Why Did it Have to be “Sarah?”

Naming a child is one of the first great challenges that new parents face. When we named the Little One, we struggled a bit with what name to choose. You have to consider how it sounds with your last name, family traditions, famous (or psychotic) people with the same name and of course how much you like or dislike the name.

Both of the girls have what I would consider “classic” names. They are not trendy, not too old-fashioned and not odd spellings. They are names that are just right for us, I think.

Then this darn presidential campaign got crazy heated and John McCain had to go and pick the Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin as his running mate. What’s the problem with his choice? Well the name “Sarah,” that’s the problem. You see the Little One is Sarah. It’s a beautiful name, it’s the Husband’s grandmother’s name. It fits her perfectly.

So why am I annoyed by it? Well, the media are already calling it the “Sarah Palin effect.” Optical stores are reporting floods of calls for Sarah Palin’s glasses, I assume the “librarian bun” is going to come into style and in about a year or so the name “Sarah” will top the popularity charts.

For 2007, when the Little One was born, Sarah ranked as the number 18 name. Still a bit more popular than I had anticipated when we picked it, but what’s done is done. I just want to say for the record, we picked the name before 98 percent of the world had even heard of Sarah Palin. She most certainly was NOT named after Palin and to those of you who are or will consider naming your daughters Sarah, may I recommend a few links:

Social Security Admin baby name popularity

Behind the Name, the etymology and history of first names

Baby Names for a New Generation