What's In A Name?

Alex at Aunt Melissa's Wedding. (The hairline gives it away. It's sure to recede again when he's older.)

After I pick Alex up from preschool in the afternoons we have to drive straight to Mary's school to pick her up. During that trip a few days ago Alex asked me, "Is my last name Zander?" While I was pretty sure we'd explained that Alexander was his full name and that we called him Alex for short and that his real last name was Chapman, clearly his 5-year-old brain had not fully processed that info or maybe I need to work on my explanation skills.

When I picked him up the next day his teacher said, "Alexander, your mom is here." Apparently he told them they need to call him Alexander because that's his name. He did say it was OK if I "messed up" and still call him Alex though. PHEW!

This conversation made me start thinking about names.

I come across TONS of names in the process of transcribing medical reports. I typed at least 40 yesterday, and that's not including all the doctors' names I came across.

The following are guidelines for you to think about when naming your children:

• Don't give your boys girlie sounding names like Iris. (I'm sorry if you didn't get the girl you wanted, but naming your son Rose won't change that.)
• It's also confusing when you give your daughter a traditional boy name like Randy or Jimmy.
• Don't name your kid after your favorite band. (Van Halen only works for a band, not a kid.)
• It's OK if you don't want to name your son after your husband's favorite football player even if not many people remember him years later i.e. Rulon Jones. Yes, I do happen to remember Rulon Jones playing for the Broncos, but I still don't like the name.
• If you last  name is Richardson do NOT name your son Richard... Let's be just a tad more creative, shall we?
• Remember that your 4 to 5-year-old will have to learn how to spell their name. If you can't remember how to spell it, neither can they. (As a side note, when they go to the doctor and that doctor dictates a report he'll most likely spell out Smith or Jones but not Jehosaphat or Jmarion. Someone has to figure out how to type that.)
• Naming your kid Princess or King (or Prince Michael II) isn't as cute as you think it is.
• Maybe it's not a good idea to give your two boys names that start with the same letter. It's hard enough to remember their names... Trust me. I speak from experience.
• It's confusing for everyone if you name your twins Anaya and Zanaya. (And under no circumstances name your triplets Caleb, Caden, and Calen.)
• Sometimes you just have to go with the only name you and your spouse agree on, like Alexander.
• Sometimes you just can't decide on the correct name until you're filling out the paperwork at the hospital. (Your husband will like the name Adam better after you've gone through several hours of labor.)

I'm sure I've angered everyone who names their kids Prince Jehosaphat Rulon Jones, but I have to call it as I see it.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!