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Show 'Edmund Halley Johnson 'sounds heavenly grassroots I - ' " Copyright 1986 Becky Grass Johnson Another bundle of joy is due to arrive in just a few days. The countdown is on and hubby and I are still trying to find a name that we can agree on. Naming a baby shouldn't be that hard! After all, people do it every day. But somehow it was a whole lot easier for us to find a suitable n ame for the family cat than for junior. Perhaps it is because there is so much criterion that has to be met when it comes to naming a baby. It should be a respectable name that both grandmothers like and that the . baby can learn to spell before he enters junior high school. Some parents like to refer to their genealogy sheets for inspiration. It does seem like a nice idea to carry on the family names from generations before. But after scanning through our genealogy sheets and finding names . like Wilhelmina, Orva, Fritz and Jesse James, I decided not to tag junior with any ancestral titles. It could be enough to make him saw his branch off the family tree. 15,000 others in the country by (he same name. (Unless we decidetogo with Ezekiel, Nehemiah or Moses,) Some people say they have to wait to see what the baby looks like before they know what to name it. That never did help us. I've never seen a baby that looked like a Raquel, a Colton or an Edmund. Most babies look like a "Snookums," a "Dollibug" or "Wart." Anyone who would namea pink and wrinkled little creature with no hair or teeth "John Rambo" is doing so with a great deal of faith. This last year' has been memorable. I suppose if I just relied on a few current events I could come up with some winning names. "Rocky Balboa Johnson" packs a punch. "Edmund Halley Johnson" sounds just heavenly. "Ramses Johnson" would make any mummy proud. , -, , - I would really like to name junior after someone that everyone knows and loves. Someone who is brave, suave and good looking. If, perchance, per-chance, our pink and wrinkled little bundle with no hair or teeth just happens to have a trace of stubble, we're in luck. We'll name him "Don Johnson." anymore. Hubby refuses to even discuss names until we are in the 1 abor room. He says that there's strategy behind it. He claims that I am more willing to compromise on a name when I'm in labor. Who cares what the baby gets called at that point? I'd agree to the name Bozo in the middle of a hard contraction. I'll be trying to remember the breathing techniques I learned in LaMaze class and trying not to hyperventilate while hubby is pouring through a pile of telephone books for a name that sounds good with Johnson. (There are just some names that you do not put with Johnson . . . like Howard, Lyndon B. or Jeremiah.) Hubby and I are from large families and it is a real trick, trying to come up with a cute name that hasn't already been used. We always like the biblical names. Unfortunately so did the rest of the family and the only ones that haven't been used are Ezekiel, Nehemiah and Moses. And because the name Johnson is the second most common name in the United States, it won't matter what we name the baby, we can rest assured that there are at least mmmmm- ii wntcum by BECKI GRASS JOHNSON Sometimes parents feel that they have to carry on the names of all the grandparents. These are usually given as middle names so that no one has to hear them. (One of the easiest ways to make a person wince is to ask them what their ..middle name is.) : It has done me little good to select a name before the baby comes. I'll find a name that sounds wonderful, but after a few months the name doesn't sound all that great |