He Who Owns a Ship

There is an old Norwegian proverb that says, "He who owns a ship should give it a name." And I say, "Yes."

Names have been one of my passions since before I can remember (seriously, I bought myself my first book at age seven, and it is a baby name book that I still like to peruse). All of my dolls and stuffed animals had appropriate, thoughtful names (no teddy bears named "Teddy," unless it was for irony). In my tweens, I'd carry a little notebook with me everywhere, and it contained list upon list of my favorite names. Now that I'm married and my husband and I are growing our family, I can't deny that one of my favorite things in the world is the privilege of getting to give a NAME to a REAL person! Such pressure! Such responsibility! Such giddy joy! Proverbs 22:1 begins,  "A good name is more desirable than great riches" (yes, I know that it's referring one's reputation, but still!). Thus, it should be a quest of all humans with naming power to seek out good names!

My interest in names does not stop at baby humans. I believe that animals, vehicles, plants, computers, and anything else can all benefit from an apt appellation. I'd consider myself an expert on names if it weren't impossible to be an expert on something so subjective (if they had a nomenclature major in college, I would get my masters in it. But I think the closest thing is marketing).

The purpose of this blog is to allow me to gush and glower over names that strike me: beautiful, glorious names, hideous names that make me want to rip my hair out, names that make me go, "hmmmm," and names that fall into none of those categories. The obvious problem with such a blog is that every name is liked by somebody, and I don't like offending people (I'm a peace loving middle child). So, if I mock your favorite moniker, I apologize now and do not intend it to be a personal attack against you. Really, I'm sorry!

Oh, and this blog will not be limited to baby names (I've been known to turn up my nose at car names before: the Oldsmobile Silhouette? Really?!??!).


So join me on this journey of discovery and expression, and feel welcome to leave your own comments, critiques, and suggestions along the way!