens
Short list
girlnextdoor
2006-08-02T12:30:00-07:00
2006-08-02T19:31:27Z
2006-08-02T19:31:27Z
Thomas Reed Givens
Lucas Reed Givens
Lucas Benjamin Givens
Please add to this list.
Today's Name I Like
Darin
2006-07-07T13:28:00-07:00
2006-07-07T20:28:43Z
2006-07-07T20:28:42Z
Lucas Wade Givens
From the e-mails
girlnextdoor
2006-06-30T05:24:00-07:00
2006-06-30T12:25:30Z
2006-06-30T12:25:25Z
Lucas Reed Givens
Lucas Benjamin Givens
Owen Brady Givens
Benjamin Lucas Givens
Marlee's favorite names today
girlnextdoor
2006-06-13T08:04:00-07:00
2006-06-13T15:07:44Z
2006-06-13T15:07:43Z
Lucas Benjamin Givens
Owen Brady Givens [a twist on your favorite from Friday]
Mason Douglas Givens
Favorite name today
Darin
2006-06-09T11:51:00-07:00
2006-06-09T18:52:12Z
2006-06-09T18:52:12Z
My favorites name today:
Brady Owen Givens
Fun with Arlen and Whitney
girlnextdoor
2006-05-24T10:10:00-07:00
2006-05-24T17:10:25Z
2006-05-24T17:10:25Z
I added Arlen and Whitney as middle names to the spreadsheet. (I'm not enough of a fan of the name Arlen to consider it as a first name - sorry!) Here are some results:
Mason Arlen Givens
Mason Whitney Givens
Emory Arlen Givens
Nathan Arlen Givens
Nathan Whitney Givens
Brady Arlen Givens
Brady Whitney Givens
Adam Whitney Givens
Lewis Arlen Givens
Lewis Whitney Givens
Personally I can't get very excited about the Arlen combinations, but I do like Mason Whitney, Nathan Whitney and Adam Whitney.
Our favorite names for baby duck
girlnextdoor
2006-05-24T10:10:00-07:00
2006-05-24T17:12:23Z
2006-05-24T17:12:22Z
These are the names we liked most when practicing with the duck earlier this week:
Top 5:
Nathan Douglas
Avery Dean
Mason Douglas
Mason Reed
Benjamin Wade
The rest:
Nathan Clay
Lewis Wade
Lewis Avery
Nathan Reed
Brady Lewis
Avery Lewis
Douglas Reed
Wade Benjamin
Lewis and Clay
girlnextdoor
2006-05-19T09:19:00-07:00
2006-05-19T16:23:03Z
2006-05-19T16:21:55Z
Not to be confused with Lewis and Clark..
Anyway, adding "Lewis" to the list of potential first names and "Clay" to the list of potential middle names, here are some new combinations to ponder:
Mason Clay GivensEmory Clay Givens
Avery Clay Givens
Nathan Clay Givens
Adam Clay Givens
Owen Clay Givens
Lewis Reed Givens
Lewis Dean Givens
Lewis Wade Givens
Lewis Byrd Givens
Lewis Vance Givens
Lewis Dorn Givens
Lewis Casey Givens
Lewis Brady Givens
Lewis Adam Givens
Lewis Nathan Givens
Lewis Wyatt Givens
Lewis Benjamin Givens
Lewis Avery Givens
Lewis Julian Givens
Lewis Cassidy Givens
Lewis Clay Givens
Feel free to substitute "Louis" for "Lewis."
See below
girlnextdoor
2006-05-09T11:21:00-07:00
2006-05-09T18:25:07Z
2006-05-09T18:25:07Z
Just testing out some first-middle-last combinations with some of our favorite first and middle name choices. I finally figured out how to get the spreadsheet to do what I wanted it to do, and now it's easy to create these combinations. I deleted the ones that either repeated the first name for the middle, or that just didn't sound good, or had bad initials (e.g. Brady Owen Givens = BOG).
I don't have any favorites on any of these lists - I think it would be good to pronounce them out loud together and see which ones we like the sound of.
And of course if we come up with more name possibilities, we can make more combinations.
