The Name Game

Written By: Sally

If you interacted with me at all while I was pregnant with Penelope, you'd know we were having an incredibly difficult time choosing a name.

Growing up as a Sally was great. It was unique and memorable, without being weird. The only other Sally I ever met was my aunt, who I was obviously named after. So aside from family reunions, when someone called out, "Sally!" I knew it was me they were referring to. That was a luxury that Ashleys and Jessicas my age just didn't have. Both are perfectly good names, but they almost always required a last name initial to be tacked on the back.

Now, I recognize that this is not the most terrible thing in the world. In fact it's probably something that most people have never even thought about. What's the big deal with sharing a name with a bunch of other really cool girls? None. There's no big deal. It's the opposite of a big deal.

But for some reason I had this phobia of it. Like, I laid awake at night worrying about it. I had a very strict rule that the name couldn't be within the Top 50 most popular baby names of last year. I was constantly going through names and searching their rank on the popular names list. I did this for MONTHS.

Penelope had always been on our short list for girls names, but it was ranked #42 in popularity. A clear violation of my rule. Therefore, it was immediately ruled out.  At least for me. But, it was the only name Zack was even considering. Was he was crazy?? I mean, 5,062 out of the 1,896,423 baby girls born last year were named Penelope. That's 1 in every 374. Obviously she would end up branded for life with the dreaded last name initial.

Are you starting to see the level of crazy I reached? We didn't have this problem when we named Gunner. We both loved the name before we even started thinking about having a baby. Plus it was ranked somewhere in the high 300s, so I knew it was something we'd never have to worry about.

After Penelope was born we still couldn't decide on her name. We went back and forth over several names. Penelope was always floating around, but it broke my Top 50 rule! I just wasn't sure I wanted to risk it. The day we were leaving the hopsital, I went through my discharge information with the doctors and nurses and our bags were packed. All we had left to do was fill out the birth certificate information. Finally we chose a name! Eliza. I started to fill out the paperwork. But when it came down to it, I just couldn't commit to Eliza. I looked at Zack panicked. What are we going to do? Our baby will be nameless. And thats definitely WORSE than a last name initial. So, In a moment of abandon, we threw caution to the wind. She'd be Penelope! And I would just have to get over my last name initial fear. There was a chance she wouldn't be the only Penelope in her kindergarten class. And that would have to be okay.

Now, I tell you this story, exposing a quite a bit of my crazy, because God apparently has quite the sense of humor. About a month after Penelope was born a new family moved into our ward at church.  Their last name was Dupaix. Now what are the odds?? I know a lot of Dupaixs because I'm married to them. But before I met Zack, I'd never even heard the last name Dupaix. How on Earth is there another family named Dupaix in our ward?!? I have to admit, I was a little bent. (Sorry Mindy ;) ) But, you're not going to believe this. They have a son named Gunner. Yes, that's right. There are two Gunner Dupaixs in our church congregation. In the words of my favorite angry white girl, Alanis, "Isn't ironic?" From now on, my Gunner will forever be referred to as "The Little Gunner", and I'm pretty sure thats even worse than any stupid last name initial. 

XO