What's in a Name?

A name can become a legacy; it can influence someone's character; it is an important decision.

Deciding on a name for Eoin was not very difficult; we had it narrowed down to two, Eoin and Aodhan (Aiden) and Ashley and Nick were expecting at the same time and had decided on Aidan, so we went with Eoin. It fit perfectly and we have absolutely no regrets! We couldn't imagine another name for our little man.

His middle name was even easier as Jordan's middle name is after is grandpa on his dad's side, we decided to stick with that tradition and using Dean as the middle name wasn't even a question.

Eoin Dean, pure perfection. Well, at least we think so!

We had several ideas for names before discovering that our second baby was a boy. Although difficult the first go around, girl names came easy to me this time but it was the boy names that we have been a little bit of a struggle. Not much, you see, we have several that we love. We float back and forth between them.

Declan. Colin. Liam.

Each name is beautiful and each goes very well with our chosen middle name - Paul. Paul is my closest male cousin, we practically grew up as brother and sister; Eoin will be the ring bearer in his wedding in May 2012! Paul is also the name of Jordan's maternal grandfather. He passed away when Jordan's mother was young. Clearly, the name means a lot to both of us.

So still the dilemma, Declan? Colin? Liam?

At different points during this pregnancy we have completely thought we have decided on a name. It started with Colin. Colin Paul. Love it. Done. Jordan and I looked at each other and felt accomplished. To me it felt way too easy. Couples agonize over names - this is a fact. We just both liked it and decided. How often does that happen?

Since it felt too easy, I continued to 'look.' I gave more names to Jordan and almost every name I liked, he agreed it was a great name!

Declan was decided. It is Irish in origin (one of my stipulations) and sounds great with Paul. It is a little different without being too outlandish. Declan Paul. Love it, done. We have our name. We even decided that maybe it was time to share this name with our family and close friends. The response was great! Everyone LOVED it! A few days after we shared, Jordan looked at me and explained that he was having reservations about Declan. I admitted I was too. And so what was the other option?

Liam. Liam Paul. Lovely! Great. We have a little man named Liam Paul.

For less than twenty-four hours. Jordan called me at work today to say that he really liked Declan still. I admitted I did too. So where does that leave us?

Deciding. Making decisions. Feeling out which name feels more comfortable. Probably waiting until this little buddy makes his appearance before a name is set!

Today I decided to take a few minutes to look over some of our names. I went to the trusty bump.com to look up names. I simply clicked on baby names, then Irish baby boy names, then Irish (I detest redundancy, although you really wouldn't know it from the length of this post) and then I started browsing. I clicked on Eoin for giggles and whilst sitting at my desk, I got goose bumps! The site suggested other names I might like and what were the first two names listed? You guessed it! Liam and Declan! (Followed immediately by Aiden) Wow, this website can apparently read minds.

Of course, I headed over the Declan after that and the chills came on stronger! The first name suggested to me was, once again, Liam, but the first comment of the name was what was really a big coincidence. . . It read " Our first son (due in May) will be Eoin (Owen) and our if we have a second we have the name Declan picked out. I was hoping it would not get popular but we will see when the time comes for #2." Wow!

I am still not sure what to think of this! Which sign are we being given, if any. We love the name Declan and we love the Liam. I guess we are just going to have to be patient in our decision. I just had to document the processes we have been going through whilst deciding this little man's name. He may not have anything embroidered or letters on his wall until he arrives, but whichever the name, it will be perfect!