Baby Names - Round 3

And then there were five . . .

Calvin Liam

Colt Shepherd

Cora Delani

Piper Shalom

Marlow Gracen

People always ask me where we get our baby names from. So here you go . . .

Cannon and Cason were literally stumbled upon in baby name books.

Now that we have two boys with two "C" names, Baby #3 HAS to have a "C" name if he's a boy. I want him to feel included, an integral part of this family. Danny's not quite as hung up on the "C" trend as I am, but I just don't want a third boy to feel left out.

If Baby #3 is a girl, I'm definitely not stuck on a "C" name. Cora has simply been on our baby girls names list since before Cannon was born, so it only seemed fitting that it's still one of our favorites four years later.

So, here's a little explanation for you:

Calvin - First off, we just like the name. I like that it shortens to Cal. I think that's adorable. Danny likes that it's after great theologians like John Calvin.

Liam - This would be a shortened version of my Dad's name: William

Colt - Again, we just like this name. NOT Colton. For some odd reason we don't like Colton, but Colt is short and spunky. Danny thinks it would be a great fit with the artillery theme we've indadvertedly started.

Shepherd - I've liked this name since we were picking out Cannon's name, but always thought Shepherd Stiller had too many "Ss." We like that it alludes to our Father being the Good Shepherd.

Cora - Yes another "C" name we both love. Plus it's Danny's great, great, great grandmother's name, so there's some family history there.

Delani - I have loved the name Delani since high school when Lindsey and I would dream of baby name lists together. It's a major plus that it has all the letters in Danny's name (Daniel) just mixed up.

Piper - Another name I have liked for forever. I'm finally getting over my aversion to having two names that end in "-er" because I love this name for a little girl.

Shalom - It means "peace." And who doesn't hope that a third child in three years won't bring a little peace along with them? ;-)

Marlow - Again, I don't know where I come up with these awesome names. **wink, wink** I think I read a blog once where the little girl was named Marlowe and I loved it! Danny doesn't like the extra "e" on the end, so there you have it.

Gracen - Danny is dying to name a little girl "Grace." While I, of course, love grace, it's too popular for my taste. Gracen is my version of Grace that I love. Same meaning, slight twist.

So there you have it. More than you ever wanted to know about what goes in to naming a Stiller Baby. 

Stay tuned to mid-October for the final verdict!

And I'll including the same disclaimer we've used with each of our previous baby name lists:
**DISCLAIMER: Obviously we like these names. SOOOOO, we are only accepting positive comments in regards to our choices. Thanks! :-)**

Cannon's Almost Names
Cason's Possible Names

And We Have a Winner in the Baby Name Game

Image Source

Cason Reed Stiller

Well, we took over 37 weeks to pick Cannon's name - so my goal with this second child was to choose a name by 36 weeks. We beat our deadline and settled on Cason Reed at 35 weeks - WHEW!

Cason
I originally threw out the name "Cason" on a whim while reading a list of baby boy names. I had been avoiding "C" names in the baby name books, but for some reason Cason just jumped out at me.

Danny just started laughing and asked if I knew what a Caisson was? Of course not.

So, I had to look it up.

A caisson holds ammunition - what an ironic name to like after naming my first son Cannon. Apparently I have a "thing" for guns and ammo that I didn't even realize existed. But also what a perfect little pair for a set of brothers that we hope will be inseparable and the best of friends.

(Side Note: We pronounce Cason like it rhymes with Jason or Mason. We do NOT pronounce it like the ammunition holder. :-)

Well, I was hesitant to settle on the name Cason for multiple reasons:

• I didn't want to start a gun theme that we'd have to continue
• I wasn't sure I was ready to commit to all "C" names for our children. 

Well, Danny assures me that we don't have to choose a "C" name if there's a Stiller Baby #3 in our future, and Cason just kind of stuck ever since that first fateful mentions. So, Cason it is.

Reed
This is after my maiden name: Reeder. We knew this would be the middle name no matter what, boy or girl.

And there you have it. After months of deliberation the Stiller boy has a name.

The Final Four - Baby Name Game

And the Baby Name Game continues. We narrowed it down to our top four favorite names a few weeks ago, I just forgot to blog about it.

The top contenders are . . .

Arlo

Calvin

Cason

Greeley

And, unless we go with Greeley, we're still planning on using Reed for the middle name after my maiden name, Reeder.

I think we have a winner, but we're not 100% certain, so you'll just have to wait in suspense a little longer for the big reveal!

