Week 29.5: What's in a name?

(Interested party): "So did you pick a name yet?!?"

TriMama/TriDaddy: "No, but we're working on it."

(Interested party): "Just choosing between a couple now?"

TriMama/TriDaddy: "LOL!"

(Interested party): "?!?!?!?"

Names are pretty darned important. Before TriMama and I knew that we had a little TriBaby on the way, I already had some thoughts on how I would want to go about picking a name for a baby if we ever had one. Although I didn't have any specific names in mind, I thought my pre-determined list of baby naming criteria would help us arrive at the perfect name in a jiffy. I quickly learned that theory and reality don't always play nicely together.

After sifting through piles of books, iPhone apps, and websites on the topic, we had a pretty long list of potential names in the works. At first, we didn't really put a lot of thought into it--we just sort of wrote down (okay--added to a Google spreadsheet) the names that sounded nice to each of us. Sure, some had a lot more staying power than others, but we'd quickly sort that out, right? Friends and family started asking us about it more, and how many names we were deciding between. I assume they thought our answer would be something like five or even ten names, because when we told them that we were working with something north of sixty names, they just sort of looked at us like we were crazy.

That got me thinking. What would be the best way to take a large group of "things" and whittle them down to one, perfect "thing?" Normally, I can rely on my trusty triathlon metaphors to get me out of jams like this...but not this time. I needed something more. So what did I do? I turned to the NCAA. More specifically, the NCAA basketball tournament. Even more specifically, the NCAA basketball tournament bracket! 

(Who's crazy now?!?)

I can see all the guys out there nodding their heads in overwhelming approval and all the ladies rolling their eyes (or shooting their guys that "don't even think about it" look.)

So our mega list of names, naturally had some favorites and some that were certain bringing up the rear, but we didn't want to discard them without giving them a fair shake. I created another Google spreadsheet, but this time, it was set up just like a 64-team tournament bracket. I took the mega list and roughly figured out a system for seeding the names and adding them to the bracket. And then, while nearly bursting at the seams with excitement, TriMama (who actually bought into this scheme) and I went through the first round. We quickly realized that many of the names were different spellings of the same name, or we really didn't like them and that was diluting the quality of the competition. This needed some retooling.

I sat down and combined the names with similar spellings (to be sorted out later) and cleaned out the names that we decided were just not strong enough to make the tournament. Instead, we found some late additions that seemed to fit in much better. I also ditched the seeding system and went with a random drawing for the relaunch of our baby name bracket--this time with 32 stronger teams--err--names.

Pre-game

In case you're thinking that we just pitted name "A" against name "B" and made a snap decision on the winners, you'd be way wrong. Before we started choosing which names would move on to the next round, we gathered some background stats on each name for some pre-game analysis:

• Name (and various spellings we like)
• Origin(s)
• Meaning(s)
• Social Security Administration Ranking (national)
• Social Security Administration Ranking (state--top 100 list for 2010 and how many times it was used)

Gametime!

For each game, we tried to follow a basic format:

• How does the name sound (with and without our last name)?
• How does the name look all spelled out?
• Possible nicknames (good/bad)
• Any conflicts? (This could be an entirely separate discussion.)
• Pre-game stats (if needed)

As of this writing, we're just starting the Sweet Sixteen. And as expected, the games are getting tougher to call, but it's giving us a chance to really breakdown each name to find the strengths and weaknesses. So far, many of the favorites got through the first round, but just as in the basketball tournament, there were some upsets too.

I suppose some critics could argue that we're taking the emotion out of baby naming, but I completely disagree. This is a pretty overwhelming process and one that I/we (clearly) take seriously. Until now, we've been trying to sift through the noise and get down to a solid list of names to work with. As we get closer to the Elite Eight and Final Four, you better believe emotions are going to play a part in the process. How could they not? After pouring through literally thousands of potential names, we'll be a few decisions away from the one we'll give our baby.