Is that A Family Name?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
I just love summer. Complaining about it being hot is my favorite past time, with going to the beach coming in a close second. It is really interesting this summer, having a new baby. We don't go out as much during the day because it is so sweltering and by the time we get somewhere, park the car, drag Marin and all his gear out, and finally get into a store we are soaked with sweat which is gross. Before Marin, we could just jump out of the car and make a dash for the nearest entrance to where we were going before the coolness of the air conditioner had even worn off of our clothes. Now, not so much. But, I'm not complaining really. If you've been keeping up with Marin's blog, his arrival has meant that I get to go to the pool a lot more often.
Speaking of Marin, you may have noticed the title of today's post "Is that A Family Name?" because this is the most common response we get when we tell people Marin's name. I've come to figure out that the question is meant as a derogatory term when another friend and I started comparing new baby stories and she gets that too because her son-to-be has an unusual, yet very cool name in my opinion. We laugh about it together because as she said people really want to ask, "Oh is your grandfather named that so you didn't have a choice?" No, actually we just really liked the name and its meaning. People also say it is too hard to pronounce. Give me a break. It is the root word of several very common words and no one has a problem saying those. How about the sports team, The Seattle Mariners? Just leave off the "er" and you have his name. How about someone who is the captain of a ship, a mariner? Again, leave off the "er" and there you go. There are more examples, but I'm too hateful to list anymore. :) People won't even attempt to pronounce it if they see it written either, which is strange. I can see if it was mispronounced like the way folks in California pronounce Marin County. I've had one lady at the doctor's office say it like that, but that I can understand. Or if it was mispronounced like the branch of the military The Marines or a boat dock (marina). I just don't think it is too hard of a name. Now MaLeah, that is a hard one and I've lived with it being butchered for years but everyone always says my name is "pretty" not, "Is it a Family name?" so I guess that means my name is o.k. :)
It doesn't really bother me that people dislike his name, I just think it is funny. We just couldn't live with a common name where there would be several of the same named boy in his class at school. We figured Marin would be easy enough. I love it and so does Matthew but we've only had 2 people tell us that they LOVE or even like for that matter, his name. Our dog's godfather, Andre, who is just the sweetest and our neighbor Charlotte who spent part of her life sailing around the Caribbean, so she appreciates a good nautical term. We gave him a "normal" name as a middle name (Blake) so if he decides he doesn't like his name he can go by Blake. When we say his middle name, everyone says "Oh that is a nice name" so it must just be Marin that they dislike. ha.ha. Oh, I almost forgot, his pediatrician Dr. Mehrotra said Marin was a "nice" name. We weirdly named folks have to stick together. :)
Well, the pool is calling my name, so I'd better jump off here. I hope everyone is having a great summer so far and spending more time grilling and lounging around than working!
Speaking of Marin, you may have noticed the title of today's post "Is that A Family Name?" because this is the most common response we get when we tell people Marin's name. I've come to figure out that the question is meant as a derogatory term when another friend and I started comparing new baby stories and she gets that too because her son-to-be has an unusual, yet very cool name in my opinion. We laugh about it together because as she said people really want to ask, "Oh is your grandfather named that so you didn't have a choice?" No, actually we just really liked the name and its meaning. People also say it is too hard to pronounce. Give me a break. It is the root word of several very common words and no one has a problem saying those. How about the sports team, The Seattle Mariners? Just leave off the "er" and you have his name. How about someone who is the captain of a ship, a mariner? Again, leave off the "er" and there you go. There are more examples, but I'm too hateful to list anymore. :) People won't even attempt to pronounce it if they see it written either, which is strange. I can see if it was mispronounced like the way folks in California pronounce Marin County. I've had one lady at the doctor's office say it like that, but that I can understand. Or if it was mispronounced like the branch of the military The Marines or a boat dock (marina). I just don't think it is too hard of a name. Now MaLeah, that is a hard one and I've lived with it being butchered for years but everyone always says my name is "pretty" not, "Is it a Family name?" so I guess that means my name is o.k. :)
It doesn't really bother me that people dislike his name, I just think it is funny. We just couldn't live with a common name where there would be several of the same named boy in his class at school. We figured Marin would be easy enough. I love it and so does Matthew but we've only had 2 people tell us that they LOVE or even like for that matter, his name. Our dog's godfather, Andre, who is just the sweetest and our neighbor Charlotte who spent part of her life sailing around the Caribbean, so she appreciates a good nautical term. We gave him a "normal" name as a middle name (Blake) so if he decides he doesn't like his name he can go by Blake. When we say his middle name, everyone says "Oh that is a nice name" so it must just be Marin that they dislike. ha.ha. Oh, I almost forgot, his pediatrician Dr. Mehrotra said Marin was a "nice" name. We weirdly named folks have to stick together. :)
Well, the pool is calling my name, so I'd better jump off here. I hope everyone is having a great summer so far and spending more time grilling and lounging around than working!
