Baby names...

I am in no way pregnant or thinking about being pregnant anytime soon, but baby names have been on my brain.  This is a rarity for me, seeing as how I usually have the hardest time coming up with names for our children!  We didn't have Rhett's name set in stone until about 6 weeks before my due date, but even then we weren't 100%.  Rhett was almost Pierce or Jamie (ended up not being Jamie because it broke two of our rules), and Jude was going to be Andrew.  It's just SO hard choosing a name that they will have for a lifetime!  BIG job if you ask me.

Dallas and I have some cardinal rules when it comes to naming humans...rules that make naming them even more difficult!

1. Semi-original and not overused (I am a Sarah after-all)

2. Nothing too strange, weird, off the wall or unique.

3. We don't alter spellings.

4. Easy to pronounce and recognize. I don't want my kid having to explain the pronunciation of their name through-out life.

5. It should have a good meaning.  I'm a big believer in this.

6. I am weird about names being shortened or not the name on the certificate.  I like the name to be the name, but I have nothing against others doing this and I think it's cute, it's just my preference for my kids.  I think this stems from a little boy I used to babysit.  His name was one thing and they called him something completely different.  When it came time for him to go to school they started calling him by his birth name, and I think I am seriously the last person still calling him the name from 10 years ago:).  This is less of a priority for Dallas.  

7. The name has to be something that looks good on a resume.  I feel so sorry for kids named things that look uneducated or strange on a resume.  They don't stand a chance!

8.  No names with the same first letter.  I'm not into the whole matching names thing, but again, I don't mind if others are.  I think I could use a 'J' or an 'R' on a 3rd kid since the first two clearly have different letters, but it was hard on the second because there are SO many 'J' names out there.

9.  We don't name our kids after Cities.  Dallas always got the question, "Are you going to name your son Austin or Houston since your name is Dallas?"  My boyfriend in high school was named Raleigh, so  my dad always joked that I only liked guys named after cities.  Again, just a personal choice, which stinks because I really like the name London, but we'll have to stick to the rules.

10. Nothing cutesy or trendy for boys.  We like solid and strong names for boys.

All three times I was pregnant I had absolutely zero girl names!  Zero!  Like we would have had to name her Sarah Jr. because there were no other options.  I don't know why, maybe God was preparing me for my boys, but girl names have just not come easy for me.  Since I had such trouble coming up with girl options I have been determined to be on the lookout and make mental notes when I hear cute ones that I would even remotely consider.  I have been jotting them down in a notebook since my memory fails me so often:), and I'm shocked to look at them all and see what types of names I like.  I guess for girls I like older, sort of classic (?) names.  Here's the rundown.

1. Ruby
2. Clara
3. Greta
4. Trudy
5. Grace
6. Lola

Clara was my great-great Aunt's name who was influential in teaching that side of my family about Jesus.  She lived with my grandparents until she passed away, and I always love to hear stories about her.  It's a little close to Claire, which is too high on the social security website of popular names for me, but it could still make it someday since it's a good solid family name.

Greta most likely won't make the cut since it basically has Rhett spelled out in the name, but I think it's really cute and there's a super cute lady on Rachael Ray named Greta!

Grace is too popular for us too, but it would probably be more of a middle name.  Katherine would likely be a middle name too since it is my Grandma's, mine and my niece Hope's.

Dallas' grandma's name is Lola and I like it, but the meaning is no good and my good friend named her dog Lola, soooo I'm thinking that probably wouldn't make it to the birth certificate.

I'm not planning to have a girl, nor do I expect to or care one way or another whether our next child is female or male, but I am excited to have some options if we do run into needing a girl name down the road.

Our boy name is probably pretty set, but I need to start keeping track of good boy names too.  Here's what I like.

1. Bo

Thankfully I should have some time before this becomes a serious matter needing a decision made:).  I just think it's fun to think about!