Close Call

[Photo of my son, Herbert T. Brown, III at one year old.--1975-2016]

In a recent newsletter, I shared my story of how my planned babies' names were stolen  almost a decade before I had my first child. 

I didn't realize until recently , however, that there are states in America that don't allow parents to assign certain names to their newborns.

Some of you won't be surprised which state has such a list.

But first, let me share how I had a close call when I finally had to choose a name for my first child.

It was the late 60's and the names I had thoughfully planned  for my  future children when I was 14 years old in high school had been taken by my siblings to name their children in the early 60's. 

After researching, I considered naming my first child Diara, a name with African roots particularly within West African cultures. It is most commonly found among the Bambara and Mande people of Mali, a country in West Africa. In these languages and cultures, the name Diara typically means "thank you" or "grateful."

Fortunately, my husband quickly pointed out that if I named her Diara her name would be mispronounced accidentally or on purpose as  Diarhhea for the rest of her life.

Yikes! I'm glad he caught that.  

Do you think he was right?

I didn't take any chances.

I chose the name Tamra  for my first daughter. It is a variant of the name Tamara, which  has roots in Hebrew and Slavic languages. It  is fairly common in English-speaking countries and can evoke a sense of nature, elegance, and endurance.  Besides, I figured we end up calling her Tammy, and I  liked the song "Tammy" by Jay Livingston and lyrics by Ray Evans published in 1957 that had made its debut in the film Tammy and the Bachelor. 

Naming my only son, pictured in the header,  was easy. His father was a junior, so I named my son the III. 

Do you think states should impose restrictions on naming babies?

Do you agree that some of these names on this list should be prohibited?
 mamabeanparenting.com/baby…

Did you give thought to avoiding certain names when you were naming your children?

How did you choose the names of your children?

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Naming newborns is a precious  part of many life stories.

If you long to write your life story, search your memory for family names that hold special meaning for you or your family.

Choosing family names is one of many easy-to-create content ideas. You'll discover many tips, resources and more that I share to make writing your life story easier than you ever imagined. It's waiting for you as an instant download for less than a cup of coffee at https://www.florabrown.com/wait-dont-leave

If this intrigues you and you want to discover other great ideas for writing your life story, get on my email list at https://www.florabrown.com/stay-connected so you'll be notified of upcoming resources and courses.