I have always loved names. I think this is because it took me a number of years to finally love my first name. I would often try other names on for size and I would poach my friends’ names – Jamie, Lindsey or Emily – when restaurants would ask for my name for the ticket.

I have been naming my hypothetical children since at least junior high. I wish I had all of these names written down somewhere because I know I would be so thankful that my tastes have changed! I’m happy to say, that my memory has held on to some really great names, that we won’t be using.

Up until sometime in college, I was certain that I would name my first son Charles. Charles is my dad’s middle name and I’m definitely a daddy’s girl. It also happens to be the first name of a friend of mine from high school that I thought was the jam. He is super cute, sweet, funny, talented, etc. I basically thought the boy walked on water. And, let’s be honest, the idea of a little guy named Charlie toddling around makes my heart melt just thinking about it. Unfortunately, Charles is also my paternal grandfather and great-grandfather’s name. My dad wasn’t as lucky as I am and his father wasn’t the “name your kid after” kind of guy. So, Charles got scratched. However, if you’re expecting a little boy – you should name him Charlie. It’s the best name.

I also LOVED the name Henry. This started when I was pretty certain that I would marry Prince William. It seems natural that we’d name a son after his brother. Duh. Thankfully I grew out of that silliness pretty quickly. My love for the name Henry stayed and was solidified after reading The Time Traveler’s Wife. Henry is very swoon-worthy. A few years ago, our very good friends named their little guy, Henry. Thus, the name was crossed off the list.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, RP is a serious Ben Harper fan. For as long as we’ve been together (almost 10 years), he’s liked the idea of a little boy named Harper. As the years have gone by, Harper’s popularity has skyrocketed… for little girls. RP and I have agreed that we don’t care for names that are gender neutral. RP’s first name has also started to trend upwards for girl names and he frequently accuses us ladies of stealing all of the good names. So, another name to put a strike through.

So, we’re making progress. Slowly crossing names off the list. Until then, our little dude will be known as Wee Baby P.