Name Game

I have always felt a little bit awkward about my name. As long as I can remember people have not so subtly told me I have a dudes name.

"Sean? Like the boy's name?" "Isn't Sean a boy's name?" "You spell is S-E-A-N, like a boy?" 

And then there's the brutal mispronunciations I've heard:

"Shane" or my favorite, "Seen" are the most common but there is a whole smorgasbord of others.

With time I've become more and more comfortable with my name, though I still get a little annoyed when people question me about it.

When you think about it, names are pretty damn important.

This might sound like a bunch of new agey BS but I think our names build our character and shape our personalities. For instance, I was given a boys name because my parents didn't love me and wanted me to suffer a lifetime of ridicule, therefore I'm a teensy bit cynical.

When I was deciding on a name for my own daughter the decision was hard.

The name I really loved and wanted turned out to be more of a boy's name (which I was okay with) than a unisex one like I thought. My husband wasn't too fond of it so it was off the table and now we had to start from scratch.

I looked through baby books and searched the Internet. I found names I thought were okay and created a short list to be considered. Matt and I couldn't seem to agree on any though and I honestly didn't love any of them.

One day the name Natalie popped into my head. I thought it was really pretty, feminine and sweet. When I envisioned a Natalie, I saw a little girl with brown hair and a sweet smile, who's happy and full of life. I could also imagine a grown woman who's strong willed and independent at the same time.

It seemed like a good candidate. I asked Matt what he thought and he really liked it too. We unofficially agreed on it, but stayed open to the option of changing our minds, though that was unlikely.

By the time I was so far along in my pregnancy we were so attached to the name and knew it was a keeper.

I resisted but finally looked it up online to see how popular it was. I was a little disappointed to see it was ranked pretty high on the list. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad other people love it enough to give to their daughters. I just wanted something a little less common.

I definitely was set on the name though and knew it would be special despite how popular it became.

She's been Natalie for a little over ten months now and I cannot see her having any other name. She fits all the characteristics that I pictured and it suits her quite well.

 I'm happy with our choice and look forward to seeing who she will blossom into.

How did you choose your child's name? Was it something you knew you would always use, or something that surprised you?