Tuesday, March 27, 2012

TAT: What's in a name?

So this week's theme is baby names. How did we come up with the name Braden James? Well...not so easily! I know we had discussed baby names even before we got pregnant, but we really got into discussing names into the second trimester. I distinctly remember locking in our names at 17 weeks. We had 3 solid girl's names that we were happy with, but only 1 boy name we could agree on. And that was Braden.

It actually took me awhile to finally agree on Braden. I really liked the names Brady or Brody, but one of Jay's best friends has a sister named Bradie and he didn't want to associate that with our son's name or something. I had always liked the name Braden, but when I worked at a children's hospital, it seemed every other boy was Braden or Ethan. They were both so popular at the time, and I didn't want a super popular name. BUT, Braden didn't seem like a popular name around where we live, so I agreed.
Braden James
Then came the spelling. Also being a former peds nurse, it drives me NUTS how parents can really, for lack of a better term, screw up the spelling of their poor children's names! Some examples?

  • Airin for Erin
  • Dafydd for David
  • Reybekkah for Rebecca
  • Cydnee for Sydney
  • Kristuffer for Christopher
I could go on and on. So, I went with what I thought was the "classic" way to spell Braden. But, apparently the most popular way to spell it is "Brayden". I just didn't care for the look of the name with the "y" in it, but that's just my personal preference. I toyed with "Braeden" for awhile, but decided to just keep it simple! He'll have to spell his name for the rest of his life, just like me. "Sarah with an h". Even his father has to say "Jay. Just, Jay...J-A-Y."
Braden James
James was easy. Two birds with one stone. This was also one of two other first names we considered, but we loved it as a middle name. It is a family name on Jay's side and it is also Jay's best friend's name. We both really liked the name Joshua, but it would inevitably get shortened to Josh and Josh Schultz is just too "shushy" if you know what I mean! Or it would just blend together into one word "Joshultz'. So that was crossed off our list.
Braden James
Lord help us if we ever have another boy! I encourage your to participate in Toddle Along Tuesday this week if you never have! One of my lovely sponsors Simply Stavish is cohosting! But, if you don't blog...why did you name your kids the name(s) you chose?
Sarah

11 comments:

  1. I actually love the name Braden, and I don't know anybody else with that name! Since we had such a hard time coming up with a boys name, we already decided what our next one will be, and I'm not even pregnant!

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    1. Oh thanks, Brit! Yeah I always have baby names on the brain!

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  2. I have never heard of the name Braden until I discovered your blog. I absolutely love it. Such a strong boy name. Of course I'm partial to James as a middle name too. :) I have some pretty crazy spellings at the Childrens Hospital I work at...like J'Nathan pronounced Jonathan and La-ah for Ladasha. Really?! I don't get it.

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    1. Really? Wow, well that's cool! Can't go wrong with James. I bet you have come across a lot of weird names at work!

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  3. I love Braden and James! I like really good solid names like that!

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    1. Thank you thank you! I feel a lot of pressure to come up with a good, solid name for #2! Especially if it's a boy!

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  4. I know how you feel (or felt)- I have the HARDEST time picking names, as well. I love Braden's name. I went to school with a few and always thought it was a nice name.
    PS- Strange spellings drive me NUTS, too!

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    1. You guys have great names for your boys!!

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  5. Psssh I was going to name this baby Dafydd if it's a boy! ;) Love Braden :)

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  6. I totally agree about the "y" thing in names. That's why it's Leila instead of Layla. Really, I'm not a fan of any letter that drops below the line: q, y, p, g, j. Probably should keep that to myself, it makes me sound crazy.

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