Playing with first-middle combinations: Owen
girlnextdoor
2006-05-09T11:20:00-07:00
2006-05-09T18:20:39Z
2006-05-09T18:20:39Z
Owen Reed Givens
Owen Lane Givens
Owen Dean Givens
Owen Wade Givens
Owen Byrd Givens
Owen Vance Givens
Owen Dorn Givens
Owen Lewis Givens
Owen Casey Givens
Owen Brady Givens
Owen Adam Givens
Owen Douglas Givens
Owen Wyatt Givens
Owen Benjamin Givens
Owen Avery Givens
Owen Emory Givens
Owen Emerson Givens
Owen Julian Givens
Owen Cassidy Givens
Playing with first-middle combinations: Adam
girlnextdoor
2006-05-09T11:20:00-07:00
2006-05-09T18:20:17Z
2006-05-09T18:20:17Z
Adam Reed Givens
Adam Lane Givens
Adam Dean Givens
Adam Wade Givens
Adam Byrd Givens
Adam Vance Givens
Adam Dorn Givens
Adam Owen Givens
Adam Lewis Givens
Adam Casey Givens
Adam Brady Givens
Adam Douglas Givens
Adam Wyatt Givens
Adam Benjamin Givens
Adam Emory Givens
Adam Emerson Givens
Adam Julian Givens
Adam Oliver Givens
Adam Cassidy Givens
Playing with first-middle combinations: Nathan
girlnextdoor
2006-05-09T11:19:00-07:00
2006-05-09T18:19:33Z
2006-05-09T18:19:33Z
Nathan Reed Givens
Nathan Lane Givens
Nathan Dean Givens
Nathan Wade Givens
Nathan Byrd Givens
Nathan Vance Givens
Nathan Dorn Givens
Nathan Lewis Givens
Nathan Brady Givens
Nathan Adam Givens
Nathan Douglas Givens
Nathan Wyatt Givens
Nathan Benjamin Givens
Nathan Avery Givens
Nathan Emory Givens
Nathan Emerson Givens
Nathan Julian Givens
Nathan Cassidy Givens
Playing with first-middle combinations: Brady
girlnextdoor
2006-05-09T11:19:00-07:00
2006-05-09T18:19:54Z
2006-05-09T18:19:54Z
Brady Reed Givens
Brady Lane Givens
Brady Vance Givens
Brady Dorn Givens
Brady Lewis Givens
Brady Adam Givens
Brady Nathan Givens
Brady Douglas Givens
Brady Wyatt Givens
Brady Emerson Givens
Brady Julian Givens
Playing with first-middle combinations: Avery
girlnextdoor
2006-05-09T11:18:00-07:00
2006-05-09T18:19:12Z
2006-05-09T18:19:12Z
Avery Lane Givens
Avery Dean Givens
Avery Byrd Givens
Avery Dorn Givens
Avery Owen Givens
Avery Lewis Givens
Avery Nathan Givens
Avery Douglas Givens
Avery Wyatt Givens
Avery Benjamin Givens
Avery Emerson Givens
Avery Julian Givens
Playing with first-middle combinations: Emory
girlnextdoor
2006-05-09T11:18:00-07:00
2006-05-09T18:18:44Z
2006-05-09T18:18:44Z
Emory Reed Givens
Emory Lane Givens
Emory Dean Givens
Emory Byrd Givens
Emory Vance Givens
Emory Dorn Givens
Emory Owen Givens
Emory Lewis Givens
Emory Adam Givens
Emory Nathan Givens
Emory Douglas Givens
Emory Wyatt Givens
Emory Benjamin Givens
Emory Julian Givens
Playing with first-middle combinations: Mason
girlnextdoor
2006-05-09T11:15:00-07:00
2006-05-09T18:18:15Z
2006-05-09T18:18:15Z
Mason Reed Givens
Mason Lane Givens
Mason Dean Givens
Mason Byrd Givens
Mason Vance Givens
Mason Dorn Givens
Mason Lewis Givens
Mason Brady Givens
Mason Adam Givens
Mason Douglas Givens
Mason Wyatt Givens
Mason Benjamin Givens
Mason Avery Givens
Mason Emory Givens
Mason Cassidy Givens
Our refrigerator list
girlnextdoor
2006-04-20T08:28:00-07:00
2006-04-20T15:30:24Z
2006-04-20T15:29:36Z
I'm forgetting a couple, aren't I? - help me out here, D.
Mason
Emory
Avery
Nathan
Lewis
Casey
Brady
Adam
... Hey, whatever happened to Owen? Off the list?
Single Syllable Middle Names
Darin
2006-04-17T07:33:00-07:00
2006-04-17T14:43:31Z
2006-04-17T14:41:22Z
shane
I just wrote this brilliant post about giving the baby a name that mimmicks the same syllable pattern as our first and middle names with the first having two and the middle having one - then Blogger ate the post, so I'm trying to remember what I wrote. I think it was this:
Mason Shane
Avery Lane
Brady Lane
Casey Shane
I like the way the single syllable middle name goes with the first names ending with the 'ee' sound best.
