When I was pregnant with Knox I had the biggest time choosing a name. I mean - that's a BIG deal, right??? Call me crazy, but naming babies is something I pray over. I don't take it lightly. For my boy, I knew I wanted something strong, classic-sounding, and at the same time unique. My top priority was NOT to choose a mainstream or - heaven-forbid - "trendy" name... That's what happens when you're named Jessica in the mid-80s ;)
I had loved the name Knox for a few years at that point. My parents had a friend with who was often referred to by his last name - Knox, and that's what made me think of it for a first name. I felt it was perfect - strong, masculine, timeless, original... To check on the popularity of the name, I searched on Google only to find one very old historical figure (which I loved!) and a random attorney with the first name Knox. Nothing else. Although I'm sure there were a few out there - no babies or kids that I could find. Score!
However, I was concerned that people would think it was too out there. I let my fear of disapproval get the best of me and decided to announce that the name of our firstborn would be Tucker Davis. It was cute enough and was the safe choice... It just never caught on though. I was never able to call that little boy in my belly Tucker. So at 37 weeks I was tired, hormonal, and sassy and I decided I didn't care what people thought anymore... We were going with Knox. (David "Knox") James, my sister, and I all liked it and that's all I needed.
I'd get 2 reactions when I told people that name - I LOVE it! and Huh? That's ehhh - Different. And one time I actually got an Ewww! And it didn't come from family. (Seriously, when a pregnant woman tells you her baby name, the ONLY acceptable response is That's perfect!!! A lesson I learned through many tears and hurt feelings.)
But honestly - once he was born it was so clear he couldn't be anything but a Knox. Even to this day, ask anyone. I'm so thankful I went with my gut on that and not just an okay "safe" name just to please everyone else. (Yes. Even knowing what I know now - [read on] - I still wouldn't change it!) God knew from Day 1 who that boy was and I believe that's why I felt my heart being led to that name so strongly. (Same with Hadley girl!)
It was about 6 weeks after we had our sweet boy when James called me with the news... "Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had their twins. Guess what they named the boy..." He didn't have to say anymore. I cried! Ha! Granted, I was still a little hormonal from breastfeeding, but I knew at that point that my hopes for a "not trendy" name just flew out the window. Like out of all the names, what are the chances they'd pick THAT one??? Now I feel like the name I once couldn't even find on Google is everywhere. I wish I could say it doesn't phase me, but I cringe a little inside everytime I hear of another person naming their kid Knox. (Please take that with a grain of salt! Nothing personal directed towards anyone else...)
To a point, I feel the same way with H. My choices with her were Hadley Claire and Reese Caroline - RC being the "safer" choice. I just loved Hadley though. Again - it was classic-sounding, feminine, yet unique. Although when I searched her name I did find a few older people with it and probably 2 or 3 bloggers that had little girls named Hadley. That, and I knew a girl on a reality show had the name, so there was a chance of it catching on... I do feel like I've seen it a lot more in the past 11 months, but once again - I still love her name and can't imagine her being anyone else. (PS - We ended up going with Hadley Carter. Carter being my maiden name.)
I hate to think this may come off like I'm self-centered. Please don't take it like that. I know I don't own the rights to Knox (not gonna lie - kinda wish I did...) and I promise I'm not vain enough to think I created it. That's so not the case. And I honestly don't have anything against anyone who chooses to name their kid Knox, or Hadley for that matter. I mean, they're great names, I can't blame them... It solely has to do with my desire shy away from trends, and having to watch a name so dear to me that I thought would never catch on explode. So in short - this has to do with me, no one else :) I guess it's better to know that people like it rather than think it's weird. (My fear 3.5yrs ago...)
It makes me feel better when I hear other moms feel the same way about the increase in popularity in their kids' names. Conversations on the topic have come up several times on Twitter and Facebook recently, so I figrued I'd air my thoughts in a post... I liked how one blogger ended her Name Rant post a few weeks ago... "-And if you're pet's name is *****, I don't need to know about it."
