Naming a Child Can Be Hazardous

Women spend much of their time in life thinking of the perfect name for their unborn child, whether they are pregnant or not! As a young girl I thought the name Ginger was so pretty, but as I got older the name got pushed further down on my future child's name list as I moved onto liking names like Alexis and Chandler. I dreamed of having twins named Preston and Payton, then moved to Preston and Alexa.

Having been named Angela Kay, I was called Angie most of my life because I felt like Angela was too "mature" sounding (old). Many people have misheard or just decided to call me something different like Angel, Ang, Angelea, Angelica, and Angelina. As an adult I prefer Angela at work because it sounds more professional, but my friends and family still call me Angie and I'm fine with that.

With as much time spent on selecting the perfect first name, someone should have been in charge of odd and awkward last names. First names are important, but alteast you get a middle name to go by if the first name is not suiting to your taste. Try to get through life with the last name of Wooley. The song Wooly Bully is the first thing that pops into people's heads and the last thing a pre-teen girl wants to be known for is a wooly bully, what ever the heck that is--it doesn't sound "pretty".

There are some pretty gruesome last names out there and I empathize with them when I run across them. Most people with odd last names go through life fine I'm sure with an occasional chuckle but for Harry E. Butts, the proprietor fo the HEB grocery store franchise, his name is a part of everyday advertising and media exposure. I wonder if he's proud of the name or if this was his way of getting back at the world. HEB is an extremely popular grocery store in South Texas and HEB is on everything, from billboards, signs, and food labels. Harry Butts--I mean really, could they not have named the child Carl or Thomas? Why Harry? Would the store have been as popular if he had been named differently? This is a man who did not let his silly sounding name hold him back--That's something to be proud of and Harry has set a great example for us all with funny last names.

When selecting a name for our son I have always been passionate about the tradition of Sr. and Jr. My husband, William Bradford, known as Brad, has a very regal sounding name and I just felt our son's name should be that of his father. We named him William Bradford Jr. and we call him "Bradley", the name suites him just fine. However, he does have options when he gets older to change his name to just about any variation of the two, for example Will, Liam, Willy, Brad, Bradford, Ford, Billy Brad, Bill, Billy, Mac, or Buddy.

Just keep in mind, when naming your baby, try to have the foresight some other parents did not, aahhmm Mr. and Mrs. Butts.