Biblical B-Listers: would you use that name...really?

So, often of late, this conversation pops up between Jo and me:

"Hey, have you given any thought to names lately?"

"Yup."

"Any front runners?"

"eh...not sure..."

I've been keeping a list. Up until today, its been short. Only three or so names that have struck me so far. But this morning while having brunch, Jo-Elle mentioned that she had a list with 20+ names on it. Twenty!?! That was a shocker given the conversations on the topic.

So, I gave the name book another spin tonight. Clearly I had been a bit too picky---so to try to catch up with Jo-Elle, I let my guard down a little. Did not make it all the way through before reviewing the updated list and finding stuff like Atlas, Studs, Seneca, and Ulysses on there. Yeah, I know, horrible. While Studs Terkel will always be a hero of mine, I need to look elsewhere for namesakes and probably need to get back to being picky again, eh?

...Atlas Mogerman...hee hee... I am back to the original three...

Got thoughts on a proper name? Leave 'em as a comment on the blog. But try to be helpful. It seems everyone has a suggestion, but they tend to be sub-Studs quality level. In fact, most of the time, folks seem to suggest names that they would clearly NEVER use themselves. It seems that most of the suggested names come from trolling deep into the Old Testament, like there is something cool about digging for Biblical cameo characters or holy book b-listers...

For example, a friend came by with one of his kids over to Trick-or-Treat last night. While we were talking he suggested, with a straight face, "Jehoshaphat" and "Jedediah." He has two young sons, so I asked him why he had not used those plum names when he had the opportunity. He simply said that he would have used one or the other if he had had another kid. I asked his son, "if you met a kid named Jehoshaphat, would you feel the need to beat him up?" He giggled and nodded. "And what if you met a kid named Jedediah?" He busted out laughing and said that everyone would pound that poor kid... I don't know what Jehoshaphat and Jebediah did in the Bible, but I'll bet they had a rough time of it, getting beat up for having names that sounded stupid even Before the Common Era...

Another friend, who recently welcomed children into his home, suggested "Aloysius" (which he also chose not to employ in his own family). Is that helpful? Really?

Please allow me to make something clear. While I did grow up in central Illinois not far from a gaggle of farm towns, I do not expect to be raising the Children of the Corn...