We have a hard time picking out baby names. I, especially, have a hard time. Once upon a time, I read this book that was heavily weighted on the importance and power of names. It was a fictional novel, but for some reason this concept has stuck with me and I really struggle to find the "right" name, not just one that works. I can argue myself out of practically any name it seems. Our experience with M looking so different than the name we'd picked for her only compounded the issues with trying to pick out a name before the baby arrived this time.
Everett
When picking a name we look at a lot of things. We don't want it to be TOO weird, but we also don't want every kid in the class to have this name. Therefore, it is unlikely that we'd pick a name that was in the top 50 or even 100 in popularity in the US last year (yes, we check the stats). We also think about things like what the full name sounds like at graduation or in a professional setting. This time, we thought a lot about how the names of all three sounded together--did they make a good sibling set? These are the sorts of things running through our heads as well as more basic things like what do we like? What does he "look" like? etc... We do consider things like initial spellings too, but, as you'll see, it isn't a deal breaker.
One thing we struggle with, particularly with boys is the nickname factor. My brother is a compulsive nickname person and it seems all boys will have them even B whose name was theoretically "nickname proof" according to the Baby Name Wizard folks (this is one of my favorite baby name books and websites). We discovered there are LOTS of boy nicknames we don't like even with names we really do like (Wallace to Wally, or Winston to Winnie for example).
The name "Everett" had never really been discussed much between us prior to his arrival. I had, however, found myself liking lots of boy names ending in "tt" including Bennett (too close to Brendan/Brent? a family name too) and Emmett (close to Emma and various random social connotations, but also a family we like).
Random Facts about the name Everett:
Pronunciation: EH-ver-it or EV-er-et.
Origin: Old English
Popularity: Everett is ranked #383 in popularity in the US. This is right about the same level of popularity of Brendan when we chose it (it is now more popular than that, significantly). "Maggie" ranks at #213 and "Marguerite", her formal name, is not even in the top 1000. Everett, like his middle name Ambrose, was near its peak of popularity in the 1910s when it was the 93rd most popular name.
Family Connections: As with his siblings, I originally didn't know anyone in our families with this first name. However, we've discovered one Everett married to my Grandpa's cousin so far and maybe there are more. (We belatedly found a Marguerite hidden in our family too so one never knows). There aren't any Brendan's that we've found, but his name is, in part a compound of Brent (Bre) + Danny (dan) so has connections too.
Why we chose it: I'm not really sure. Mostly we thought about it alone and in connection with his middle name and sibling names. We mulled our other options and after much wandering came back to this one.
Ambrose - We had this selected for his middle name early on to honor my father who he sadly won't get to meet on this earth. (Cue heart break/tears).
Random Facts about Ambrose
Pronounciation: AM-brohz, AM-brohs
Origin: Greek (and later Latin)
Name Meaning: Immortal (nice, right?)
Popularity: Not in the top 1000 as a first name. Popularity peaked around the 1890s to 1910.
Family Connections: Ambrose is my paternal grandfather's middle name. It is also my Dad's alter ego name of sorts. Basically a name he really liked and associated with. He used it for lots of things like passwords or things of that nature. In any case, it is a name I firmly associate with him and treasure.
So there you are, Everett Ambrose an old fashioned name for our wee new little one.
Ps. We do know his initials spell EAR, but we decided in the end we were fine with it.
Everett
When picking a name we look at a lot of things. We don't want it to be TOO weird, but we also don't want every kid in the class to have this name. Therefore, it is unlikely that we'd pick a name that was in the top 50 or even 100 in popularity in the US last year (yes, we check the stats). We also think about things like what the full name sounds like at graduation or in a professional setting. This time, we thought a lot about how the names of all three sounded together--did they make a good sibling set? These are the sorts of things running through our heads as well as more basic things like what do we like? What does he "look" like? etc... We do consider things like initial spellings too, but, as you'll see, it isn't a deal breaker.
One thing we struggle with, particularly with boys is the nickname factor. My brother is a compulsive nickname person and it seems all boys will have them even B whose name was theoretically "nickname proof" according to the Baby Name Wizard folks (this is one of my favorite baby name books and websites). We discovered there are LOTS of boy nicknames we don't like even with names we really do like (Wallace to Wally, or Winston to Winnie for example).
The name "Everett" had never really been discussed much between us prior to his arrival. I had, however, found myself liking lots of boy names ending in "tt" including Bennett (too close to Brendan/Brent? a family name too) and Emmett (close to Emma and various random social connotations, but also a family we like).
Random Facts about the name Everett:
Pronunciation: EH-ver-it or EV-er-et.
Origin: Old English
Name Meaning: brave, strong, hearty, boar
Family Connections: As with his siblings, I originally didn't know anyone in our families with this first name. However, we've discovered one Everett married to my Grandpa's cousin so far and maybe there are more. (We belatedly found a Marguerite hidden in our family too so one never knows). There aren't any Brendan's that we've found, but his name is, in part a compound of Brent (Bre) + Danny (dan) so has connections too.
Why we chose it: I'm not really sure. Mostly we thought about it alone and in connection with his middle name and sibling names. We mulled our other options and after much wandering came back to this one.
Ambrose - We had this selected for his middle name early on to honor my father who he sadly won't get to meet on this earth. (Cue heart break/tears).
Random Facts about Ambrose
Pronounciation: AM-brohz, AM-brohs
Origin: Greek (and later Latin)
Name Meaning: Immortal (nice, right?)
Popularity: Not in the top 1000 as a first name. Popularity peaked around the 1890s to 1910.
Name Saint: Our other children have Saints names as their first name, but for Everett it is his middle name. You can read more about St. Ambrose (a lawyer no less) here.
Family Connections: Ambrose is my paternal grandfather's middle name. It is also my Dad's alter ego name of sorts. Basically a name he really liked and associated with. He used it for lots of things like passwords or things of that nature. In any case, it is a name I firmly associate with him and treasure.
So there you are, Everett Ambrose an old fashioned name for our wee new little one.
Ps. We do know his initials spell EAR, but we decided in the end we were fine with it.
1 comment:
You can't beat the meaning of those names. Strong, brave, and immortal. what a wonderful choice. I love it!
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