More name games

The S.O. and I have a pretty good idea of what we're going to name our son. It's definitely not set in stone, and no, I'm not going to tell you here. Because I know one of the multitudes of readers would see it and steal it. Then my baby's name wouldn't be unique.

As I visit various pregnancy Web sites and browse book stores, I find there are lots (and lots) of lists and books of baby names. Do people really have that hard a time picking a name for their children? Maybe, maybe not. Personally, I like looking at the lists to find the meaning of names.

For instance, did you know that Pamela has Greek origins and means "honey?" And that Pamela was among the most popular names in the '60s and '70s?

It's kind of nice to be able to look up the meaning so you don't give your little blond son a name like Daegan. Which apparently means "black-haired." (But is kind of a cool name someone looking for a certain sound, no?)

So I appreciate the name lists for giving me origins and meanings. But do people really just look up random names and choose them? Or do people use these lists to find names that suit their families, to find names that begin with a certain letter, or to find names that fit a certain pattern? If that's the case, I completely understand.

Then again, it's a lot of fun to just look at some of the names out there and daydream about naming my son something really exotic, Kanoa.

UPDATE: Shortly after publishing this post, I received an e-mail from Parenting.com that included a link to this story. See how timely I am? I don't even want to comment on some of the names that are apparently growing in popularity.