...So for the record - please don't think any less of me for this post. These are just personal feelings that I wish didn't affect me so. It's just something I find ironic considering my desires when choosing Knox's name, and God is slowly teaching me to laugh over it. Although suffice it to say any future kids names will remain strictly hush-hush ;)
This, however, was a fabulous excuse to bring back some old baby pics of MY Knox ;)
24 comments:
I know exactly how you feel. When I was pregnant with my son I thought about and researched names that weren't trendy, I didn't want a name that everyone had. When my husband said he wanted to name him Trapper, I thought he was insane at first and I was so afraid of what people would think. After a couple of months, the name REALLY grew on me and when he was born it just fit him so well. I can't imagine any other name for him now, 2 years later. I have since met a man named Trapper and know of one other little boy named Trapper that was born after our Trapp but other than that it is still pretty uncommon and I really like it that way. When I heard of the little boy named Trapper after our Trapper was born, I felt the same way you do. Nothing against them, its just a strange feeling. I used to tell my husband "But thats OUR name" like we owned it or something. You explained how I feel to a tee!
I agree! I had a hard time choosing names for my girls. My 6 yr old is Rylee Madison, and my 2 yr old is Landry Cate, and to this day, I still get the same question, "Why did you name your kids boy names?" Ugh! I still have two name left on my girl list {from 6 years ago} and they are Finley & Harper. Now, 6 years ago, no one was named Harper or Finley - now, everywhere you go, there is a Harper and once Angie Harmon named her girl Finley, I've met a lot of those as well. :( If we have another baby, and it happens to be a girl, I doubt we are going with the last two names on our list, the ones we so proudly put together the day I found out I was pregnant with girl #1. I just cringe at people giving their babies name because they are "popular."
I love this post. I am 35 weeks pregnant with my first boy and we have had a heck of a time deciding on a name. We didn't name our daughter until we saw her. A name I have picked out for our boy is a name how u felt when u were considering Knox...what will people think. My name I am considering is Kinzler. But I'm worried about other opinion. I guess we will see!
P.s. Knox is a great name!!
Amen to both of you! I like Finley and Landry for girls too - but I agree with you, Ms. Howell, both have definitely caught on in the past year! I have no idea what I'd name another little girl, although I have a few names on my boys list...
So glad y'all understand! I'm so afraid of coming off snobby when I talk about this, but that's not the case at all! It's definitely something just very personal to me. Not anyone else :)
@Kubin - Go with your gut! You won't regret it and people will love and accept it once he's here. I swear with my next kids I'm not announcing the name until they're born ;)
Jessica- my sons' names are Dane and Knox. my family was a little taken aback by both of them. I get weird looks when i say both of them out loud, and often get referred to as "great dane" etc. I love both of their names, and so does my husband. I have yet to meet another little boy named dane, or knox (except your little boy on here) and I love that! Then I saw on the today show that Knox was one of the most up-and-coming names and I started to feel sad too! (Mine and my hubbys names are Derek and Megan so you can see why!)
LOL in the end, it only matters how you feel about the name!
@Megan C - Oh no! I'm glad I didn't watch the today show. Haha! I agree with your closing comment - like I said, I wouldn't change Knox's name for the world. PS - You have fabulous taste in names ;)
As a fellow Jessica from the 80s, I hear your pain. I often think that going with super classic names are good because they stand the test of time but then I hear some really good and unique ones and then I change my mind. It's an evergoing battle in my brain/.
p.s. I agree that the only acceptable response to an expectant lady sharing her baby's name is excitement.
I have a different perspective on this. After my son Teagan was born, the name Teagan began catching on as a GIRL'S name! (Due, apparantley, to a group by the name of Tegan and Sara) So now I LOVE it when I hear of boys being born named Teagan. I dont want him to be known as the boy with a girl's name :(. By the way yes I am a lurker, I love your blog and you have a beautiful family. I have a girl Hadley's age named Claire. Great post!
Well...I don't think my boy's name will be catching on in the near future. Ha!
It's been around since the Bible (Genesis 4:21), but is evidently a very little-known biblical name.
His name is Jubal. We pronounce it "Jew Bull".
I had alot of people give me some strannggge looks when I would tell them what his name would be when he was born. I still get strange looks. I. DON'T. CARE.
It's perfect for him & it catches on quickly after awhile. You can bet when someone hears his name they don't forget it. That's because it's so shocking to them, I guess. Ha!
I know how you feel when you say "It's NOT just a name."
I can totally relate! I just had a baby girl HARPER which has been my favorite name since high school and now the Beckham's have a baby girl Harper! I have a feeling the popularity of that name will increase!!!
