I seem to have a liking for old, British-y names. When naming our children, I presented a constant influx of naming possibilities, and, therefore, I gave my husband full veto power. It only seemed fair. In the very early stages of ankle-biter birthing, I was a newspaper reporter who saw names all over the board, so the Hubs constantly received texts of “what about…?” If he responded with “no,” then I’d typically move along, though I did try to push for “Henry”…and failed.
We tried our best to find family names. Truly, we looked up and down, climbed and shook our family trees, but came out empty handed. Ophelia? Otis? Plus, why honor some great-great-great-somebody or another because they have a nice name? We wouldn’t even get brownie points since, well, they would never meet said baby. That’s just thinking ahead, people!
And so, we went with first names we loved and family middle names. We even alternated families — my son got my maiden name sandwiched between his first and last names, while Baby Girl was middle-named after my spectacular mother-in-law.
I have never shied away from posting pictures of my kids on social media. They’re such a huge part of my life, and with my stay-at-home-mom status, Mama needs an outlet. I try not to post anything that will embarrass them in the future, but I like to keep things sassy.
With a public platform like a blog, however, I’m going to try my hand at protecting them a bit further. My favorite blogger (bloggess?), Janssen at Everyday Reading, nicknamed her four (very small) girls after literary heroines for blogging purposes. I love this idea, so, obviously, I’m stealing it.
My sweet, rambunctious, almost-3-year-old son currently loves Peppa Pig. Yes, yes, for those of us in the know, it’s actually a British TV show, not a book. But! We were introduced to the characters when “The Easter Bunny,” (ahem — my parents) gave my son a Peppa Pig book in his basket. In an effort to familiarize my toddler with the concept of “school,” which he’ll be starting in the fall, we fell in love with the bossy little pig and her anthropomorphized world. Also, Daddy Pig is my spirit animal, or possibly my husband’s.
That’s probably TMI, but all that to say — I’m going to refer to my son as “George,” Peppa’s little brother (official name: George Pig, lover of dinosaurs). More importantly, I purchased a George Pig surfing shirt from Old Navy in a 5T (my son wears a 2T), and my little goober loves it.
Now, to Little Miss Sassypants — my feisty baby girl. She just turned 8-months-old, and she’s a teeny body overflowing with personality. My son was around eight months before he would lug himself across the floor. She started at 6 months. I keep hearing it’s because she’s a girl and the second child and blah, blah, blah, but, to be honest, I’m pretty sure she’d be following me around the house regardless.
Without a doubt, I knew I’d nickname her “Olivia.” We only own one “Olivia” book, a series written by Ian Falconer. I used to be a boy mom, so I’m a little behind the times on all things tiny and feminine. Olivia is a spunky, British pig with big dreams and an enthusiastic pep for life. I’m just getting to know my baby girl, but I have the feeling she’s going to fit nicely into that description.
Side note: What is it with British pigs?! Or maybe our culture thinks that children like pigs? Do all pigs actually have British accents? Is this an anti-pork conspiracy?
I realize my current readership is made of people who know my children (hi, Mom!), but I’m too lazy to come back and edit if I suddenly amass an enormous following. Then again, my main life goal is to become famous enough to get a call from “Dancing with the Stars,” so maybe this is my ticket in? Tell your friends to subscribe (Mama needs to lose a few pounds and dance with Val Chmerkovskiy)!
What book or TV show characters are reminiscent of your children or family?