I can totally relate! I love names that have a quirky feel but are really old. My hubby just tries to ignore my naming questions at this point.
We had picked out two names that we both liked way back when we were still dating. I think his sister being pregnant had us thinking about baby names. We decided that we loved [name]Nathaniel[/name] [name]Xavier[/name] for a boy and [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Rose[/name] for a girl.
Flash forward a half-dozen years and we’re expecting our first child. It was an unplanned, but not un-welcomed, pregnancy. When we first found out that we were pregnant, [name]Nathaniel[/name] and [name]Elizabeth[/name] were brought up again. However, [name]Elizabeth[/name] had a new MN option. My [name]SIL[/name] had chosen to use [name]Rose[/name] as her daughter’s MN, as it was her mother’s MN and her MN also… and it just felt right when she looked at her. So we decided that we might use [name]Rose[/name] still (it was, afterall, a family name on his side and mine! My grandmother was named [name]Rosie[/name] and I loved the idea of honoring her), or we might use [name]Lorelei[/name]. [name]Lorelei[/name] was chosen because it would then give our imaginary daughter the initials of ELF, and we thought that was real cute.
However, we didn’t really start thinking about names until we found out for sure that we were having a boy (I had my suspicions, but needed confirmation). When we found out that it was a boy, my hubby mentioned that he liked the name [name]Matthew[/name] and that it would be neat if we could honor his best friend with our first-born son. I really loved the name [name]Matthew[/name] also (our tastes converge in the full-name, timeless classic category), and asked what he thought a good middle name would be. He mentioned that we could use either [name]Nathaniel[/name] or [name]Xavier[/name] as a middle name, or even use [name]Michael[/name] (his FN). Well, we debated back and forth on what we liked. If we wanted [name]Matthew[/name] in the FN position, the MN position, or if we wanted to use it at all.
In the end, we decided to take the 4 contenders ([name]Nathaniel[/name], [name]Xavier[/name], [name]Matthew[/name], and [name]Michael[/name]) with us to the hospital and see who he looked like when he was born. This decision did NOT sit well with the grandparents. [name]Both[/name] grandmothers really wanted to know what his name was. When he was born, I decided that daddy should be able to name his first born, and let [name]Michael[/name] chose the name he liked best. He ended up choosing [name]Matthew[/name] (a name that our son has often said he loves!), and I went with [name]Michael[/name] as a MN because I really didn’t want to spit up [name]Nathaniel[/name] [name]Xavier[/name].
I knew that I wanted my son’s to be close in age, preferable about 2 years apart. Accordingly, we (read I) planned the second pregnancy. I was a little saddened when we passed the point where they would be two years apart or less, but we were soon pregnant. I knew the day conceived, and couldn’t wait to start thinking about names again. I mentioned that I would really love to pass my name, [name]Suzanna[/name], on to a daughter. I was named for my paternal grandmother, and have enjoyed having a connection even though I was never able to meet her. Also, this is a family name that is passed down through generations of my father’s family, and I liked the idea of such a long history being attached to the name. When asked, my husband suggested [name]Catherine[/name] [name]Suzanna[/name] (I initially wanted [name]Katherine[/name]… but came to love the classic elegance of [name]Catherine[/name] more. Plus I [name]LOVE[/name] Wuthering Heights and this is the main characters FN!).
I now had [name]Catherine[/name], [name]Suzanna[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Rose[/name], [name]Lorelei[/name], [name]Nathaniel[/name], and [name]Xavier[/name] floating through my head. I had an abundance of girls names, and a decided lack of boys names. I badgered my hubby to help me find more boys names, so that we would have options, like we did with our first child. He didn’t like anything I mentioned. The obvious choices weren’t available to me. [name]Nicholas[/name] and [name]Christopher[/name] are my nephews, and my cousin was pregnant at the same time as me and was planning on using [name]Alexander[/name]. I loved the name [name]Benjamin[/name] (especially since it would honor my grandfather), but my hubby didn’t like it at all. [name]Theodore[/name]… [name]William[/name]… [name]Samuel[/name]… [name]Daniel[/name]… [name]Oliver[/name]… I was determined to find a name that was long, classic, and had a nickname. The only one that we could really agree on was [name]Thomas[/name], and I was hesitant to use this because it is my step-father’s FN and my father has felt competitive with him for years. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings or have him resent his grandson over a name. Besides, we just didn’t have a MN or FN to pair it with.
In the end, my hubby asked why we needed a second option. He asked if I liked the name [name]Nathaniel[/name] [name]Xavier[/name]. He asked if I would want to use it. I realized then that the reason I gave [name]Matthew[/name] the MN of [name]Michael[/name] was so that I wouldn’t break up the pairing of [name]Nathaniel[/name] with [name]Xavier[/name]. While I wanted to talk names, and come up with more favorites, I did want to have my little [name]Nathaniel[/name] [name]Xavier[/name] also. And so, that’s what we went with.
One side note: When [name]Matthew[/name] was a day old, I started calling him [name]Matt[/name]. My hubby didn’t like this. To him, [name]Matt[/name] was his friend and [name]Matthew[/name] was his child. We talked for quite a few days. It turns out that he felt a child didn’t get a nickname until “friends at school gave it to him”. In the end, I conceded and agreed to call him [name]Matthew[/name] and not [name]Matt[/name]. I did so because of how he felt with regards to [name]Matt[/name] being his friend and [name]Matthew[/name] being his son and NOT because of how he felt about nicknames. When we agreed on [name]Nathaniel[/name] as the FN of our unborn second child, I added a stipulation. I told him that I would NOT be trying to say that mouthful of a name every two seconds. I WOULD be using [name]Nathan[/name] as a common-use everyday nickname. He agreed this time, but stated that he would be using [name]Nathaniel[/name] exclusively. For the most part, my hubby has called [name]Nathaniel[/name] just that… but every once in awhile he forgets and calls him what [name]Matthew[/name] and I use. I try and use [name]Nathaniel[/name] at least a few times every day, both for my son and my hubby
[name]Matthew[/name] turns 7 on Thursday and [name]Nathaniel[/name] will be 5 in [name]September[/name].
[name]Matthew[/name] has told me on many occasions that he loves his name. There are some days he wants to change it to [name]Link[/name] though (from the [name]Zelda[/name] games!). He also loves that his MN is his father’s FN… just as his father’s MN is HIS father’s (the grandfather’s) FN. He’s talked about maybe giving a son the MN of [name]Matthew[/name] so that the tradition will continue…
[name]Nathaniel[/name] loves having both [name]Nathaniel[/name] and [name]Nathan[/name] as his FN. He’s gone through a phase where he made his brother (no one else, just big brother) call him [name]Nathaniel[/name]. However, now that he’s in preschool, he’s decided that [name]Nathan[/name] is easier… less letters to write! [name]Nathaniel[/name] also thinks that it’s pretty neat that we had his name picked out long before we were married or either child was born.
One of my sisters likes to call them Mater and Nater or other such nicknames. I am happy to say that none of them have stuck, and that no one else has picked up on the names
[name]Suzanna[/name] [name]Tiffany[/name] & [name]Michael[/name] [name]David[/name]
[name]Matthew[/name] [name]Michael[/name] - [name]Nathaniel[/name] “[name]Nathan[/name]” [name]Xavier[/name]