What are you going to name the baby?

Wouldn't you like to know! You might remember that when we had Trevor, we didn't find out the gender of the baby until he was born. That was a moment like no other. Incomparable. Wouldn't trade that element of surprise for the world. SO, since with our second child, everyone will know she's a she and even see her picture before we meet her, we've got to keep something a surprise, don't we? So it will be her name. Besides, keeping things secret bugs the bejeepers out of my sister "Matilda", and that's worth the effort right there.

Until then, you may refer to our daughter as "BabyGogo". That's what we call her for now. A few months ago, I asked my then-4-year-old-niece, daughter of "Matilda", so we'll call my niece "Lucinda", I asked "Lucinda" what we should name the baby were are going to bring home from China. She looked pensive for a moment, then looked back at me with complete confidence, and nodded her head affirmatively as she said, "Baby Gogo". So there you go. How could I say no to that?

In the meantime, we are nearly settled on a name, but reserve the right to change it when we see her picture. We will actually have to pick a name before we leave for China, so that we can have it on some of the documents going to China. But we hope to keep it secret until the day we meet her... then we'll reveal it right here on the blog.

If you are one of the people we have told some of our name choices to, and you know who you are, PLEASE do not post a comment that says, "But I thought you were going to name her such-and-such!"

Here are a couple of links for name statistics. If you are on a fast connection, prepare to be entranced for the next hour playing with these, especially the first one:

Name Voyager

Social Security Administration Most Popular Names 2005

Here are some name ideas we have considered, then discarded:

Clever Ambrosia

Gertrude Ophelia

Jezebel Cornelius

Flotsam Jetsam

Minnie Ipod

Chutney Chesapeake

Diaphanous Continental

I'm sure you're relieved.