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Sometimes I daydream about having triplets. Well, without the sleepless nights or the multiple stomach bugs or the tuition bills. Actually, to be honest, I only daydream about naming them: three first names at once, what luxury! If I were still 12 years old, I?d write them in my NoteTote?but as an adult, I?ve transferred my ?name nerd? tendencies from a school notebook to an advice column where parents ask my opinion on what to name their children. Yet my fantasy triplets, currently Ezekiel, Thalia and Octavius, still call to me.
Of course, part of the appeal of these hypothetical triplets (maybe Persephone, Bruno and Harriet") is that naming a kid in real life is incredibly stressful. The process is fraught with expectations and pressure to choose a name with ?meaning.? And then there?s the ever-lurking possibility you?ll make the wrong choice, which could have lifelong ramifications. We can read our children hundreds of books, feed them heaps of nutrient-rich foods and enrol them in dozens of activities, but we can only choose one name. The stakes are high: The selected name announces our style, attitude and parenting philosophy?and it?s communicated via a person who cannot yet burp independently. A child?s name is an indelible part of his or her identity, which means the difference between Byron and Tyrone is way bigger than just a couple of letters. It?s kind of a Catch-22, right" We?re a generation of parents super-focused on letting our ch...