Photo: Miki Sato
 
?Yes?
Kareen Madian, mom of one
I over-share. It?s a trait I?ve had my entire life. So when I was pregnant with my son and people asked if my husband and I had a name picked out, I didn?t think twice about telling them that Max, short for Maximilian, was our top choice.
Why wouldn?t I share that information" I don?t own the name. I don?t care if you want to use it, too. I didn?t trademark it, so you wouldn?t be stealing. Would I have been bothered if someone I knew used the same name" Nope. Names are fair game. They?re for everybody; you will not be the first or the last person to use it.
And while Max was our favourite pick, we weren?t averse to the idea that another name could come in like a dark horse and steal our hearts. By opening up the name discussion with family, friends and my local barista, the opportunity to unearth different and unique options grew exponentially. On top of that, I love hearing about what other people are considering naming their future children; I find it exciting to be part of that important decision. And since I love discussing names, I would never want to deny others that same joy. Make no mistake?we got a lot of opinions when it came to our name choice. For one thing, it was apparently too popular. ?Do you really want him to be one of three Maxes in his class"? asked at least a few friends. Sure, why not" They could all get together and form a band.
The fact is, nothing anyone could say was going ...