My husband and I are sold on [name]Dean[/name] for our son, arriving in [name]January[/name]. More and more I am wondering if this is a silly choice because I work in academia and even aspire to become a dean or assistant dean in the distant future. We haven’t shared the name (or even the gender with people), but for some reason, I feel it might be awkward to call our son [name]Dean[/name] Lastname if I have any intention of ever becoming [name]Dean[/name] Lastname myself. Would that be like naming your kid “[name]Doctor[/name]” while you are in med school? If [name]Doctor[/name] were a mainstream name (I can’t come up with any other parallels)…
At this point, we have no intention of changing our choice and I don’t particularly want to, but I was hoping to get some feedback to either put my issues to rest or at least prepare me for any awkwardness.
Well I love [name]Dean[/name] as a first name and it never reminds me of the word [name]Dean[/name]. I don’t think it is a problem; its not like the people in your personal life are going to be calling you [name]Dean[/name] Lastname.
I hope you go ahead with [name]Dean[/name], but I guess you should be prepared for a few comments about your profession down the line. Best of luck.
I think [name]Dean[/name] is such a great name (and my late grandfather’s middle name, so it’s special to me)! Let’s project into the future. You are a successful [name]Dean[/name], and your son is named [name]Dean[/name]. BEST case scenario, people won’t even notice, because they are not constantly thinking of your job title every time they see you or your son. WORST case scenario, people will notice and chuckle lightly about it, then go on their merry way giving it no more thought. I assure you, they won’t think of that connection every single time they see you or your son, and when they [name]DO[/name] think of it, it will be no more than an, “Oh, huh, cute coincidence!” That’s not so bad, is it?
[name]Dean[/name] is one of my favorite names. I wouldn’t let it bother me. I think I share alzora’s opinion on this one.
Wouldn’t it be weird/funny if your son decides to become a dean one day? I think that would bother me more than anything, but not enough to deter me from the name.
Not at all. [name]Doctor[/name] is obviously a very common everyday word with no precedent as a given name. [name]Dean[/name] is quite the opposite. Though if your poor husband is just garden-variety faculty, he might feel intimidated with two deans running the show.
Hahaa I never made the [name]Dean[/name]/[name]Dean[/name] connection before because the name feels so rugged & handsome to me I never connected it to anything academic!
[name]Dean[/name] the [name]Dean[/name]'s son is a bit much if you talk about & socialize through work mostly. If you are more associated with other hobbies or qualities it shouldn’t be a big deal & will probably go unnoticed except maybe at work.
