Cool Mum and I had a hard time trying to name Cool Baby (Noah). I wanted something that was a little different, but not too weird – something that was special enough to make people repeat the name and nod their head, like a light bulb went on, but not so unique to make them furrow their brow and repeat the name, as if trying to deduce why we cursed our child with such an odd moniker.
CM favored “Ethan” for a while until we mentioned it to a friend, who responded, “Oh yeah, I think I saw that Ethan was like #2 for boys names this year.” Behind my back, CM tried to shush our friend, but the damage was done. There was no way that I was naming my son with a top 10 name. There’s nothing wrong with the fine name of ‘Ethan’; I just have a neurotic desire to be a little different.
Knowing that our last name is Corpus, we have the following (dumb) rules for naming the next Cool Baby, or Cool Fetus, whichever current nickname you prefer.
(DISCLAIMER: We do not dislike any of these names. They just don’t fit our personal preference of what we want to name our kid, so please don’t take offense.)
The next Cool Baby’s name
- cannot be on the top 50 list of baby names (Jayden Corpus)
- cannot begin with a hard ‘K’ sound (Caleb Corpus)
- cannot have two syllables and end with an ‘S’ sound (Silas Corpus, though I love the name Silas)
- cannot be shortened to a nickname that we’re not a fan of (Robert “Bob” Corpus)
- cannot be a name that sounds like a last name (Jackson Corpus)
- cannot be combined with last name to create a nickname we’re not a fan of, like Lindsay “Lilo” Lohan (Simon “Psy-cho” Corpus)
- cannot be the name of one of our friends’ kids (Tyler Corpus, though I like it)
- cannot be a unique celebrity’s name (Bono Corpus, Rupaul Corpus)
- cannot be the name of a cruel, infamous dictator (Adolf Corpus, Jong-il Corpus, Genghis Corpus [which also breaks rule #3])
- cannot sound British, although we are big fans of British rock (Liam Corpus)
- cannot be a name that will constantly be misspelled or mispronounced (Cyril Corpus – Syril? Ciril? Cereal?)
- cannot sound like a legal or scientific term (Habeas Corpus)
- cannot be the name of a videogame hero (Mario Corpus, MegaMan Corpus)
So with those lenient guidelines…
What should we name the next Cool Baby?
Hahahahaha. “Habeas Corpus”
I just finished taking government and economics, so I now have an odd appreciation for government-related puns. I’m lame.
Appreciation is not lame. Maybe we can go with a masculine version of Raquel. Um… Ross?
YAY. Although I don’t think Ross = masculine version of Raquel…
That was my lame attempt at a Friends joke.
I think Rocky would be the masculine version, right?
So I take it by your sample names that Cool Baby #2 is gonna be a boy? Yay! You should name him Darth Vader
Just kidding. As far as Biblical names go, I’ve always liked Nathaniel (shortened as “Nate,” not “Nathan.”)I also like the name Gavin, but that probably sounds to British for you. Sebastian and Byron are two of my other favorites, though I would never give my kids either of those names.
Yes, CB 2.0 is a boy! Nate is nice, as in Nate “The Great” Corpus, but it can also be Nate “Whom I Hate” Corpus. And like you, Sebastian and Byron are not doing it for me.
Ooh, what about Jonah? or Joel?
I like Joel.
Jonah makes me wonder if the kids will tease him, like “Hey, Jonah Corpus! You smell like ambergris!!” They probably won’t.
Those are great names, but the fear of our son being called “Joe” for short just keeps me away.
Scott, if it doesn’t have to be Biblical. Paul, if it does.
Hmm, I don’t think we’ve established a Biblical criterion. Or maybe we have, and I just didn’t know about it!
This is great! Jarrett and I have a running list of names. We should pow wow, as I’m sure we’re not going to have quite the number of kids as we have names collected.
We’d love to hear the list, so let’s schedule that pow wow! Our wigwam or yours?
I think that another Biblical name would work well. How about Josiah Corpus?
I believe we know a kiddo named Josiah.
Wow! Your list looks almost exactly like the criteria my husband and I are using for our little bambino! Also on our no-no list: stereotypically homeschoolerish names (not that we have anything against homeschoolers, mind you– we were both homeschooled all twelve years. Just trying to get away from the stereotype, if you know what I’m sayin’!) So no Jedediahs, Zachariahs, or Nehemiahs for us.
Aren’t boy names just the toughest to choose?
I think a three-syllable name would flow nicely with “Corpus”, like Jonathan or Dominic (don’t know how you feel about the name ENDING in a hard “K’ sound). Good luck with the name game!
