The Name Game

I can't for the life of me, tell you where my first name originated.  Bridgette Marie.  I think the Marie part came from a great grandmother on my Moms side.  But Bridgette?   I think I remember hearing Bridgette Bardot was a hot actress around the time I was born, and that could've been it?  Mom, help me out here...But what I can tell you is that I was ALMOST named Roxanne.  Yes, Roxanne or Roxie.  Whew, missed that one by a hair...All I think of when I hear the name Roxanne is that song by The Police.  "Roxaaaanne!  You don't have to put on the red lights, Roxaaaaane!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td7_ZLWPaaE






Growing up, when I was first starting to learn how to write, I remember having to practice my name.  I felt jilted that my name had nine letters instead of some of my classmates that had say, four letters to their name.  It's funny to look back now, as an adult, and think of the silly things like that.  Stuff that seemed life altering at the time.  Just recently, our daughter was scribbling with chalk on our driveway and we spelled out her name...I thought, oh man, she will probably have the same complaints as I did with a long first name...I can only imagine how T felt, with her name being Tristesse.  I wonder if she felt the same way I did?  T, don't feel bad...for the record, I wasn't lucky enough to have any bicycle license plates with my name on it either...We are two peas in a pod on that one.



It took me until Saturday until I finally came up with something to follow up on T's "What's in a name" blog.  During the soccer game, I was hearing names like " Tanner!  Drake! Jayden!"  It reminded me of the current naming trend.  It has really changed since we were children.  When I was in school you would hear, "Jessica!  Melissa!  Jennifer!" 

My husband I fell into the category of wanting a unique or different name than everyone else's.  For months we scoured the baby name books, the internet, listened intently as we watched movies, and met new people.  Naming our unborn child was serious business!

One day, I came up with the name Zane after doing some research on the internet.  I couldn't wait to walk in the door and run it by my husband!  As soon as I could, I blurted it out to him.  I said, "What about Zane?"  He thought for a minute and said, "Hmmm.  What about Zander?"  Immediately I loved it.  We already had decided that we wanted the middle name Davis, and Zander Davis sounded like a strong and masculine name. Appropriate for a young boy and an adult man.  Since then, we have had people tell us that Zander is a character from a soap opera, too funny!




Five years after our son was born, we decided to try for another baby.  Our son had begun school, and the thought of him not having a brother or sister had kicked in.  After conceiving, about 21 weeks into the pregnancy, we went to our ultrasound appointment.  We anxiously waited to hear if we were going to have another boy or a girl.  Secretly, I had been thinking we were going to have another boy.  I just pictured two little boys running through the house, bouncing off of the walls and doing "guy stuff" with my husband.  When we were told we were having a girl, we were so excited and we couldn't wait for her to arrive.  Now the hard part came along.  What do we name a little girl?



(For the record, even with a little girl in our house..she still bounces off of the walls and runs through the house with her big brother!)

There are so many beautiful names out there for little girls.  But it was so important to consider a name that would be appropriate for someone small and big.  We were having breakfast one morning at Noahs Bagels, and I told my husband, "You know what name I really like?  Vivienne."  I liked the ring of Z and V.  We both felt like we couldn't have a Zander and a Sarah.  No offense to the Sarah's out there, it just had to be another strong name with a unusual starting letter.  It was a hit immediately.  We were using the middle name Marie, so Vivienne Marie was the perfect name.  Feminine, and sweet.  I wavered a few times after that and ran the name by friends and family, and we were sure.  She was going to be named Vivienne Marie.



You may or may not have the same feelings, but I always relate names to people I have known in my past by the same name.  If it's a George for example, I know a George and think of him as a great guy...but if the name is tied to someone who isn't so pleasant, I tend to have a hard time getting passed that. 

Another thing along with choosing a name, usually comes nicknames.  I felt like it was just as important when choosing our childrens names to consider their initials, and possible nicknames that could be associated with their names.  I didn't want them to end up with something that could be tied to an unpleasant word or abbreviation for fear of teasing as they went through school or later in life.  People can be cruel and I didn't want to be the one who gave the creeps ammo to tease our two offspring.

There are so many things tied to names and choosing a name that will stick with your child for their life.  It can be one of the most important decisions made up until you hold your little babe in your arms for the first time.  I always like to hear the origination of names when I meet people, and it makes for a great conversation starter when you meet someone new.  If you would like to share your stories, post them in the comment section...We love to hear from our fans and friends!

Embrace Your Sparkle,

B




Pin It