Merlynn Chade - A Stroke Of Baby Naming Genius

by Sheryl
(USA)

In 2009 when I discovered I was pregnant for the
third time, I was a little disappointed.

You see, my husband and I (we're both 24 now) had agreed that we would be stopping after the third child.

The first two pregnancies had been physically difficult, and turned out boys when my husband and I wanted a girl so badly.

Before I go further, let me just say that boys are a joy, and I wouldn't trade mine even if I could go back in time and pick to have a girl baby.

But after already coming up with two boy names when we'd already chosen a girl name (Bridgette Rae Lynn) - and that was frustrating enough - we were having trouble settling.

His family didn't like "Auron," and I refused to have a traditional name after the first two being Cendan Wolf (born 9/29/07) and Rowan Drake (11/03/08). I wanted a name that was exactly two syllables for the first name, a single-syllable middle name, and had an "N" sound to match the older boys' names.

It didn't seem like too much to ask!

Time dragged on, until the third trimester was almost over. The scenario was becoming uncomfortably familiar - a heated, snide argument over the phone with my mother in law in the middle of the night.

I finally hit my breaking point.

I forget what exactly I said, but it was to the effect of "I'm tired of trying to make you happy. Merlin himself couldn't make you happy!"

If I hadn't been so tired, I would have realized what I said right away. But it took until the next morning that I figured it out.

Merlin.

Two syllables...

"N" sound... perfect! That'd show her who's Mommy.

I don't think my husband was initially thrilled with the idea, but after I showed him some pictures online of the merlin bird (it's almost like a mix between a kestrel and a falcon), he caved.

The middle name, after that, was easy; we wanted something kind of talismanic just like the first two.

Cendan's talisman was "Wolf" - a powerful hunting animal with great family instincts. Rowan's talisman was "Drake" - either a male dragon or a male duck, depending on which of us you ask - very protective either way.

So we asked ourselves what could be as powerful as a wolf and a dragon? A shadow, because it wouldn't fade even after either creature passed on. (Plus, I love Robin Hobb's fantasy books, and there was a character whose name fit the bill.)

And so "Merlin Chade" was agreed on, at eight months and counting.

Then my brother suggested we alter the spelling to honor both my mother and (unfortunately) my husband's mother, since their middle names are both Lynn.

Now THAT was a stroke of genius, because the woman couldn't keep acting like she didn't love the name after that!

Merlynn Chade was born on Jan 14th, and even though he is my last baby, I am content.

In closing, I want to encourage anyone and everyone to choose names that make YOU, the parent, happy.

If you try to satisfy everyone, you'll just end up miserable.

If you like traditional names, don't be afraid to change the spelling a little (Lezlie instead of Leslie).

And if you like completely new, out-there names... the sky is the limit!

Warm wishes to all of you.