Notes from Easter weekend
girlnextdoor
2006-04-16T18:29:00-07:00
2006-04-17T01:49:22Z
2006-04-17T01:49:22Z
Names that end w/ "en"
Nathan
Gordon
Hayden
Quinn
Watson
Mason
Julian
Owen
Carson
Preston
Adrian
Benjamin
Madison
Names that end w/ "ee"
Emory
Avery
Brady
Casey
Darby
Ellery
Jeremy
Toby
Names that end w/ "er"
Fletcher
Fisher
Thatcher
Other
Davis
Adam
Douglas
Wyatt
Taylor
Favorite combinations from Saturday
Mason Fisher
Nathan Douglas
Adam Ellery
Emory Nathan
Emory Benjamin
Owen Douglas
Julian Douglas
Avery Benjamin
Owen Taylor
Mason Douglas
Mason Ellery
Carson Taylor
Carson Emory
Other names thought up Sunday
Edgar
Edwin
Byrd
Parson
Hanley
Ellis
Everett
girlnextdoor
2006-04-14T10:37:00-07:00
2006-04-14T19:27:45Z
2006-04-14T17:38:36Z
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25889688.post-114503631614495445
Our apparent favorites, so far (first names)
Just trying to get a list going... Feel free to edit!
Carson
Julian (Julien)
Adrian
Emmett
Mason
Fisher
Owen
Simon
Oliver
Elijah
Arlen
Darin
2006-04-13T12:35:00-07:00
2006-04-13T19:39:41Z
2006-04-13T19:39:41Z
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25889688.post-114495718118965469
Other names I just discovered I like after looking around
Carson Douglas
Carson Brody
Julien Douglas
Julien Wray
Adrian Douglas
Adrian Ellis
girlnextdoor
2006-04-13T11:01:00-07:00
2006-04-13T18:12:12Z
2006-04-13T18:11:09Z
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25889688.post-114495186928656284
Emmett
Here's another list of middle-name combinations, this time with Emmett:
Emmett Douglas
Emmett Avery
Emmett Casey
Emmett Sullivan
Emmett Wray
Emmett Harris
Emmett Brody (or Brady)
Emmett Calvin
Emmett Ian
Emmett Andrew
Emmett Henry
Emmett Jonathan
Emmett Solomon
Emmett Whitney
Emmett Watson
Darin
2006-04-13T07:45:00-07:00
2006-04-13T14:47:52Z
2006-04-13T14:47:52Z
Consonant-led ony
Mason Finley
Fisher Monroe
girlnextdoor
2006-04-12T09:19:00-07:00
2006-04-12T16:37:19Z
2006-04-12T16:37:19Z
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25889688.post-114485983957951968
Owen
Since we both seem to like Owen so much, I thought I'd make a list of combinations of Owen with various middle names:
Owen Casey
Owen Cassidy
Owen Patrick
Owen Sullivan
Owen Douglas
Owen Benjamin
Owen Ellis
Owen David
Owen Merrill
Owen Cameron
Owen Emmanuel
Owen Silas
Owen Joshua
Owen Kennedy
Owen Tucker
Owen Davis
Owen Daniel
Owen Drakewake ;->
girlnextdoor
2006-04-11T11:25:00-07:00
2006-04-11T18:29:03Z
2006-04-11T18:29:03Z
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25889688.post-114478014331632350
Marlee's favorite first names
Owen
Simon
Emmett
Oliver
Ellis (like more as middle name, though)
Emerson (like more as middle name, though)
Warren
I know too many people with little boys named Ian and Aidan, so those are not on my list.
Arlen is very close to Harlan, a name one of my coworkers is convinced we should use. Also, it's the name of a long-serving U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, which may or may not influence my opinion on the name... Mostly it just reminds me of him.
Darin
2006-04-11T11:03:00-07:00
2006-04-13T14:45:03Z
2006-04-11T18:04:53Z
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25889688.post-114477869304473498
Vowel-led first name, consonant-led middle
elijah quinn
Arlen Harris
Arlen Foster
(Marlee says: Foster was the name of a most-hated brother of my grandmother)
Ian Brody
Owen Casey (or Owen Cassidy)
emmet wray
emmet monroe
emmet page
Owen Patrick
Owen Sullivan
Owen Douglas