The Name Game . . . Round 2

**DISCLAIMER: I'm about to disclose our favorite baby names for this second son of ours. Obviously we like these names. SOOOOO, if you were bullied and traumatized on the school playground by a kid with one of these names and cannot EVER imagine naming a child that - please just make a note of that for your own future reference and refrain from anything but positive comments.Thanks! :-)**


We have a list of 10 names folks!

I'm not allowed to add any names to the list once we pick the Top 10. That's my rule for myself. You see, I have a problem. It's called, "I can't make a decision because there might be a name I like better that I just haven't heard yet" syndrome. It causes me to flip through baby name books obsessively and waste time on sites like Nymbler. So, we're 10 names closer to naming our son.

We played a fun little name game with Cannon here on the blog - but we're just going to skip that step and tell you what we're liking these days.

Arlo

Ashton

Calvin

Cason

Charlie

Gage

Greeley

Lincoln

Milo

Oliver

There you have it. We took 38 weeks to pick Cannon. I'm going to set the bar high and say we'll have this baby named by 36 weeks.

Surprisingly the only name that made it from Cannon's list of names was Ashton.

If you're dying to play a guessing game, you can go ahead and take a swing at which names were Danny's contributions to the list.

Random Tidbits of Information

Cannon's newest trick is sticking out his tongue like this and drooling. Odd, but okay. Danny sticks out his tongue when he's concentrating - so maybe Cannon's just been in a perpetual state of focused thinking. :-)

We're also not "crawling" per se yet . . .

. . . but Cannon sure doesn't let that stop him from getting around.

And, I'll just go ahead and clear the air. I've been hanging out with more photographers lately and the first question out of their mouths is, "Did you name him after your camera?!"

Nope. I do not love my camera that much. :-)

In other news baby name news though, Poppi alerted us to the fact that our favorite Kevin James named his new son, Kannon. That's right folks. I'm just going to pretend that Kevin James discovered the coolest name ever right here on the blog.

That's all I have for today, so I'll leave you with these adorable little baby thighs.

The Baby Name

Cannon Henry Stiller

It only took 38 weeks to grow a 7 lb little boy and to choose his name. Good thing he didn't come a day earlier!

Cannon - We liked Cannon because it we thought it was a strong, unique and masculine name (and that took 38 weeks to grow on Danny).

Henry - We choose after Danny's grandfather, Cannon's great grandfather. 

And there you have it - the boy has a name.

Team Cannon

Team Cannon is gaining momentum.

We received a surprise package from Nan & Poppi with the following note and gift for Baby Boy:

I'll say that's a harbinger if I've ever seen one. I'll name my child after a bib!

My Dad has also decided to join Team Cannon. Why? He's already nicknamed his grandson: "Boomer." He says that's a good name for a baseball player.

Team Hudson had better step up their game if they're going to win on July 13 (or thereabouts).

The Name Game Continues

Just thought I'd give you an update because everyone always asks if we've decided on a name yet . . . we haven't.

We have narrowed it to our top five favorites. That means that since we told you our favorite boy names we've ruled out one name every week. So, give us another month and we might just be down to THE ONE!

That will leave us eight weeks to find a middle name. This might be more exhausting than registering at Buy Buy Baby - who knew looking at hooded towels and fitted sheets could wipe you out!?

Oh, don't ask me why this is so difficult for me. Lindsey could testify to the fact that we use to spend countless Saturdays coming up with lists of baby names (for our baby dolls . . . duh), so I thought the real deal would be even better/easier/more fun. Nope, it's just more permanent.

So, the final five are:

Ashton

Cannon

Hayden

Hudson

Jude

We're down to two actors, one book of the Bible, one missionary, one inanimate object and two Hendrick boys. (Initially, unintentionally, but so coincidentally, we had all four of the Hendrick's boys names on our list - Anson, Ashton, Hayden & Hudson. Really, what are the odds - we have fabulous taste!)

Danny's reigning and consistent favorite is Hudson, while I can't let go of Cannon. And yes, I've thought of the copy machine, my camera, the big/loud gun, etc. I STILL LIKE IT! It packs a punch and somehow, between Danny's personality and the way this kid wiggles and moves inside, I don't think it'll be a far cry from accurate.

And the names are . . .

Well, Alisha and Erin tied the game with five correct guesses each. Cassie and Amanda finally guessed the last "B" name, and Stephanie finished things out with guessing the "C" name.

So, in case you didn't want to wade through all the comments left below or you're not on Facebook, here's the nine finalists in the Stiller's baby name game. Not a day goes by when Baby Boy doesn't get called all of these at least twice!

