A name for baby

When we told the kids that this baby was a boy, I presented a list of names that Andrew and I had compiled, just to test the waters (because naming a child when your other children have opinions is a little more difficult than when you just get to choose).

Daniel...meh.
Oliver...meh.
Jonathan...nothing.
Stephen...well...
Theodore...sure.
Samuel...well...
Alexander...THE CROWD GOES WILD!
Lucas...nothing.
Nicholas...meh.
Philip...well...
Timothy...nothing.
Jeremy...nothing.

"Yahoo!!" the children whooped, dancing around the room excitedly. "Alexander! His name is Alexander! His name is Alexander!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said. "This was a poll, not a vote."

"She'll come around," Andrew said with a smirk.


Alexander was one of his suggestions (that I took seriously (I ignored Hercules Mulligan and Lafayette)) so he was quite pleased that all the children were so eager to go along with it. I wasn't opposed to the name Alexander, necessarily. It simply wasn't one of my suggestions...so I did need some time to be convinced.

And so the convincing began.

The children immediately began openly campaigning in Alexander's favour. They'd name drop all the time and would randomly come up to me to ask, "Have we convinced you yet?" or "Have you come around yet?"

For example...

While we were out for a walk a few weeks ago, Rachel was marvelling that by the time the baby was her age she would be twenty (it is kind of mind blowing to think about). 

"And by the time the baby is twenty you'll be thirty!" Miriam said.

"And by the time the baby is Mom's age..." Rachel began.

"You'll be dead!" Benjamin finished for her.

"Uh, no. I'll only be forty-two. That's not very old. Some of my friends' parents are in their forties. That's only ten years older than mom and dad. Forty really isn't that old at all," Rachel said.

"People can die in their forties," Miriam explained, "But not from old age. They might die from disease or..."

I thought for sure she was going to say accidents or something, but no.

"...duelling," she said. "But people don't usually die in their forties. Alexander Hamilton died in his forties due to duelling."

Which we can all agree was dumb and immature.

"So no duelling for you, Alexander," she said, now addressing my stomach. 

Then she looked up at me and said pleadingly, "Are you convinced yet, Mom?"

******

Eventually I did come around and I found myself subconsciously calling the baby Alexander, so Alexander he will be, I guess.

The pros, as presented to me by various children:

• It's Greek, like Zoë's name. 
• It's from a musical, like Benjamin's name.
• It's historically significant.
• It has an X in it, which is cool.
• It works in a lot of languages.
• It can be shortened to Alex, which is easier to spell.
• Or we could just call him Hamilton! (Sure. That's happening. Or not.)

I think Alexander is a fine name. Now we just have to nail down a middle name. 

That should be easy...