“Words have meaning and names have power” — unknown
When it came time to name both Morgan and Coever, Craig and I had no hard and fast rules except one — nothing that will render their resume to the circular file. We were (and are) pretty adamant about it as well as vocal. There are times, especially when meeting new people and introducing my girls, when I wonder if we didn’t break our own rule naming Coever. Here’s a sample exchange —
Jane Doe: Oh, look at your girls! What are their names?
Me: (pointing) This is Morgan and this is Coever?
Jane Doe: Cobler?
Me: No, Coever.
Jane Doe: Colder?
Me: No, Coever.
Jane Doe: Colver?
Me: No, Coever. Like Dover, but with a C.
Have I doomed my child to exchanges like this going forward? I hope not. Coever’s full name is Catherine Coever, but we liked the sound of Coever and it’s a family name. The actual spelling is Cover, but that looks like cover, as in “Cover your mouth when you cough”. So we added an “e” thinking that would solve the problem. We didn’t want her to forever be correcting people’s pronunciation of her name. It was inevitable that they would “put emPHASis on the last sylLABle”. We chose Catherine because we both liked the sound, it started with “C” like Craig, and it went well with Coever. Plus, it’s a solid name that she can use if she decides that she doesn’t like Coever or is fed up with having to constantly re-introduce herself. As for the resume, she can either use her full name or go by C. Coever. Whatever works, just so long as we haven’t inadvertently ghetto-ized our little butterball.
This may seem so trivial and such a “Who cares” type of rant, but I just read this on a mom confession website —
Hmmm, okay. Here’s the response —
I am always amazed at people who are offended when you can’t pronounce their names correctly. They should be offended at their mothers. Mothers, wise up or your kid is going to go through Hell in life.
My confession: I am biased against weird/special/unusual/unique names.
and another post read as follows —
Here’s where I have to insert another fatty piece of food for thought. Mark Twain said, “Names are not always what they seem. The common Welsh name Bzjxxllwcp is pronounced Jackson.”
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. . . .
So, I say all this to say, I didn’t want my girls to be one of a dozen Hannah’s in their first grade class. Don’t get me wrong. I love that name; it’s a family name on my mother’s side. But, I love the names my daughters have. Who knows, they may have seven friends named Olivia who all have at least one sister named Addison, Madison, Ashley, Emma, or Emily.
Of course, given the way things are going, it’s more likely to be Ahliveeyah (or Ohlyveeah), and her sisters Addysun, Maddesun, Ashleigh, Emmah, and Emilee.