what's in a name + thoughts on monograms

Naming your kid. That's a lot a pressure. Or at least that is what we are feeling/finding our as we try to think what to name our boy. Sure, we have another few months and we even have three names that I think any one of would be a good choice. But, I still wonder, is his name out there and I have not found it yet.

I am not going to share our three name picks here - at least not yet. But I want to hear more names ... I want more ideas. I am keeping my ear out, as they say.

Here is our name-picking criteria (please, no one take offense to names I use as examples here; this is just my little opinion and I mean no harm):

• cannot be trendy/popular: so no Aiden, Jack, Jacob, Max, etc. {I realize many of these names are pretty "classic" but I consider them trendy because they are so popular right now.}
• cannot rhyme with something bad: for example my sister quickly crossed Jack off of her list of potential names because then her boy would have been Jack Markoff, which cruel kids could easily shorten to "Jackoff"
• initials cannot spell something undesireable: I don't want an ASS, ADD, HAG, FUG, ILL, etc. {granted our last name is an M, so none of those would be possible, but hey they are just examples}
• unique but not too unique: I want a name that is not too popular or trendy (see above), but I also don't want a name that is too unique ... for example, we had Calixto (cal-iks-toe) and although I am not ready to cross it off my long list just yet, I feel like it is maybe a little too unique
• has to sound good with Marty: so most of the time we say our first and last name (rarely to we say our full names); I am more often Chloe Marty than Chloe Christine Marty ... I want my boy's name to sound good as "first name last name" as well as "first name middle name last name" {which warrants the disclosure that at this point Raphael, which is John's middle name, is the front runner for middle name}

So the purpose of my post today is two-fold ... first, if you have any good names that you think fit my criteria please shout them out in the comments. Like I said, I want to generate more ideas. Secondly, if you have any good naming tips, superstitions, folklore, etc. {for example, someone advised John that we need to check the numerology of the name before we finalize it ... you want a name to be like a 9 or 10}.

I figured this could be helpful for me, but fun for you, too. And, I will definitely share our name pick later on, certainly when our boy arrives at the very least.

a thought on monograms ... 

I choose the logotypes above because they reminded me of monograms. I love the idea of creating a distinctive monogram ... not just the stock one that Lands' End or Pottery Barn will embroider for you, but a true personal logo and a genuine brand for oneself. I think these logotypes are intriguing examples of this. Although they happen to be logos, I could see the one in the center as being a monogram for one Declan Masterson. 

I found these logotype here clockwise from top-left: H :: DM :: BWD :: SDS :: AW and there are a few more on my "logos and logotypes" Pinterest board here, here, and here