What’s in a Name?

When contemplating starting this blog, I of course had to consider what I’d name it.  Not only did I need to think of an apt, memorable, not-too-short/not-too-long for typing.com name, but I also had to see if said name was available as a domain.  For a brief moment I was transported to my early 30’s when, pregnant with my first child, the concept of assigning a moniker to a whole other human being weighed so heavily on me…for months.

That’s a lot of responsibility.

Considerations:

• Bullying: Name shouldn’t rhyme with any body parts, unsavory foods, unsavory occupations
• Spelling: Traditional versus cutesy versus overly-creative/what were your parents thinking?
• Nickname: Does the name have a traditional or natural nickname?  Do you even like using nicknames (so, does it even matter)?  What will the kid think when they turn of age…keep or kill said nickname??
• Initials: God forbid they spell something out – Catherine Anne Thompson (insert snide bully voice”)  or  Daniel Ulysses Davidson…you get my point.
• Popularity: sometimes you can’t help this, because did anyone know in 1997 how many Jacobs were being named in that year?  Sometimes you do know – especially during years of British Royal births or post-blockbuster fictional character arrivals (sorry, all you Harry’s out there).
• Family duties and responsibilities: Is this baby destined to be a Jr., or a III, or a IV, whether you like it or not?  Is there a creative way to honor ancestors, if not by using a sequential suffix?

There are so many options and issues which need to be resolved within a short span of a few to several months.   For me, we decided for our first child not to find out the (assigned) gender prior to birth.  One of the few “good” surprises either way – didn’t matter to us – as long as the baby was healthy.  However, that meant we needed to go into that Labor & Delivery Wing armed and ready for whatever came out – be it BOY  or GIRL.  We needed to have both names chosen, knowing we’d only use one.  Almost seemed wasteful in a way.  

The only way to really get a feel was to say each name (or combo – first and middle names — you know, for when I’d have to use that Mom Voice) aloud.  I’d mix them up, tossing around one choice one day, switching to another later in the week.  Which spaghetti would stick best?   To keep track, I kept a list.  Old school – pen and paper.  It was 1997.  [Sidenote: in the end, we got to use both the girl and the boy names, but that’s fodder for another post, or two, or three…)

Flash forward many years and another life or two, and I faced the same issue when replacing “normal” land life with an existence on the sea.  We bought our yacht used.  She had a perfectly fine name, one which was a little well known by other boaters who’d shared an anchorage with her previous captains.  But after keeping that name over the course of three separate owners, we felt our floaty home needed some new energy.  So, against all marine folklore, we renamed her. 

Again, I was faced with the insurmountable task (not really, it’s just a boat name, for gods’ sakes) of choosing a word or combination thereof which would describe us, our values, our ethos, our personalities, but that would also fit on the stern in big letters that we wouldn’t have to s-p-e-l-l out each time we hailed a bridge to open for us.  Err, no pressure!  Like I did when choosing that first baby name, I started a list.  Anything “sea” or “mer” (French) or “mar” (Spanish); or “sun” or “sol” (so, we were aiming for an international crowd?!); or “cat” (also, we bought a catamaran) or any nautical theme; words which contained the word “ship” anywhere in them (“Welcome aboard, M/V Friend-Ship!”) got added.  Everything soulful, meaningful, absolutely ridiculously corny went on the list.  This time, in 2019, the list lived on my iPhone.  Actually, because the really stupid and corny ones still amuse me, the list is still on my phone. 

In the end, we narrowed it down to two choices: the elegant and the funny.  Without divulging the actual potential names, we’d ask friends, “Which is better for a boat name, classy or funny?”  All wanted to play outside the rules and worked very hard to get the choices out of us – no go.  Virtually all stated unequivocally, “Always go with funny!”  But we wondered, are we then destined to forever be thought of as jokesters, as Silly Seamen with No Substance?  Besides, our “funny” was an English expression; I wondered if it would be fully appreciated for its humour and mirth by Americans and other foreigners. 

Ultimately, we went with classy.  Our floaty home was christened “Aquatania” – appropriately pompous and stately enough for our beautiful boat, and we have yet to have to spell out the name for bridge tenders (another crucial criterion in boat name considerations). 

Oh, the other choice?  Nah….. I’m holding onto that one for our next yacht.  Just in case.

And so it is when starting a business.  One must find that just-right name, the handle by which your clients or patrons will know your product, your brand, essentially a part of you that you’ve birthed and brought into this world.  I am a sucker for alliteration, so I wanted something that went with my name.  My first choice, which came to me in a flash (a sign from the universe I was sure) was already taken.  Not being actively used, mind you, which did add a bit of insult to injury.  But not available nonetheless.  So, off I go to the mind fields to harvest other ideas and inspect each one, like Quality Control, for accuracy, memorability, creativity, catchiness, availability. 

Playing with words.  Word play.  That’s what I like.  I like words.  I like making up words.  From the mind fields I return, with bushelsful of thoughts which yield wordage.  Wendy’s Wordage.  Welcome to my blog.