You Can't Please All the People All the Time

Our son, the one who is still cooking, has a name. It's William Christopher. It's the "other name" that was in consideration when I was pregnant with Joey. We held onto it and didn't consider any other boy names when we found out we were having another son. He is named for Blessed William Ireland, a British martyr falsely accused and put to death for treason and St Christopher. He is also named for the actor William Christopher who portrayed the priest Father Mulcahy on the popular television series, M*A*S*H. Father Mulcahy was a favorite character of ours and after reading Christopher's memoir, co-written by his wife Barbara, of having an autistic son, he was and is an outstanding father and man as well.

William is also a family name on my husband's side. It's his brother's name and his uncle's christened name.

We chose the name also because of it's meaning, William meaning strong willed and Christopher meaning Christ bearer.

We plan on calling him Will to differentiate from the other Williams in the family (who all go by Bill) and hopefully help him create his own sense of identity while still preserving a family tradition.

So, you would think, with naming him after two saints, and family members, that we had all our bases covered and everyone would be happy, right? Wrong.

One member of my husband's family does not approve. In fact, we received a note indicating that we needed to name our son Wilber after my husband's grandfather (his father's father) and call him Bill because that's what his great-grandfather had been called and what my husband's uncle was called.

My husband, as he does with most of these types of helpful "suggestions" from this family member, rolled his eyes.

One thing I have learned in becoming a parent is that whatever you name you child, someone will not like it. My rule is, if we like it, no one else's opinion matters. I can offer up our reasons for choosing the name, but I don't do so to change someone else's mind. And it's why I NEVER criticize someone else's name choice when they tell it to me. I just say congratulations. Sure there are plenty of names I dislike out there, but it's not my kid and not my business to share that. (Celebrity baby names are different because a) I don't know them and b) they don't read this blog.) If someone asks for suggestions, I try to suggest something I think they are looking for, but I don't get offended if they wrinkle up their noses at a suggestion.

The name we choose for our son is for this world only, for as it is written:

"I shall also give a white amulet upon which is inscribed a new name, which no one knows except the one who receives it." ~Revelation 2:17