Haha – I’m glad to hear that we’re not along in our name pickiness! Yeah, I don’t think that we’ll end up with an ‘iah’ name either.
Cool Mum is against ending with hard-K sounds, and I was at first, until I remembered my name (Eric). I’m not against 3-syllable, but I think that we’re just used to the 2-syllable form.
Excellent point about homeschoolerish names….I feel the same way, just couldn’t put it into words like that! Perfect!
I also like the idea of 3 syllables, there seem to be so few names out there that are that long but not typically shortened. hmmm
Asher…happy, blessed
Isaiah…salvation of God
Asher is not bad and not too popular either. As Maria said above, I think we might stay away from ‘iah’ names. I will confer with Cool Mum and get back to you.
Asher is a cool name and I love the meaning. However, when Noah and most kids sing “Ring around the Rosie” the “ashes ashes” part gets pretty mispronounced in a way that would be bleeped out on television. I believe the same would happen with the name Asher, intentionally or unintentionally, when kids call his name. I gotta think about these things! haha
Hmmm…this is a tough one….here are a few I thought of…okay…
In truth, I logged onto Facebook and looked through my male friends names and then said “NAME Corpus” to see if it would sound okay.
Jason
Justin
James
Shawn
David
Matthew
Michael
Patrick (hard k though…)
Trent
Pete
The #1 I didn’t like from my FB Friends List is Christopher. He would sound like a town in Texas.
I was thinking about Corpus, Christopher also. Too bad it starts with a hard K sound, huh?
Thanks for your exhaustive research, Brook! Yeah, Christopher will likely not work due to the Texas connection – the same reason we turned down Nacogdoches Corpus.
Dan suggests:
Marine Corpus LOL. (as in the Marine Corps Marathon)
Tessa suggests:
Eli (and surprisingly, it fits with your list.
means: High, ascended, or ‘my God’. Famous bearer: The Old Testament priest Eli cared for the prophet Samuel when Samuel was a child.
PICK TESSA’s CHOICE!!!!!
Oooooh, ya, pick Tessa’s choice. Eli is good.
Eli is a good one. That’s a smart girl!
I second that–go Tessa! Incorporating the first letters of CD & I’s first names is extremely clever! Decisions, decisions.
i’m all about nice-sounding, good-flowing names that work well as initials. I think MC would work real well for your baby boy … or if you want to go real nerdy, PC. Or in honor of your rock n roll roots, you can go with AC, and then when you have a 3rd child go with DC. Probably want to stay away from BC or JC, unless you want to use his name as a demarcation of time and his faith upbringing.
Hehe – nice ones, Won. We should likely avoid CC as well, as no one would ever trust him to keep a secret.
BIG fan of MC. Seriously. Good call.
I guess #’s 2,6,8,& 11 rule out Coolio Corpus? If not, it goes fits the theme of your blog – how dedicated are you to this blog anyway? Hmmm?
Maybe you could go with something that is a tribute to your family? Maybe Rocky Corpus? It has two syllables!
Well… after exhausting my creativity looking for good suggestions (over the past 5 minutes) without success, I think I’ll refer you to the list of famous Filipino Americans provided by our beloved Wikipedia. (Who knew that Greg Oden, Chris Rix, and Steve Slaton would be on the list? You may have know about Teddy Bruschi, but I should point out that he’s there too!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Filipino_Americans
Greg Oden?? The tallest Fil-Am ever! And I never thought I’d see the day that the name of Rix would be invoked on this blog, especially by a Gator fan such as yourself.
Slaton Corpus is pretty cool, though it bends #5 nearly to breaking.
Whew that’s a long list. Thanks Shannon!
I say
Tobias Corpus
Gordon Leo Corpus
Hayden Jerome Corpus
Ezra Jasper Corpus
Everett William Corpus
Clinton Josiah Corpus
Evan Jonah Corpus
Dorian Junior Corpus
Preston Kerry Corpus
Riley Jacob Corpus
My Tops Is Riley. Love that name!
Hope these help. I tried to think outside the box!
I thought Riley = Pat Riley = Secret LA Lakers jab (Celtics fan here). But after talking with Jward today, I realized that it isn’t the case. It’s a good name! You’ve given us a lot to think about.
Tobias could be getting a little scientific, but Ezra and Evan are pretty cool. Ezra is taken by one of Noah’s friends, but Evan could pass the criteria.
After all of this discussion, I am still thinking of the name Micah. But there is that potential of it being shortened. This is tough!
I love Everette, Ezra and Eli. E is a good first initial. Micah is great too but then you will be calling Noooaaah…. Miiiicaaah…. and you will have to stick with the ahhhs if you have another. ha!
what fun!
I like Maxton & Weston