Anson

Ashton

Boaz

Brooks

Cannon

Hayden

Hudson

Jude

Owen

And to think we have to do this all over again with middle names!

Top Boy Names

**Final UPDATE at 8:30 am on 3/18/10: Cassie (on the blog) and Amanda (on Facebook) guessed the last "B" name correctly! There's just the C left - I didn't realize it was so uncommon/unknown.

Anson

Ashton

Boaz

Brooks

Hayden

Hudson

Jude

Owen

**UPDATE at 3:00 pm on 3/17/10**

SEVEN NAMES have been guessed correctly! Alisha & Erin are tied for first with FIVE correct guesses each (although not the same five)! We should have played this game before we decided on our top nine names - ya'll have such creative and fun ideas!

Here's our growing list - only B and C remain - do you need some clues?

Anson

Ashton

Brooks

Hayden

Hudson

Jude

Owen

**UPDATE to the UPDATE at 8:30 am on 3/17/10 - Still only four names guessed correctly. Here they are:
Ashton

Hayden

Hudson

Owen

So far Alisha is in the lead with the most correct guesses! A, B, B, & J are still up for grabs! 

**UPDATE at 8:30 am on 3/16/10 - Four names have been guessed correctly. Second guesses are allowed! :-)

Okay - so one of our missions this weekend during our quarterly review was to narrow down start a list of boys names we BOTH liked. Yea, remember the last time we tired to talk about baby names?

We started with a list of probably 25-30 names and basically hacked it apart, added one or two, moved a few names to the "middle names" options and stared at my belly repeating names over and over until we were satisfied with the nine finalists.

I inadvertently started a guessing game on Facebook/Twitter - so I thought we'd continue the fun here.

Our final nine FIRST NAME choices (middle names to come later) start with the following letters:

A
A
B
B
C
H
H
J
O

Submit your guesses in the comments. It is perfectly legal to steal guesses from other people if I've told them they got ONE RIGHT!

The winner gets Stiller Blog notoriety.

**DISCLAIMER: Obviously we like these names. SOOOOO, if you were bullied and traumatized on the school playground by H and cannot EVER imagine naming a child that - please just make a note of that for your own future reference and refrain from anything but positive comments.Thanks! :-)**

Baby Names

I never knew what a chore it was naming a child until about six weeks ago.

Everyone has an opinion, and my opinion - well, it had better be worthy of the next 80 years because there's a chance that's how long my child will need their little name. The weight of this responsibility is thrilling and terrifying all at the same time.

So, in an attempt to know all of our "options" before we make a final decision, Danny and I have spent several evenings poring over baby name books at Barnes and Noble or checking out 20,000 baby names from the local library.

However, options are not are problem. There are more than enough options.

We both decided that we could name 50 kids if it weren't for each other.

We've also decided that we need to have about 15 kids in order to use all of our favorite names before we die.

See - this is HARD!

Just to give you an idea of what we're dealing with, let me give you a sampling of our baby name lists.

**VERY IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: We have not decided on a name yet and just because we share it below doesn't mean that we won't both change our minds 10 more times between now and July. So, if you feel strongly against one of our names, well, just make a mental note not to use that on your own child. It's amazing the things people will tell you when you share a baby name that you like!**

According to the Baby Name Wizard (which I have found is one of my favorite baby name resources), Danny likes names from the "Ladies & Gentlemen" or "Welcome Back 1900s" catagorie. His list of baby names includes the likes of Amelia, Cora, Matilda, Vera. His self-proclaimed "name style" are "vintage names that make him think of pink polka dots."

Okay, on the other hand, for boys he goes even more vintage; he prefers Biblical names like Beniah, Jeremiah, Amos and Titus. Don't worry, I've already nixed Beniah. I refuse to give birth to Ben Stiller.

Go head, think about that. I'll give you a minute to let Zoolander pop into your head. Got it, okay. Moving on.

I, on the other hand, apparently like names that fall in the "Little Darling" catagory. Names like Zoey, Everly, Shiloh, Kiva, Jada and Eden make reoccuring appearances on my lists.

For boys I prefer English or Irish surnames that tend to fall in the "-en" ending group. Samples of these include: Cullen, Kieran, Camden, Ashton, and Mason.

Do you see our problem? No two names fall on both of our lists . . . yet.

So, if you have a way to cleverly combine Jeremiah and Cullen and keep us both happy (and no, Jeremiah Cullen Stiller is NOT an option) - I'd be forever indebted. Until then I have more baby name books to check out from the library.