The Name Game

A rose by any other name would not be a rose.

Naming a child is like navigating shark infested waters. You could get out unscathed, or you could wind up as chum. In Jason's Family, all of the children in his generation are named "J" names...as were all of their parents. Thankfully, Jason's cousin and older brother broke the "J" streak with their children.

When I got pregnant with baby #1, there was a teeny, tiny part of me that wanted to name him Barnum Nicholas Bailey. We'd call him Nick, of course, but on paper, he'd be Barnum N. Bailey (say it out loud; you'll get it...and if you don't, I can't help you LOL). I was thisclose to doing it, but ultimately decided against it. Wanting to avoid "J" names, I thought Patrick Joseph would be perfect, and we could call him PJ.

Jason's younger brother's name is Joseph, so I thought we would dodge drama by throwing that in the name. Jason didn't want there to be any hurt feelings from his older brother, so we added John to the mix. John Patrick Joseph Bailey was born. He was never, ever, EVER called John by the family. When he got to school and someone called him John, he wouldn't answer. John was not his name, and he had no problem telling people, even teachers, that.

John Patrick morphed into JP, and family and friends used them fairly interchangeably. (There is nothing more satisfying than yelling, "JohnPatrickJosephBailey, get your butt downstairs." Seriously, try it.) To us, JP was a perfectly acceptable nickname. It was not babyish, odd, or embarrassing. winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Sidebar: My brother was named after my grandfather, who went his whole life by a nickname. When my brother was born, he got not only my grandfather's given name, but his nickname as well. My cousin was the fourth with his his given name, so he, like his Father, had a nickname. When the guys hit high school, they decided to go by their given names instead of their nicknames. I still have trouble to this day calling them by anything other than their nicknames. Old dog, new tricks and all that nonsense....

When JP graduated this Spring, he announced that he wanted to go by the name John. I laughed. Probably directly in his face,if truth be told. That sort of fizzled out...he has one Uncle, one great Uncle, and one older cousin named John.

So, this week, he decides that he wants to be called Jack. Jack? His rationale was that John Patrick is too long, and he is over JP. Hmmph. He was upstairs with his brother, and I called them downstairs to do some menial grunt chore for me yesterday, and calling, "Cameron & Jack" just didn't have the same oomph for me.

I can see him introducing himself as Jack when he starts college. It may even catch on. Jack Bailey is kind of a cool rocker name, but John Patrick Joseph Bailey is an excellent New York Philharmonic Name. Just sayin'.

Then again, I could always start calling him Barnum....