When we were expecting Aidan in 2000, we knew his middle name would be Lane, after my beloved cousin. We had NO CLUE what first name we would choose, except that we didn't want something trendy or cute. One afternoon, while driving to Oklahoma (I can still remember WHERE we were between here and Oklahoma when it happened... passing through the north Texas town of Sanger.), a song that I'd known for years came on the CD player. It was "Let Mercy Lead" by Rich Mullins. I'd listened to it a hundred times, but never closely enough to pick up on the fact that the little boy he was singing to was named "Aidan". I loved the message in the song, and I loved the name. I'd only heard it once, EVER (the actor Aidan Quinn);I'd never heard of another kid with the name.
Darren liked it, too, because Aidan was the name of the hero in "Byzantium", a book about Irish Monks that he'd recently read and enjoyed. When we looked up the meaning of the name, the deal was sealed. "Little Fire". At first, I balked. "I'm not sure I want my son to be a little ball of fire," I worried. But Darren threw a different perspective on it when he answered. "Unless he has fire for God. That'd be a good thing."
So we named him Aidan Lane. For the first year, no one could pronounce it. The old ladies at church couldn't even remember it! "What's his name again? Adrian? Adien? Adam?" Then, out of NOWHERE, People Magazine listed it as the number one baby name of 2001. I was CRUSHED. The name I'd so carefully picked out to be unique - the name I'd never heard before - was now the trendiest name in the nation.
I soon learned the reason: Aidan was Carrie's boyfriend on Sex and the City.
"AGH!" I cried upon hearing that. "That's disgusting! I don't want people to think I named my baby after some man slut on Sex and the City!" Laughing, Sherilyn assured me that Aidan was the one GOOD, LIKABLE, RESPECTABLE guy on the show. It did little to lift my spirits, though. I still had a baby with a trendy name.
He's 5 now. There are Aidans everywhere. I fear that he'll start Kindergarten with Aiden, Aden, Ayden, Aidyn and Aydyn in his classroom.
Today, I learned that it's the number one baby name for 2005. There's this blog that I sometimes check in on. I don't know the author; in fact, I don't even remember how I came to stumble on her musings. She's expecting a boy, and has asked for name suggestions. Check out her post today, and you'll understand why I'm pouting. :)Amy's Humble Musings. Thing is, I can't argue with her. It's the same blog I'd have written about the name "McKenzie" back in 2000, had blogging been my thang then.
Aidan. Trendy? Yah.
Maybe this just means he'll be the cool kid in the class - the one who makes great grades but is also a popular athlete. The one who the teachers like even though he's the class clown. The one who earns the respect of his peers because he's fair and fun at the same time. And maybe, just maybe, he'll have such a fiery faith that the whole school will know it's cool to be a Christian.
Aidan. Trendy name or not, he's my classic little man.
And may I just say: when he starts Kindergarten next fall, he'll be the CUTEST, SMARTEST, coolest Aidan in the school!
11 comments:
You know what I have always thought was kind of cool about your children's names - is that they all have many letters in common - Aidan is almost an anagram of Dani, Ian can be made from both of them.
Whether names are trendy or not...who cares?
The same thing happened to my brother & SIL - they chose to name their first son Jared. It was not a common name at the time (or so they thought) - now that Jared is nearly 20 - there are so many 20-something Jareds around it's not funny. So apparently it was trendy.
Oh, man! I feel your pain. When we named our first child -a daughter- Amelia there were NONE. Now we know a half dozen Amelia's. Sometimes nicknamed Mimi, or Emmie, or... Thankfully ours is the ONLY one I know of nicknamed the good ol' classic Amy.
Now. As to her middle name? Lane. Sorry Stacy! :) LOL
Like Veronica, I'm still amazed that you named three kids using only 4 letters of the alphabet!
Now that I've been watching the (somewhat) sanitized version of SATC shown on the WB, I have to agree with Sherilyn about John Corbett's character. Still, I feel your pain. It's not like we thought Rachel was an unusual name, but several people said "Oh, did you name her after Rachel on Friends?" Uhhh, no!
Lane IS a good name to have! It served me as a last name for 26 years, and now it is Travis' middle name! Wheeeee!! With a last name like ours, ya gotta be careful! That and DH's uncle has 8 kids...seven are boys! A lot of good boy names were used up!
Travis wasn't widely used back in 1995...or so I thought. When he went to pre-k, there were three of them in the class. A school with only 400 kids for grades k-6.
Had he been a girl, his name would have been Madison Rae. Weren't many Madison's back then either, but I see they're popping up too!
Folks will always try to find some association with a name! Growing up I was asked if I was married to George. And well, we all know about that East Coast Martha that is known for doing all things to perfection, including stock trading. But, then there are good things too...like having the same name as a Californian named Martha!
Or having a princess in Norway named after you (honest, I'm older than her, so technically she was named AFTER me, right?)
Martha C.
Yea. I had never heard of "Kaitlyn" either.... And we picked "Emma" years before she was actually born and is, technically I suppose, named after her great grandmother.
But there are a zillion Kaitlyns (of a variety of spellings) and Emmas out there now.
Although I was one of three Nancys in elementary school, I have gone most of my life being the only Nancy I know. Now, they are just coming out of the woodwork....
Funny thing names....
And I MUST remember to get Ayden the album I made for him when he was born to him by next Tuesday... his 2nd birthday!
If it makes you feel any better your Aidan is the first one I knew and the one I always think about when I hear that name. :D
~Heidi
Having taught school for 9 years, coming up with a name that did not "stir up" memories was a challenge. My first, Hayley, was no problem, but a bit trendy. #2 I wanted something that went well with big sisters name. I kept coming back to Emily. Yes it has been #1 for about a zillion years, but we liked it. The bonus...I had NEVER had one in class. The ONE that we knew was a dear college friend that we adored. Know what? We have yet to cross paths with another Em her age. Check back with me in a few months, that's when we start preschool;)
I love that his name means fire. It describes his passion for life. Can't imagine what Ian means:)
meant to add-trendy, schmendy! There are little bits of us!
I really loved Aidan Quinn in the Legends of the Fall. So that's the Aidan part. As far as the Lane part goes, how about Lane Frost? He was a famous bull-rider. Be sure to read a little about him. You'll be glad Aidan's middle name is Lane.
I love his name. I don't hear it that much here.
I've only ran across one other girl with my dd's name in 27 yrs.
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