baby names

So, of course baby names are a common topic of conversation lately...not just around our house, but everywhere we go. 

I had a work lunch today and it came up again...then my friend and colleague sent me an NPR article talking about baby-naming-hostility.  People get a little peeved when you don't want to disclose what names you're thinking about.  Why is that?  Are you going to embroider the name on a pillow for me?  We definitely have some names in mind, but I know how judgmental I am...so it stands to reason that other people would be just as judgmental as I would be, right?  There are names I can't stand...like super trendy names or "fad" names.  Oh, you want an example?  Ashton.  Really?  The ONLY Ashton that anyone knew before was Ashton Kutcher...now it's a cool name for your kid?  I don't think so.  Or Bailey, that was super popular a few years back and with that name came Connor and Riley.  I wonder how many Bailey's have to go by their last name or Bailey First Letter of Your Last Name because there are 6 of them in the same 4th grade class. 

See, I'm judging.  According to the NPR article, it is most common to name a girl something that ends in "a" right now.  Emma, Ava, Isabella, Sophia, Olivia, Alyssa...and on and on.  I wonder why that is trendy?  The article also says it is common for people to name a boy something that ends in "n" right now.  Hudson, Evan, Ethan, Owen, Jackson, ASHTON, etc.  Our top names don't follow that "n" rule.  Is that a good enough hint?  My best friend had a dream we named our son Owen William Beals.  My sister had a dream we named him Max William Beals.  Both cute, but both not on our list.  I do love that people other than us are having dreams about our baby though. 

Anyway, feel free to guess or even suggest names for us, but know that until he arrives we're keeping the name a secret. 

For fun...try this.  Baby Name Genie.