Wednesday, June 25, 2008

That Must Be A Family Name...

We are inside of a week!  Elliot could come at anytime, but if she doesn't come on her own, we will get the process started on July 2nd.  A week from today!  

We are naming our daughter Elliot Grace and we have gotten some very interesting reactions to say the least.  Elliot means 'the Lord is my God' and it is Jennie's mom's maiden name.  It is also the name of a girl character on our favorite TV show "Scrubs", but we aren't naming her after that.  We liked the name and watching Scrubs did give us the guts to pull the trigger.  We had it picked out before we knew what we were having and we just knew that we were going to have a boy and we wouldn't get to use that name.  We want her to have a unique name and we realize that people are going to think that she is a boy.  We weighed these challenges and figured that she will have no problem overcoming them.

Now, on to the reactions of some people...

We get two basic reactions.  

1) "Do you have a name picked out?"
"Elliot Grace"
"So, you are going to call her Elli."

Thank you for not coming right out and saying that you dislike it so much that we will obviously call her something else!  When we first started telling people, we would proactively say, "Her name is Elliot, but we will probably call her Elli."  We were afraid that people wouldn't like it since it was so different.  But after a while we realized that we needed to stand behind the name if we believed in it.  And we do.  So now we answer back, "No, I think we will call her Elliot."  Which as we just told you, is her name...

2) "Do you have a name picked out?"
"Elliot Grace"
"Oh, is that a family name?"

Now, our answer is yes because that is the truth, but after so many people asked that question I realized what they were saying.  You obviously are being forced to name her Elliot because it has been passed down through the family because no one would pick that name on their own.  

Is this a little overly dramatic?  Yes.  I guess I am already in protective Dad mode.  Not everyone is going to like it (I wish they would hide it better), that is what makes it unique.  We recently spoke with two separate people that told us that they knew female Elliots and that gave us peace and confirmation.  We love her name and we are so in love with her.  We can't wait to hold her!  

And if you are having trouble with her name, go watch a couple episodes of Scrubs! 

Seven days!  (or less...)

5 comments:

Pam said...

I love her name too. I have always called her Elliot when I talk about her. (and truly if anyone isn't sure about her name, that will go away the instant they meet her and soon no one could see her being anything else!!!)
I can't wait to meet your beautiful baby girl.

The Buster Bunch said...

I love the name Elliot. I think it's a prefect name for a little girl! My mom didn't like the name Brenley, but then after she was born, she fell in love with her and her name :)

Thomas and Jamie said...

Well...I guess we experienced the same with Malachi. However, the day before we had him we heard of 3 separate men named Malachi. Who cares what people think - Right? Elliot is adorable and I'm sure she'll match her name just perfectly! Be as protective as you want, you only have your first child once!

The Clements Crew said...

I think Elliot is the coolest name ever. I remember wanting her to be a girl, just so you could use the name Elliot. She will love having such a unique name. (I know I do!!)

missa said...

first of all...if anyone so much as scowls at her name i will kick their a$$. second...everyone i have told LOVES the name. It is super cute for a girl and very popular (according to the social security administration...Elliot(t)has been in the top 500 names every year since 1990)! I think family names are special and give the kiddo something to feel tied to...like they are a part of history. I love having a family name (jennie and i, are both named after Pa--Grandpa Elliott). I can't wait for her to get here...the books and bags are packed! I love you guys very much and will see you soon!