Baby Names
One of my daughters-in-law is expecting her first child sometime in December. (Notice that I said “sometime” in December). As soon as we (both sets of grandparents) found out – one of the first things we wanted to know was, “Have you decided on names?” I thought Alphonzo Swartz Jr. would have been a good name for a granddaughter, but reluctantly the expecting parents said, “No!” (Go figure!)
Well, my wife and I have three of our own (non of them named Alphonzo Swartz Jr.) … and they all have names that I don’t believe any of them are ashamed of or embarrassed to be called by. But, where do we come up with the names we force our kids to live with (They didn’t even get a chance to fill out an application.)
In biblical times names were given that represent family and family characteristics…and were sometimes changed to reflect the personality of the individual. Of course, the Lord changed some of the names for them.
Today, I don’t think a lot of thought goes into the choice of names for the children. Seems what’s important is that it sounds clever and “up with the times.” What ever happened to “Bill” – “Jim” – “Mike” – “Sarah” – “Linda” – “Sue” (and I don’t mean “a boy named Sue”)?
Today’s names sound like some city in a foreign country, or a Hollywood star, or a sound that the cat makes when it coughs up a hairball.
Parents today have a library of books that suggest names, and they can even go online to websites dedicated just to that task. One of those websites is http://www.babynames.com/ which says that it is “Naming the world one baby at a time.”
By the way, I checked it out and nowhere could I find Alphonzo Swartz Jr. on the lists, …nowhere. (Go figure!)