Baby Names and Nationalities
Susan and I haven’t picked a name for the baby yet. I don’t think there are any Filipino names left on the table. And by Filipino, I mean Spanish names, of course (goodbye and paalom, Emilio). We have biblical names that sound too biblical for a pastor’s son (Josiah, Jeremiah, etc.), at least to my ears. We also have a few ideas that aren’t already taken by the children of friends (my cousin’s newborn is apparently named Jackson).
This much we know. Our son’s last name is Skinner and his middle name is Robert.
Our conversation turned to easier decisions. Susan is White with a mixture of German, Irish and other stuff. I’m mostly Filipino and basically a quarter Black. So, what do our sons mark as their nationality—Caucasian, Asian, Slovenian?
Sometimes you’re allowed to choose more than one, but oftentimes not. Instead, you’re asked to mark the nationality you most identify with. That’s the easy answer for us as parents: he marks whatever he wants. But until he’s old enough to struggle with his identity, it’s up to us.
At some point Susan (who is “proud he’s Filipino”) said, “Well, he’s mostly White.”
I did that math in my head. He’ll only be half White. I asked, “Um, is there another white mother of this child I don’t know about.”
Well, this was funnier when it happened. Of course, Susan was thinking 50% is more than the 37.5% Filipino our son would be, assuming we are the only parents.
Anyway, all that to say: do you have baby name ideas or general principals in naming a baby to share?
kenny says:
June 18th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I’m all about biblical names, family names, and birth order, depending on the combination of how they sound and the destiny they evoke.
Paul seems like a good name for a first son b/c we all know about Paul, and Paul was a driven guy, as are first children (supposedly).
Benjamin seems like a good name for a third son, b/c Ben was Jacob’s favorite, and the baby of the tribe of Israel, coddled, well-loved, etc.
jose says:
June 18th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I’m all for biblical names too. I just tend towards names like Asa and Silas and not so much Jeremiah. I also like James.
Family names are great. I’ve never considered birth order in baby names, except that the first born son might be named after the father. That’s interesting.
kenny says:
June 18th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Silas is a sweet name.
-Dave says:
June 20th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Ian, Because then he’ll be I.R. Skinner.
Jaques might be nice, if only because then you can just call him “Jack.” And aside from Lewisian lore reasons to like the name, Jack Jack in The Incredibles may have been the awesomest fictional baby ever.
nichole says:
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:24 pm
http://www.nymbler.com/
just in case you want to randomly pick your childs name.
i’ve always been a fan of landon. and jude.
but dont steal them…hahaha. just joshin.
Teri says:
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:31 am
Some friends named their boy Asa and it really works for him. I also like Julian and James. You could always do what my best friend did. She couldn’t come up with a name that she didn’t hate so she called her little boy “peanut” for a year while she frantically searched for a name she could live with. She then unveiled his permanent name on his 1st year birthday party invitations…are you ready for it?…BRUNO! Now there’s a good strong German/Italian name for you.
smalls says:
June 25th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
How about names like Keagan, Aiden, What happened to Parker? I really liked that name, and I don’t know too many boys with that name. One really. I like Landon too. Reminds me of A Walk to Remember. You can always use Jody. It means playful, and praised of God. Spell it with a Y, that is the male form of the name. How about Lucas? Joshua? Joeseph? Isaiah? I watched a little boy named Elijah. It really grew on me.
I was looking at this site: http://www.bibingka.com/names/
Interesting, you should check it out. But I found the name Landas, which means Path, and is Tagalog. Landas Robert Skinner . I also thought malix was cool too. From the same site. Also Tabian. Tabian Robert Skinner. You may have to ask your mom how to prounce these names. When you see the list you will see what I mean. I can’t pronounce the majority on my own. I liked a few of the T names. Curious if these help.
smalls says:
June 25th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Bunye in Tagalog means praise, glorify, exalt
Depending on how this is prounced it could be a cool name too. These are true Filipino names, not filipino/spanish names. According to the site anyways.
smalls says:
June 25th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
I can’t even name my new kitten and I am trying to help name your baby?! Good greif.
jos' says:
June 26th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Wow, I blinked and suddenly there were a bunch more suggestions. Thanks, guys! There are some gems in there.
BRUNO!
Michelle says:
June 26th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Reminds me of the Veggie Tales song. I met a little boy named Silas this weekend. Sweet name.
jos' says:
June 26th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Dave - Obviously, Jack was where I was going with Jackson. Jack-Jack is another good reference. Not a fan of Jacque, but I did try to float Giacomo past Susan. That didn’t end well. ;-)
Nichole - Thanks for the link. It might be helpful. Right now I’m keeping the names possibilities in a journal.
Teri - Asa not only is a reference to a good king of Judah, but then you can call the boy Ace. ACE! How cool is that?
Jody - I’ve found that site, but it’s so long that I just concentrated on Kapampangan names (my mother’s dialect) and none of the ones I found worked for us. Thanks for scoping out some other possibilities.
smalls says:
June 26th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I thought her dialect was Tagalog? I can’t even pronounce her dialect. I know the name will hit you. I like Giacomo. ;)
jose says:
June 26th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Tagalog is the national language. I don’t know if that helps you. I’m not sure you needed to know that.
Giacomo, like Danny Kaye in The Jester!
smalls says:
June 28th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I knew who Giacomo was. That’s why I winked! Maybe you need to have Susan watch it before she turns the name down. I have it on dvd.
boy names says:
June 30th, 2008 at 6:56 am
I’m now looking for a boy names. I got Ethan that I like.
jose says:
June 30th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I know you know who Giacomo is. That’s why I said I wrote it all out to show that I knew too. This is getting confusing.
smalls says:
July 20th, 2008 at 1:01 am
Gabriel is an excellent name! Good choice guys.