10 Dec 2003 - 4:40pm - JAM (aka, Baby Names)

So, after much debate, we've finally reached a conclusion on baby names.

Amusingly enough, John pointed out that both names we chose happen to have the same initials: JAM. (I can sense various wise-cracks just waiting to be said - don't worry, I almost entitled this entry "PB&J" just for that reason. But, hush! No mockeries here! ;) ). So if people really wanted to get something monogrammed, they are safe either way. LOL.

Anyway, as most of you know, if we have a little boy, his name is going to be Joshua Anthony.

Really, while I would have taken a veto from John into consideration, I really did strongarm him into accepting this name, just because I so love the name, Joshua. This name was decided even before we knew we were pregnant. And Anthony is for my dad - the most wonderful dad in all the world, and one of the most wonderful people I know.

The girl's name proved more difficult. There are just so many wonderful names, and so many I like. And we ran into the difficulty of me loving certain names that John just didn't care for at all, or vice versa. Not to mention that choosing names for characters always takes me forever and ever, so you can only imagine that making a decision on my baby girl's name was nigh impossible for me. :) It didn't help that one of my favorites is one that I don't think would work with our last name (Autumn), nor is it one that John particularly enjoys. And two others I like very much had equally big problems: one I happened to use for a long-running character (Kira), and so really couldn't use it for my child due to such associations. The second happens to be my middle name (Renee), and I would never want anyone to think I was naming my child after myself. So that was out.

In the end, much as I chose Joshua due to my love of the name, John made it clear where his desires for a girl's name lay. He didn't initially come right out and strongarm me the way I did him, but given that this name was brought up every time we talked about names, and he constantly told me how much he loved it, it was pretty clear what he wanted. ;) And given that I effectively chose the boy's name, and will likely spend until the time the baby is two going "Oh, but I like this name... and that... oh, which to choose?" it seemed only fair and prudent to go with the name that John would really love for "Daddy's little girl." And I like the name, too, don't get me wrong.

So, he absolutely adores the nickname "Jessi" (or "Jesse") for a little girl, and thus on the more formal name of "Jessica." So, having spent the last few days actively deciding on a girl's name, we have settled upon the name Jessica Angelique if our child is a little girl.

(A note on the middle name: we both adore the name Angelique - it wound up being my first choice ultimately - and John loves the idea of "Angel" as a nickname for a little girl. However, we were concerned that it would sound awfully pretentious. And he really loves Jessi so much more. So this was our way of including a name we both like without having any sense of pretentiousness about it. We also both liked the name "Kiara" which topped second on our list - but as John loved Jessica the more, Jessica it is.)

Of course, about five minutes after we decided so, and I breathed a sigh of relief that, should we have a girl, she wouldn't go unnamed, I remembered that one of my cousin's kids is named Jessica (making that Jessica my first cousin once removed). When I mentioned this to John, he pointed out that he has a first cousin named Jon, so it's not that big a deal for him. And he loves the name.

So while we (or I, rather) bat around other names that Jessi can be a nickname for - like Jessalyn - it is really likely that Jessica it will remain.

So Joshua Anthoy or Jessica Angelique... JAM. Due soon to arrive and be so named, in just eleven short weeks (and a day).