My cousin and I were just talking about this this past weekend. My daughter is named Aubrey and I never heard it until we named her and now I hear it all the time. I have 3 sons - Chase, Mason and Hudson and I am hearing Mason and Hudson a lot. Mason was born in 2008 also and I was upset when one of the Kardashians named her son Mason because I felt too that it would become a trendy name.
I agree with you - if you don't like what I have named my kids that's fine, but please don't tell me!
By the way I think Knox and Hadley are cute names.
I felt the same way when I named my Hadley, I wanted something southern, yet unique. Now I am having a second girl and we are naming her Hollins and we get the same reaction. People love it or give me the face and ask me to spell it!
I love this post. However, I went to the opposite extreme with my firstborn. Since I grew up with a name that was so different, I didn't want my daughter to have to explain her unique name for the rest of her life, as I did. After naming her the #1 name of the year, I totally regretted it and now we call her Belle instead of Isabella. We did go in a different direction with our 2nd born, but now I'm seeing Evie's everywhere! Haha!
Oh I feel the exact same way!! When I had my son I had a VERY hard time deciding on a name too. I wanted something different, but not too off the wall, and not too common. We went with Easton:) My husband loved it because it referes to a brand of arrow used for hunting (what a guy way to think about it huh?). I loved it because it was different. The only Easton's I have ever heard of was the country singer Easton Corbin, and then Jeanna Elfman's from Dharma & Greg named her son Easton. Maybe it'll stay on the down low;)
I love both of your kids names :)
I have never met a Knox or Hadley and I used to teach preschool :) I did know a girl who who wanted to name her first girl Hadley, because her maiden name was Hadley and that is the first time I ever heard that as a first name...loved it then, love it now!
I'm 30 wks with my first-a girl-and people have given us SUCH a hard time about keeping her name a secret, but this is exactly why we are! I don't want people's opinions and I know the name will fit her perfectly!!
oh wow. girl I had to laugh because i was one of those people who commented on Knox's name about two years ago when i started reading your blog. You promptly told me he was BEFORE the Jolie twins...I thought that was awesome.
but I could not agree you with you more. I pray and choose very carefully the name(s) of my child - you aren't alone...unique namers want it to stay that way not catch on like wildfire...I loved this post and totally feel your pain..a lot of names I had on my list have been ticked off one by one because of celebs naming their kids them
Love both of your baby's names...and I loved seeing my handwriting on sweet Knox's crib card!!
Also, my chiropractors just named their son Preston Jeffrey. Their last name also starts with a C. My Preston is Preston Jeffery! So there will be two PJCs running around Collierville..haha!
love~
Awww, not knowing y'all, your sweet babies seem to "fit" their names just perfectly as I can tell in pictures!
You are definitely not alone, though. My oldest is Savanah & I named my youngest (who is 5 1/2 now) Stella after my great grandmother... And I was openly ticked off when Tori Spelling named her baby Stella! lol. I try to chalk it up to "it's just a great name"... But it still irks me when I sit and think about it! lol.
Love the name Knox! We almost named our first son Maddox, then decided to go with Mason. 'Mason isn't too common anymore' I thought while I was pregnant... skip a couple of years and a Kardashian names her first son Mason! {ggrrreaaat!}
I know Mason is more common than Knox but I still had that same exact 'trendy' thought about a celebrity baby name!
I feel exactly the same way... Growing up, there was a family I went to church with that had a son named Jaden. I always loved how unique it was and have had it on the back of my mind since I was a little girl. When I found out we were having a boy I knew i wanted to name him Jayden, thankfully my husband liked the name too. I kid you not, the day after my son was born, while we were at the hospital I turned on Good Morning America and Jayden was in the top 10 most popular names of the year.... I feel your pain!
I know exactly how you feel! First of all, shout out to all the Jessica's of the mid 80's. I swear, I can be anywhere & someone says Jessica and at least 3 people turn around! But anyway, back to the baby names. My maiden name is Riley & I have ALWAYS said that my first born (boy or girl) would be named Riley. That name has really caught on lately but I don't care because it has special meaning to ME. I even sometimes hesitate to tell people my daughter's name because I have never heard of anyone else with her name. It's unique & still pretty (I think).I wish we could own the rights to names sometimes too! :)
Kind the same thing with my son My DH cousin even named her son the same name 3 months after. I was ticked.
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