Monday, July 21, 2008

The Name Game begins again...

Picking out baby names is incredibly fun I think. I’m forever offering new suggestions to Susanne and am hugely entertained by the Baby Name Wizard where you type in any name that comes to mind and it does all this fancy shmanzy wizardy and shows the popularity of the name dating back as early as the 1880s. (Try it!) Which brings me to my latest name I’m in love with that is not going to happen: Linus.

You see, one of the most brilliant men to ever live was Linus Carl Pauling. According to my friend the internet, Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1954 for his study of the nature of chemical bonds, especially in complex substances. His ideas are fundamental to modern theories of molecular structure. He also investigated the properties and uses of vitamin C as related to human health. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1962 for having campaigned for the control of nuclear weapons and nuclear testing.

But does anyone think first of Linus Pauling when they hear the name Linus? Nope. You guessed it. They think of Linus Van Pelt, who inspired the term "security blanket" with his classic pose. Again, from my friend the internet, I learned that Charlie Brown’s little friend is the intellectual of the gang, and flabbergasts his friends with his philosophical revelations and solutions to problems. He suffers abuse from his big sister, Lucy, and the unwanted attentions of Charlie Brown's little sister, Sally. He is a paradox: despite his age, he can put life into perspective while sucking his thumb. He knows the true meaning of Christmas while continuing to believe in the Great Pumpkin.

I happen to believe that Linus is a very likeable character on Snoopy and would be a really cute name for a little boy.

However we need a quorum of two (if that is possible?) to select a name and Susanne isn’t really liking Linus.

As Charlie Brown would say, RATS!

Of course she doesn’t like my idea for naming twin boys Mortimer and Lester either (More and Less, get it?) Although I actually can see how this could be psychologically hard on poor little Les. Oh well. I suppose the name Bart is completely out of the question right? ;-) -Monica

7 comments:

Jenni said...

Monica - I also LOVE the name Linus, but Nelson thinks it's awful.

Anonymous said...

See, this is one of my favorite things about the internet. If only it had been around to help my parents name me. Then perhaps I would not have ended up with the #5 girl's name in the decade that I was born. With a slightly different spelling at #30.

-nutella

Guy Davis said...

If you liked the NameVoyager, you'll probably find this map of popular baby names interesting as well. It includes more data and lets you view the popularity over time and around the world.

Susanica said...

Hi Jenni--please tell Nelson that he's wrong. And that you and I are both going to secretly nickname our secondborns Linus whether he and Susanne like it or not. Wait...don't do that ;-)

Nutella -I agree that the applications on the internet are fabulous--as you can see, I got a comment from a guy named, well Guy, and his whole site is about baby names and some search stuff he's done. Thanks for your commment and the resource Guy.

Oh, Nutella, you may have a common real name, but your nickname Nutella is the best. We always have Nutella on hand. Ahhh the hazlenutty chocolatey goodness! -Monica

Unknown said...

Monica and Suszanne, congratulations!!! Terrific news about numero duo. Ours is due any day now. Is it awful that I'm going to check out the websites and try to get suggestions when the baby could be born, well, technically today? We're still stumped.

My little one likes Doppler, too. I really like how there's always Dopplar action around a metro area even when nothing else is happening. Whooeee!

--Laura O'B. Smith

Susanica said...

Hey Laura. I am SO out of it. You're expecting a baby any day now???? Amy, Beth...you've got to keep me better informed. Congratulations Laura! So maybe Doppler would be a good name right? Almost as cool as Thor (which by the way I think was a brilliant choice on Colleen's part lo those many years ago! ;-)

Anonymous said...

Richard loves Linus too..but I say NO!

Diana