What's In A Name?

"What's in a name?  That which we call a rose... by any other name would smell as sweet?"  ~Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

Juliet had to be out of her mind when she said this, right!?!  I mean, what was Shakespeare thinking when he penned her monologue!  He had to know the value and meaning of a name.  Heck, he wrote about one family (name) feuding against another.  [Just kidding.  Shakespeare was a genius!  He knew what he was doing.] 

But seriously, finding the perfect name is substantial and can be a major task for some parents these days.  Sure, I get it.  You can call a rose anything you want and it's essence is basically the same - can't change that fact.  Won't argue with the bearded bard there.  And no matter what you call a baby, a baby is still a baby and will be precious all the same.  But you probably can't tell a modern mom that if she named her son Archibald or her daughter Edwina that her little bundle of joy won't get some crazy looks here, and a few teases there.  Names are important. 

Don't get me wrong, Archibald and Edwina are perfectly decent and acceptable names... not trying to disrespect anyone.  They're just a little antiquated in my humble opinion, that's all.  Of course, names these days are wild and crazy... so, to each their own.  Honestly, my daughter's name is a little out there.  We received many an eye-ball roll.  But her name suits her perfectly.

How in the world does one begin to choose a baby name!?!  For some, this can be rather easy.  For others, the "chore" can be quite challenging... especially if you have a partner you have to agree with.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, my husband and I had the hardest time agreeing on a girl's name.  I loved certain names, he hated them.  He was partial to a select few, I couldn't stand them.  For months we searched through family names, read through books of names, and scrolled through the internet.  No luck.  Our daughter remained nameless.  What would we put on her birth certificate?  I didn't want to pull a Rachel from FRIENDS, and steal my best gal pal's name for her future daughter while I was still in the hospital after giving birth to mine.

One day, I heard a last name mentioned.  Teasingly, I suggested it to my husband thinking he wouldn't like it.  Would you believe it actually captured his attention.  He said, "Yeah, that's it."  After looking the name up, we were sold.  And so it was.  After saying the name over, nothing else worked.

Now we are trying to find a name for our son.  Once again, we find ourselves disagreeing on everything.  Do we use a family name?  Do we use a popular, trendy name?  What about a more traditional name, or a Biblical name?  How about a foreign name?  How about selecting a name that means something to us personally?  Do we look inside a book, or do we find this name on his Nook... scrolling through the internet?  Options are endless.

Hopefully, we'll have a little more time to find the perfect name for our baby boy.  I don't believe a name completely defines someone; however, it plays a key role in contributing to the significance of their essence and being.  A name gives one a sense of identity and uniqueness.  It helps to set us apart from the rest.

What's in a name?  Essentially, everything.  That's why we spend countless hours searching high and low to find the proper one.