In case of heir to throne of Great Britain (William), and spare (Harry), Charles and Diana were no exception. William means resolute guardian, and Harry means army-power.

What about this second child of same sex, one who doesn’t have any photos in baby book, etc.?

The cry of all young siblings is “That’s not fair!” Whatever it is they’re comparing, likely isn’t “fair,” as there are things in life we can’t choose that aren’t fair. The child with red hair wants to be blond like her sister. The child with freckles envies sibling who doesn’t. The child with athletic ability wishes he had his sister’s IQ. Part of life is learning to play hand you were dealt. My family has a number of two-son families and when I would listen to cousins debate whether it’s better to be oldest or youngest (only kids would do this!), I would hear that one was envying what other would gladly have given up.

Some things about parenting you can’t win – someone’s got to be born first, and someone second, and whatever your place in birth order, something comes with it. But you do get to choose their names. Think about what following parents did. Some names have been changed to protect anonymity but they are true to examples:

·To name a girl Temptress, unless, of course, you value that and want her to be one ·To name one boy John, Jr. and other Fred. (you could make second one a “II” after another male in family) ·To name one daughter Brunhilde and other one Candee ·To establish a theme and then bust it – 4 boys in family, William Charles, Wendell Collin, Wesley Cameron and then came little Edward John. Or Elke, Helga, Gertrude and Mary Jane ·To name a girl for her father - Martha and Emmet L. Smith named their daughter Emmie Dell, “after her father” ·Daughters - #1, Ushi (ox), #2, Ling (delicate), #3, Meiying (beautiful flower). Wonder who’s “workhorse” in that family? ·To call first son Thomas and second son Jimmy … even when they’re 36 and 34 years old ·Children with “equal” given names who are introduced as – “This is Susanna and this is Tiny”; “He’s Billy, and well, we call him King Tut”; “This is Alison, and this is Maria, and over there is The Princess of Quite-a-Lot”

It wouldn’t hurt to look up meanings of names you’re considering and see if these are attributes you would consciously wish your child to have. Here’s one site: http://pregnancy.parenthood.com/babynames.html .

Names seem to fall into 4 categories: 1.Made up name (or spelling) - Kymburlee, Aquanetta (yes, there is a child with that name) 2.Attributes. Many are war-oriented and aggressive, like Walter (mighty warrior) but some are positive, though limiting, like Kurt (courteous) or Aretha (best), and some are lamentable, like Claudia (lame), Cecil (blind), or (for heaven’s sake) Meklorka, (Norse for “a deaf and mute concubine”), 3.Neutral – Susan (lily), Hadley (heath-covered meadow), and Kelly (farm by spring) 4.Spiritual (for want of a better word) - Hannah (Grace of God) and Mustafa (one of Prophet Muhammed’s names), Godfried (God’s peace)

I hear many young parents these days who are concerned about having a more peaceful world, in which case they might consider naming their children Alison (noble, kind) and Fred (peace) rather than Chad (warlike) or Louise (famous warrior).

“What’s in a name?” asked Shakespeare. Well, many things, so name yourself Shannon (wise) or Conrad (wise counselor) when you name your child. It’s something they’ll have for a very long time, and they’ll likely be trying to live up to it!

Names Are Boring

So if names are boring and that’s why you can’t remember them, what should you do? There are two routes here.

First, because names are boring, you’re probably not paying much attention when people present themselves to you. That’s a bad habit! When people introduce themselves, you should listen. Repeat name you just heard. If you didn’t quite catch it, say so. How can you remember something you didn’t really hear in first place.

Second, you could start taking an interest in names in general. Find out where they came from. What they originally meant. Are they represented in several languages?

It boils down to interest and attention. Try to be interested, and pay attention. Then you’ll remember any name.

So What Was Napoleon’s Secret?

When Napoleon met someone new, he wrote down that name on a piece of paper. He looked at it for a little while. Then he threw it away.

Go figure.