We've been very touched by all the compliments we've received on our choice of name for the Baby B - but we've also received a lot of questions about it. So, below are some of the FAQs we've received on Baby B's name.
Q: How and when did you come up with Madeleine?
A: Hannah and I started talking about baby names once we got past the 12 week mark in the pregnancy. Being the planner, I went out and bought three baby name books and started poring through them. I also asked my dad for a copy of the B. family tree to see if there were any good names from the past that we could use (Hannah ruled out Jean-Baptiste B. right away - that didn't stop me from teasing her about it throughout the pregnancy but it wound up being a moot point!).
I had always thought it would be fun for us to each put 10 boys names and 10 girls names that we liked into an envelope and then exchange the envelopes - I also wanted our names to be a complete surprise to each other. If we had any commonality, we would focus on those names.
Hannah, being a little more free spirited, preferred the approach of throwing out questions like "What do you think of xxxx?" or "Isn't yyyy a cute name?"
At the end of the day, compromise is essential to a strong marriage, so we used a hybrid approach. Hannah would continue to throw out questions but I would offer feedback -- and eventually, toward the end of July/beginning of August, we sat down and did the envelope exchange. About a third of the names overlapped between the two lists. Madeleine was tops on both of our lists for girls.
Q: You guys knew all along that you were having a girl, didn't you?
A: We both suspected all along that we were having a girl, but we didn't know until we saw her in the delivery room. We had asked the ultrasound technicians and the doctors to keep the information about the gender from us until the big day.
In terms of the name, we were prepared for both results and narrowed down the process to 4 names that we liked - a primary and a backup on both sides (we figured that we needed to be prepared in case the baby didn't look like a "Madeleine" for whatever reason).
Q: What was the boy's name? What were the runners-up?
A: We're not telling in case we decide to break our vows of celibacy and have a second child.
Q: What is the significance of the name Madeleine? Frankly, we both liked the way it sounded.
We also preferred the French spelling of it to go with her French last name. Yes, for those who didn't know, our last name French and it comes from here - http://www.interfrance.com/en/fc/do_besancon.html
As her mother and father can attest, she's going to spend years of her life spelling both her first name and her last name for other people. But she's going to learn to spell at an early age!
It also had the added benefit of having a family connection - Brian's great-grandmother (who we called Nana) was named Madeline Jaycox.
Q: What does Madeleine mean? We actually had no idea when we picked it. And, there's conflicting information depending on which baby book or website you read.
Here's a short summary online that seems reasonable enough to us:
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Madeleine
(there's more info on the name when you go to the "Madeline" page)
Bottom line: We've seen "tower of strength" and "woman from Magdela" as possibilities - we've also seen it described as variously being of Hebrew, Greek, or French origin. We have no idea of which one is right but the name's "meaning" had no role in our decision. WARNING - SPOILER ALERT: No, the Da Vinci Code had no influence over the selection of the name.
Q: How are you pronouncing Madeleine's name? It's MAD-a-linn with the last syllable rhyming with "in" instead of "line." And, if you're one of those people who hasn't heard it pronounced, the last name is pronounced beh-SAWN-sen-ee. (Ah, yes, I'm having flashbacks to the first day of school from the time I was 6 years old until I was 21.......)
Q: Have you given her a nickname like "Maddie" yet? Nope. We're sticking with Madeleine unless/until something strikes our fancy.
Q: Did you name her after the children's story Madeline or a Madeline doll? Or a celebrity named Madeleine? No, no, and no. After the big day, Grandma Kay did go out and get us a copy of the classic Ludwig Bemelmann children's story Madeline, and she is on a quest for a Madeline doll as of the time of this posting.
Q: Did anyone guess the name? No. At both of Hannah's baby showers, the hosts came up with a fun game. Each guest was asked to submit a boys name on a blue sheet of paper and a girls name on a pink sheet of paper -- and anyone who guessed the name would win a prize. But, of the 50-60 people who played, no one guessed any of our "Final Four" names. So, no one wins a prize.
We were really kind of surprised that no one guessed it. Grandma Kay actually guessed one of the Final Four names when we were up in Maine last August -- and Hannah, not having much of a poker face, had a reaction that made her think she was onto something. But thankfully, it was late and she had already forgotten by the next morning. One other relative (who shall remain nameless since they might remember) guessed a Final Four name a few weeks before the big day -- but we're not telling them in case we decide to use it in the future!
Q: What is the significance of "Ann" as a middle name? Hannah and I have both been blessed to have aunts named Ann with whom we have had very special relationships. So, we decided to honor both of them with our choice of middle name.
Hannah's Aunt Ann is one of Kay's sisters and has been a big part of her life - even before Hannah was born! She served with the Red Cross in Vietnam and was best friends with a woman named Hannah who was later killed. That Hannah was an inspiration for our Hannah's name.
My Auntie Ann was my godmother, but she passed away last summer from cancer before we had a chance to tell anyone our big news. Auntie Ann was one of the kindest people I have ever known and she is still greatly missed by the B. family. Ironically, as my grandmother reminded me the other day, Auntie Ann didn't even have a middle name!
Q: Is Madeleine a "popular" name? Our friend Dave, who runs the very entertaining site Suburban Daddy (http://www.suburbandaddy.com/), shared this tidbit:
"According to the social security website, Madeleine was the 337th most popular baby name of 2006."
Dare to be different!
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3 comments:
Some more trivia you might want to add to the FAQ. According to the social security website, Madeleine was the 337th most popular baby name of 2006.
I think xxxxx and yyyyy make terrible names. I'm glad you talked Hannah out of them.
Brian, Hannah & Madeleine -
I am finally getting back to leave a comment! Sorry it has taken me so long, as I have been occupied with this silly heart thing since December. First, I am much moved and honnored by your selecting "Ann" as Miss Madeleine's middle name. I truly feel a part of the future which thrills me more than I can express. And that leads me to the second thing I want to record for Madeleine's history, which is more info on the Hannah who was honnored to have been remembered when Hannah H B was named. Hannah Crews was an avid history buff and had taught high school history for one year after college when she was moved to support the guys in Vietnam by joining the American Red Cross and volunteering to serve a year in Vietnam. She was five feet tall, a fireball that everyone loved and she made quite a name for herself in the few short months she was able to serve. I was her unit director and had been in country eight months when she arrived. She was so outstanding I had reccommended her to be promoted to be a unit director, skipping the usual promotion first to a program director position. Unfortunately she lost her life in a jeep accident. She was so short she could not see very well out the windshield unless she sat on her feet and when the vehicle was coming to a stop, a faulty seat tipped forward spilling her head first out the side (no doors in Vietnam). Although she had only a few stiches in her forehead, her brain steam had been injured and she died five days later. She was the first civilian American woman killed in Vietnam and is remembered by a plaque in the gardens at the American National Red Cross headquarters in Washington, DC. I showed it to your mommy Madeleine and you need to get her to take you to see it.
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