Beyond the “Name Game”

In a week or two, we will welcome another Babinski Baby! We are all excited coz Babinski Mama Charlene is about to give birth to her 3rd child … another baby girl! =) Aside from her last minute preparations, she is in panic mode …. the baby still doesn’t have a name! Mae and I have been asking her since we found out the gender of the new baby and she would always say “I don’t know yet”. I guess for most of us, naming your baby is just one of the toughest things to decide on even if it were your nth time! When I was in my teens, I already thought of a name for my future baby. But things change (and you don’t end up with the same guy) so when it was finally time for me to decide on what name to give my first born, so many names were entangled in my head!

Thanks to the internet, now we can Google baby names… unique baby names… names with meaning – to give us ideas. But seeing all those cool names can make your list too long, that we get confused even more. For one, Charlene wants a name that starts with the letter C.  So friends from everywhere gave their suggestions. From the goofy ones like Charing, Chiquitita, Chaparral (haha! Ang daming suggestions kapag kalokohan!) to the beautiful ones like Charlize (mix of Charlene and her mom’s name), Chloe, Chelsea, Callista… and the list goes on and on. It’s really not that easy ‘ya know! There are just so many things to consider, don’t you think? — are you the type who would like to “theme” their kids names (I know of a real family with kids named after holidays). Of course you also have to consider if the name would go well with your family name (remember Andy Lim? Kenneth Sy?).  Will it be prone to mispronunciation or to mockery? My former boss was going to interview an applicant with a “kawawa-naman-sha-bakit-ganoon-pinangalan-sa-kanya” kind of name and couldn’t stop laughing right in front of his face (the poor guy said he is used to it). Will the name be nice even when your child turns 50? Does your husband like it? You also have to think of a cool nickname! HAH…the mind-boggling name game!

So anyway, Charlene would actually say “I don’t know yet” whenever we ask. But what she REALLY wants is a name that has significance, a name with a special meaning that even her daughter would be happy to embrace for life. When you really think about it, the name you give your child will stay with her forever. Our name even outlives us. So we must choose well. And so I say, be CAREFUL how you name your baby! Ok, it sounds cute and sosyal, but make sure it also has a good positive meaning. That name will be her label, her identity. I wasn’t so conscious about this for my first born, but thank God I was for my 2nd child!

We know that in the Bible, one’s name encapsulates its essence or character – be it a person or an animal. The other day, Mae, Charlene and I were discussing the meaning of our names and other friends’ names and parang swak nga. So I’m just reminding each of us to be more conscious of this when naming our children. I don’t really know for sure if it will have an impact on their personality or destiny. But at least your child has a good name to begin her life with. Now who wouldn’t want that?

Babinski Mama Aimee

P.S. And so the name game is still on! Charlene’s mom is giving cash $$$ prize for the winning entry — but the cash prize is for relatives only! wink=)