Posted by Deb
on 8/13/2008, 8:15 pm
207.200.116.134
Thought I'd share a little story (a true one)...
My cousin was telling me recently about name negotiations with her husband when she was expecting their third child. The little bun was persistently modest during sonograms, so they needed both boy and girl names for sure. They settled on the boy easily...Joseph Daniel, names they both liked and that honored relatives on both sides...but they had a hard time with the feminine moniker.
She was feeling inclined to honor through initials, so wanted a FN beginnig with "S" and a MN beginning with "L". She also liked the idea of continuing a floral theme for the MN; her first daughter's MN being Rose. She is more open than he to unusual names but wasn't heart-set on choosing one. With traditional/Biblical names (the type they'd selected for their kids so far), she loves certain ones but can't tolerate a lot of others.
He generally likes only very traditional, no nonesense names but is also very choosey about which ones and his tastes don't match up all that well with hers.
She began feeling very partial to Sarah. Of course, he doesn't like it and wanted Danielle. She wasn't easily pursuaded, so he began a campaign (in good humor) to sabotage her love of Sarah. He'd walk in from work asking silly questions like "Sarah doctor in the house?" or "Sarah storm commin' in?". He kept it up until she couldn't think of Sarah without the "is there a" connection. Totally ruined it for her, but she still wouldn't agree to Danielle or his other suggestions and sent him to the internet to gather "S" names he liked. He came back with...
...Shyla.
She was shocked that he presented an unusual name and surprised that she actually liked it.
Their little girl was born last month and her name is Shyla Lily. She's a sweet little thing with, proportionately, the longest arms and legs I've ever seen on a baby. Perhaps she's a future volleyball or basketball player.
For me, the combination Sarah Lily is sweet and flows much better, but I do like that they stepped out of their "traditional names only" comfort zone and I'm sure that, as I get to know this little girl as she grows, her name will continue to grow on me too. I think "Shy" as a nickname might hold some charm, sound-wise. No idea if they'll alter what they call her. Their son is called by his given name and not the usual nicknames for it, but their daughter goes by a common nickname for her given name.
Had I known about the "Sarah sabotage" at the time, I might have suggested the Welsh "Seren" to her as an alternative, just to foil his campaign a bit, especially as she's got the same Welsh ancestry I do. 
Hmmm...is there a floral "L" that even goes with Seren? Seren Lily...no, Seren Lilac...better but still no...Seren Lavender...no...
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