...And Blank-O Was His Name-O

So, you know we're having a(nother) boy, right? I've mentioned that? Well, I'm having a little problem. I need a name. See, we've already bestowed 6 total boy names. And frankly, I'm out of favorites. Add to that the fact that we unwittingly started a tradition and now we have to stick with it. (Lest boy number four feel like the ugly step-sister of the family.)

The tradition is this: For better or worse, all the boys have names that end in "L". Not only that, they have names that can be (and are frequently) shortened and/or abbreviated.

Let's review:

Maxwell=Max/Maxer/Maxer-boy. (We avoid Maxi for obvious reasons.)
Samuel=Sam/Samers/Sammy-boy/Hey You Little Punk!
Gabriel=Gabe/Gabers/Gabey-Baby/Gabe the Babe/Gabey-boy.

Initialized, we have MSG. Not good for your health, but that's what we've got.

That's where we're coming from. Now we need to name boy child number 4 and I'm a little stumped. Not that there aren't plenty of options, it's just that I don't love any of them.

Take the name Michael for example. I really like this name. However, I don't like Mikey, and I'm not overly fond of "Mike". (And lets face it, Miker doesn't work.) And so he would have to stay Michael. And that hardly seems fair...! PLUS, I don't want another "M" name! I want to branch out!

(See all of the above reasons for why we will now eliminate "Mitchell".)

Next, we have Nathaniel and Daniel. Both fine names. I don't have a problem with either one. It's just that I don't LOVE either one. Do I really have to use a name I don't love just because it "fits"? I don't know. Maybe one of them will grow on me, but they're not currently at the top of my non-existent list.

So now we start to dig a little deeper and get a little more creative.

My friend Roxanna offered "Lemuel" as a suggestion!

Well, HEY, that works! It ends with "L" and it's not common at all, which is a bonus! The only problem is Lemuel is one of the biggest "bad guys" in the whole Book of Mormon. And I happen to be Mormon. Therefore, Lemuel=Mormon Party Foul.
(Roxanna thinks she's so funny!)

Now, for awhile there, I was leaning towards Dashiel. Yes, I did steal it directly from "The Incredibles" and yes that is a strike against it. But "Dash" is a really cute name!!!! (Don't deny it!)

So I threw it out at a dinner party the other night with two other families present. All three men in attendance gave it a big thumbs down. And as one pointed out, "What if he isn't FAST!? He'd HAVE to be fast! And BLOND, but what if he ISN'T??? Then you have Name=FAIL!"

Well. I can't guarantee he'll be fast. Or blond. (Non-fast, non-blond=Sammy) And I don't want the mean kids to trip him. So Dasheil is off the table. (Plus, it looks funny when I type it out...like a breed of dog.)

Last but not least, inspired by the recent Christmas songs playing constantly at our house, we have Israel and Emmanuel.
Problems: I'd always be singing "Oh Come, Oh Come Eeeemmahhhhhnuuuuel".
And I'd be forever pronouncing Israel as "Iiiiiihhhhsssssss-RRRiiiiii-Ellllllll!!!!"

But, what other choice to I have? I'm out of alternatives.
Emmanuel it is. A little pretentious perhaps, but he'll grow into it.

In the mean time, I'll call him "Emma".

I've always liked that name!!!