What's In A Name?

I have always been fascinated by names; how they are given and what they mean.

When I was five, I named myself Daisy Rosebud (a special thanks to my fabulous parents who always supported and applauded my independence and creativity).

For those of you who don't know the story, my dad asked me to register myself for first grade (he was talking to the principle or something), so I did - as Daisy Rosebud. You can imagine my dad's surprise when he was greeted as Mr. Rosebud at his first parent/teacher conference (yes, he actually went along with it). The name Daisy stuck; it lasted all the way through high school.

When it came to naming our little girl, we decided to follow an Allbritton family tradition and use specific initials. We both decided we wanted a strong, but slightly unusual name, which is how we ended up with Chase. We agreed Lockett would make a lovely middle name (it was also an Allbritton family name). Our next baby's middle name will be a family name from my side (and no we're not preggers).

When Brian's parents found out we were having a baby, they both set to work trying to decide what they wanted to be called. They decided on Papa Joe and Kar Kar.

When my parents found out we were having a baby, they both (independently) decided to let Chase bestow a name upon them.

This past week, Chase and my mom worked together to agree her Nan name would be Aiya (Aye-Ya). I wonder what she will name my dad?

A quick aside: there is an interesting Web site called Baby Name Wizard, located at http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html -- just so you know how many other children have your child's name. Chase ranked number 82 (out of top 1,000 names) for boys in 2005, while Chase (as a girl's name) did not rank.

I translate these findings to mean that when people look at her resume or communicate with her on email, they will assume she is a boy/man. No biggie; all my life people have assumed I'm an Asian man.

I've found it works to my advantage; I love the look of surprise when they realize they have been tricked by their own assumptions (it is much like the look I get if I meet someone while I'm sitting down - and we are the same height - and then I stand up - and I'm a full head and shoulders taller).

Something tells me that Chase will get to enjoy that too.