Okay, I know it is WAY early to be talking about baby names, as there is not even an embryo to speak of yet....or is there? There could be!(It's kind of fun waking up every day now and thinking "I could very possibly be pregnant right at this moment and I don't even know it!") ....but DH and I have already picked our boy name and I doubt that it will change between now and when the little bugger is born.

Xander Axel
or
Zander Axel

I am leaning toward the "Z" spelling just because I think it looks better on paper, but I think DH likes the "X" spelling better. We haven't really discussed "X" vs "Z".

Xander/Zander: It is a variant of "Alexander", which is Greek origin meaning "Protector of Mankind" or "Warrior"

Axel: It is of Hebrew origin meaning "The Father is Peace". Another baby name site says that it is of both Hebrew and Swedish origin meaning "Divine Reward" or "Divine Source of Life"

It took us a while to settle on Axel because DH had a strict rule that the middle name MUST begin with an "A". Why? Duh!...because only then would his initials spell out XAN or (ZAN), which will also be his nickname. We thought of the name Axel whilst driving either to or from one of our sinful little trips to Krispy Kreme. A Guns 'N Roses song came on the radio and I told DH that I thought the name Axl was cool. (Sorry son, you were sorta kinda named after a guy that sports white spandex shorts with combat boots) DH likes Axel with an "e" so it isn't exactly like Axl Rose's name. I agree. Although November Rain was my favorite video on MTV when I was like 12 years old, Axl Rose is certainly not one of my heroes.

We aren't quite as set on a girl name, although I really like these names:
1.) Tallulah Grey (Lulu or Lula for short)
2.) Paisley Grey
3.) Lola ______
4.) Lucy ______

Tallulah is by far my favorite. It has cute little kid nick-name potential, but also makes a nice adult name in its full form. "Grey" has no meaning for me - I just think it rings nicely with "Tallulah"....and with most other girl names I like. I really love the name Paisley as well. Although it has no real deep meaning.

Tallulah: It is of Choctaw origin and means "Leaping Water". Also possibly derived from a Gaelic name meaning "Fruitful Woman".

I came across an interesting old blog post by Laura Wattenberg, author of the Baby Name Wizard The post addresses the baby name legend of "Oranjello and Lemonjello", twin boys born to an African-American mother who named her sons after her insatiable craving for Jell-O during her pregnancy. Fact or fiction? The author seems to think it is fiction. I have no idea.



A few of the people who commented on the entry swore up and down that Oranjello and Lemonjello are real:

"I am a pediatrician who works in the greater Chicago area. I heard this story and always considered it to be apocryphal... Until I started my new job. I now know the nurses who took care of Lemonjello and ORANGEJELLO (note the corrected spelling). They were the mother's two favorite flavors of jello, per the nurses."-Anonymous

Others were not so convinced:

"To the people who claim to have seen Orangejello & Lemonjello in a high school yearbook or other official record: Send me a notarized photocopy, and I'll believe it. No one has ever given me evidence that these twins exist, and I've been hearing about them for over 30 years. This is an urban legend, folks, and you are just making yourself look foolish by repeating it. There are some real examples of men named Orangelo (NOT "Orangejello", but a blend of Oren and Angelo), and the legend seems to have begun back when the singer Peter Lemongello (a legitimate Italian surname) was famous, so that's the kernel of truth in the legend. But twins named this? Sure.
Send me the proof and I'll be happy to publicize it.
Cleveland Evans
President, American Name Society
Bellevue University
Bellevue, NE 68005-3098"
- Dr. Cleveland Kent Evans

So, now I am really curious. Do the fabeled "Jell-O" twins exist? What about other food/beverage names? Hhhhhmmmm....

Labels: baby names