What's in a Name?

You know the old saying "A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet"? Well, it's just not true when it comes to naming children. Names hold much more significance! The meaning, the cultural references, the way it rolls of the tongue, if you knew a jerk in elementary by the same name, any possible crude words that might rhyme with the name you've chosen. These things (and many others) must be taken into account when deciding on the name of your child.

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Fortunately for me, I have a name book to help me out. This baby will be our third boy. (WOW! Another darling son! I still can't get over it!) Hubby and I have only a few requirements (other than those listed above) for our son's name. The most important being that it needs to be a boy boy name. That is to say, a name that will not make people wonder, upon reading the name, if our son is a boy or a girl. A name that declares itself Male in all ways.
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Hubby and I have diligently searched this book, from A to Z, searching for the perfect name for our son. Here are some of the book's "boy" suggestions:

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1) Ashley (Scarlett's love interest in Gone with the Wind; when I first read the book I thought she was in love with another girl!!)

2) Aubrey (my cousin's daughter's name)

3) Beverly (like Beverly Crusher from Star Trek Next Generation)

4) Caroll (I guess the second "L" makes it manly...)

5) Courtney

6) Kimberly (I've known many Kim's in my life...all female)

7) Lacy (the neighbor girl when I was twelve)

8) Meredith (my sister's name)

9) Paris (male lover to Helen of Troy and Juliet, but Hilton has claimed it as a girly girl name)

10) Whitney (as in Houston??)
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Most of these male names were taken over many years ago. However, the trend to use male names for baby girls has continued and amplified! Hubby worked for a woman named Michael. My dear Mom had a high school student named Jeremie. I guess spelling it with "ie" makes it feminine.

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What's a soon-to-be Mother to a boy supposed to do? How can I be sure that the name I pick doesn't end up a girl's name a few years down the road? The answer is I can't! I just have to pick a name and cross my fingers.
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Wish me luck!