A Proper Name

Proper names are poetry in the raw. Like all poetry they are untranslatable.  

-W. H. Auden

It appears that after 3 name polls, 7 months of gestation, countless fun naming conversations, and a hint of anxiety over "getting this right," we have settled on a name for our baby boy bean!  And that name is....[drumroll, please]....

Griffin Oliver Thompson

With the name Griffin, there is the possibility of two equally great nicknames:  GRIF-FIN "Griff" and "Finn"  Take your pick!  How fun is that?!  Oliver has been head-over-heels sold on this name for quite a while now.  We agree that it works well for every stage of life.  It can be cute, but it can be manly, strong, and powerful as well.  It has an element of mystery, as the name is shared with a mythological creature.  There are no other L's to stumble over when combined with "Oliver" as the middle name.  It was tied for 3rd (and last) place with "Archer" in the final four name poll with 23% of the votes, but the following info concerning the others in the final four will reveal the happenings with the other names.

Concerning the other names in the "final four":

-Archer (Ari) - (23% of the vote)  This name just didn't win our hearts.  We think it's a great name, but we never were able to see it as the name of our son.

-Sullivan (Sulli) - (34% of the vote)  We had discovered several months ago in a conversation with good friends of ours that we had both discovered this name separately and were thinking of it as our boy name choice, if we were having boys.  (They didn't find out the sex of the baby until he was delivered.)  They did wind up having a beautiful baby boy and naming him Sullivan.  We're so happy for them and just love little Sully.  We decided it would just be weird to name our baby boy Sullivan when we are such good friends with this couple and plan on having our sons be good friends too :)  But, when potential son #2 rolls around, Sullivan is definitely at the top of our list.

-Finley (Finn) - (46% of the vote)  As our friend, Aaron Burt, pointed out, "Finn" can be used as a nickname for Griffin as well.  I always liked "Finley," but it made it so far mainly because of the nickname "Finn," which I LOVE, LOVE.  Since we can "have our cake and eat it too" with the name "Griffin," it made this final decision much easier.  For those who voted for Finley (Finn), it won in the name poll!  But I suppose it's not really getting the boot either, since Finn is still an option for a nickname.

Thanks for all your votes and comments during this process.  I suppose we have over 2 months in which to change our minds on baby boy's name, but we'll just have to wait and see!  We're not signing any blood oaths here :)  Who knows-we could hold the baby for the first time and see clearly that his name is supposed to be "Augustine Clement Ignatius Cyprian Thompson."  Or God could speak to us and command that his name be this or that.  So, with that being said, we leave the door open to the possibilities but have chosen a "placeholder" name which will become his name, barring any unforeseen future naming happenings.