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The name of a man is a numbing blow from which he never recovers

With baby number two rapidly approaching [t minus 24 days and counting], we have not appeared to have got much closer to determining a name agreeable to all. So again, I appeal to the wisdom of the crowd for assistance.

The boundaries: first, replications of initials are problematic and best avoided which means that K, J and H are excluded. Second, it has to sit comfortably with “Henry Fitzgerald McCracken” which obviously further limits the choices.

The short lists as they currently stand:
Boys: Otto, Ezra, Frederick, Levi, Isaak, Albert, Conrad.

Girls: Clementine, Izetta, Audrey, Ivy, Violet, Astrid, Iris.
Obviously I have my favourites, Jennifer has hers, and Henry definitely has his. The problem is reaching broad agreement. Seriously, the stalemate here makes Yalta look like a breeze.

I am happy to take new suggestions or endorsements on any on offer above.
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Comments

grocer said…
Frighteningly this may be the closest I get to naming a child!

Funnily enough it's a game my husband loves to play.

I have no strong preferences but one thought was being mindful of the initials with a surname as easily rhymed with as yours - imagine rollcall with a child with first initial "I", I can here the immature chortles already.
15 July 2008 at 13:54
Neva said…
I realize names are different on each continent however Otto....sounds like a car(Auto)....Ezra...to hard to say and shortened...EZ????.....Frederick...stately and the short version...Fred...not bad,....Levi...as in Jeans?nope not for me....Issak....never will be spelled correctly in his lifetime...Albert....not a fan of "AL" and Conrad....can be shortened to Connie by kids....if you can live with that.... NOw for the girls...Clementine....with McCracken? to many c;s and m;s maybe and Clemmie?...Izetta....sounds good although I have never heard of it...audrey.....brings hepburn to mind...not to shabby...Ivy...as in Poisin....not for me....Viloet....can be shortend to Viloa.or other derivatives....Astrid....shortened to Ass by kids....and Iris...not bad....
Ok Kris... you asked and maybe you will be sorry you did! Many of us parents......have definite ideas about what sounds good. We have a Gregory (Greg I could live with ) and Eric...not likely to be shortened to much of anything and our daughter.....gads...took us forever and she has hated her name until recently....Shannon...Since our last name is O'Laughlin, Shannon has always felt that her name is full of "n's" and considering her middle name is Lynn(which is my middle name) she is probably correct....she wished for years to be called Monique-which I refused to do as I LIKE the name Shannon...but we now -at 22 -mostly call her shanny bananny and she can live with that.....
Good luck on whatever you decide on and I am sure it will be a fine name regardless!
15 July 2008 at 14:00
Neva said…
And...grocer is correct.....initials will make or break a kid on the playground...
Have fun!!!
15 July 2008 at 14:03
Anonymous said…
ok here's what I reckon:

boys - Frederick is by far the best. Otto second. Otto McCracken - unsure about the mixture of first and last name. Same with Ezra and Levi - both would go far better with Fitzgerald, but don't sound right with McCracken.

Isaak - he/you would forever be having to spell it out or say "that's with a k".

Albert for a honourable mention.

Just plain don't like Conrad.

Frederick McCracken sounds very strong and stately, could be an author's name. Frederick McCracken would never work in the govt or NGO AOD sector, that's for sure.

Girls- Clementine McCracken - that's 4 x cs. It does look nice written out like that though.

Out of the others - Audrey works. Not a fan of Iris (sounds mean and cold) Violet was on my expanded list but took it off because it was too close to violent. we had violetta and then decided that in the Australian context with our accent, it wouldn't sound as nice as it looks. Astrid and Ivy - nah.

So yeah front runners for me - Frederick and Clementine (I think you can get away with all the cs).

Why wasn't Elmo in the boys list?
15 July 2008 at 14:23
Maria Verivaki said…
a very difficult choice, and you can only choose one!
15 July 2008 at 14:43
Louis la Vache said…
If your last name was Schott, "Louis" would not recommend that you name the baby, assuming a boy, 'Otto B.' Likewise, if you family name was Jass, "Louis" would recommend against naming the baby 'Hugh.'

* * * *
Kris, re your comment Chez Louis, you can explore the Hornet HERE. Click on the 'Explore' link in the upper left sidebar.
15 July 2008 at 15:53
Anonymous said…
boy -Isaak (would prefer original spelling though)
girl - Astrid or Audrey.

Be vaguely amusing if Ivy was into drugs.
15 July 2008 at 19:12
Anonymous said…
I liked reading this post. I would not be bold enough to suggest something the child might hate forever. LOL

Thanks for the visits to my blog.
15 July 2008 at 19:25
Anonymous said…
I think my favourites from your lists are Isaak and Audrey.
15 July 2008 at 19:25
D said…
I like Audrey best. Or you could go with Audra. Congratulations!
Thanks for your recent visit to my blog.
15 July 2008 at 22:07
Debbie Courson Smith said…
Don't decide ahead of time. Everyone is in such a rush, but really, wait until your precious baby is here. Then try out the names, think about it for a day or two until the right one fits. Ask the baby!
15 July 2008 at 23:41
Anonymous said…
Hmmm
Isaak or Izetta I am thinking. Also think Audrey is just beautiful and would go really nicely with Henry.

Henry and Audrey... Luffly

24 days?!!!
15 July 2008 at 23:45
freefalling said…
Geez - you DID ask!!!
Lots of advice from your readers!!
I like Violet.
The boys names - eh.
I reckon Boise Diva has good advice.
16 July 2008 at 06:26
blackie said…
I vote for Albert and Iris. I think both are a good balance for the name of your first born. As much as I love Audrey, it's potentially a bit too rhymey when shouted out the back door together with 'Henry'. And you'll probably get into all sorts of confusing conglomorates such as Aunrey and Hedrey.
16 July 2008 at 13:50
Anonymous said…
just had a worrying thought that Clementine could be easily shortened to something to do with clams.
16 July 2008 at 18:57
Kitty said…
ohh....congrats!! that is soon! It's especially cool because you don't know if it's a boy or girl.

I love Astrid. I knew an Astrid growing up and the name is striking, though in my youthful mind it reminded me of 'ostrich'.

For boys, Conrad is nice. So is Frederick. Very macho. How about Liam? Or Ellis? Or James? (though 'Jim' bothers me). Or Tucker? Or Reid?

For girls, I like Iris, too. Very old fashioned. How about Lois? Or Lily? Or Beatrice?

What a huge responsibility, to name someone. Eek.
17 July 2008 at 21:31
The D in D & T said…
I'm throwing my two cents in for

Isaak and Audrey though I really liked D's suggestion of Audra.

I think the idea of waiting to meet the baby is a good one too. Maybe then you'll just know?

Wishing Jennifer an easy labour :)
18 July 2008 at 11:32
Dina said…
May I add two favorite names from my own family?
Naomi and Dean

Good luck!
19 July 2008 at 20:41
Kris McCracken said…
Thanks for all of the tips everyone. We had a stalemate over Frederick (mine) and Leo (Jen’s). Ezra was the compromise pick. We do like it though, and it was the toss-up between Henry and Ezra first time around (so I already had the G-mail address secured!) Leo as one of the middle names was the concession to win Jen over. I think she’s happy now though!
24 August 2008 at 18:58
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