Naming a human being is terrifying. There, I said it. When we found out we were having our first daughter,…
Browsing: Names / Surnames
Explore the history behind names. Search our database of first names and surnames to discover origins, meanings, and popularity at Ocean of Names.
You know that smell? The specific one that hits you around late September? It’s not just “pumpkin spice”—that’s the marketing…
Look, I get it. You aren’t scrolling through this massive list because you want a name that blends into the…
Let’s be real for a minute. The world is loud. You’ve got the 24-hour news cycle screaming at you, email…
Naming a human being is terrifying. I didn’t truly get it until I was standing in a half-painted nursery about…
You know that panic when the nurse hands you the clipboard? The one where you have to write down the…
Listen, if you grew up in a house like mine, you know Sunday dinner isn’t just about the food. It’s…
The panic at my cousin’s wedding in Boston is still fresh. I was twenty-two, stuffed into a cheap rental tux,…
The pressure is real. You are likely staring at a blank page right now, or maybe a messy note on…
You know that feeling when you first hold your son? It hits you like a freight train. I stood there…
My hands were actually shaking a little when I signed my first son’s birth certificate. It wasn’t just the caffeine…
Look, I thought I was prepared for fatherhood. I built the crib (without extra screws left over, thank you very…
My wife and I spent three solid months arguing over syllables. It wasn’t about the origin or the spelling; it…
Let’s be honest: naming a human being is terrifying. I remember staring at my wife in the hospital room, holding…
I didn’t fall for the French language in a museum or while staring at the Eiffel Tower. It happened in…
You know the feeling. You’re at a bar, or maybe standing in line for coffee, and you strike up a…
The nursery floor was a disaster zone. I remember sitting there with my wife at 2 AM, surrounded by half-built…
Naming a human being is terrifying. Let’s just be honest about that up front. I remember sitting on the floor…
Have you ever lost an entire afternoon digging through old census records, just looking for one specific name? I have.…
I still wake up thinking about that guardrail. It was 2:00 AM. I was twenty-two, exhausted, and stupid enough to…
Names carry weight. Heavy, invisible weight. I still remember the exact smell of the hospital room—antiseptic and stale coffee—when I…
I still remember the heat. It was one of those oppressive, heavy afternoons in Guadalajara where the air feels like…
I’ll never forget the smell of peat smoke and stale beer in that small pub just outside Dingle. I was…
I grew up in a house where you couldn’t throw a stone without hitting a Patrick, a Sean, or a…
You know the feeling. You’re standing in a crowded room, maybe waiting for a drink or stuck in a dull…
I still remember the smell of roasting coffee and old paper in my grandfather’s study. It was a small, cluttered…
I still remember the smell of my grandfather’s study. It wasn’t just old books; it was a mix of stale…
I thought naming my son would be the easy part. You know, buy a book, pick a sound that doesn’t…
Have you ever sat at a crowded Sunday dinner table, listening to the rhythmic cadence of names being called out…
I’ll never forget the moment we hit the wall. My wife sat across the kitchen island, seven months pregnant, staring…
You know the feeling. The screen door slams, and you look out at a world that doesn’t care about wifi…
Naming a human being is terrifying. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. When my wife and I were expecting our…
I still remember the specific Saturday morning that changed how I look at dirt. I was about eight years old,…
My best friend Tom called me at 2:00 AM on a Tuesday. That’s never a good sign. He wasn’t calling…
Labels are everywhere. I can’t stand them half the time, but I also can’t stop using them. You look at…
You know that feeling when the humidity hits you like a wet blanket the second you step out the door?…
Sweden gets under your skin. I remember the exact moment it happened to me. I wasn’t standing in front of…
I still remember the sweat on my palms standing in that hospital hallway. My wife was finally sleeping, recovering from…
There is something undeniably powerful about the letter A. It stands at the front of the line. It captures attention.…
You know that cold sweat you get at 3 AM? The one where you realize you are responsible for naming…
Naming a human being is terrifying. Let’s just put that out there. When my wife and I were expecting our…
I remember staring at the blank birth certificate form in the hospital room like it was a final exam I…
Names have power. You feel it when you say them. Whether you are hammering out the draft of a fantasy…
Naming a human being is terrifying. I remember standing in the hospital hallway right after my first son was born,…
You ever walk through an old boneyard, just reading the weathered stones and wondering about the lives chiseled into that…
Let’s be honest: naming a human being is terrifying. You’re handing someone an identity before you’ve even met them. When…
I was clutching a cup of lukewarm vending machine coffee in a hospital hallway, waiting for my brother to walk…
You know, there’s a distinct moment I recall from a humid train ride between Delhi and Chennai that sums up…
You know that panic? The one that sets in about six months into the pregnancy. You are sitting there, staring…
I still remember the specific smell of the pub in Portree—stale beer, damp wool, and the faint, sweet scent of…
Step off the plane in Honolulu and it hits you. The heat. The salt. The smell of plumeria so thick…
I still remember the first day of kindergarten in Chicago. The teacher paused at my name on the roster, her…
M is a heavyweight. It just is. It starts “Mother,” sure, but it’s also the sound you make when something…
Naming a son is terrifying. I remember standing in the fluorescent-lit hospital hallway, holding a tiny, wrapped bundle that looked…
You know that moment. The one where you’re standing in the hallway of the hospital, or maybe sitting at your…
I remember the panic. It wasn’t the “did we pack the hospital bag” panic, or the “how do I install…
I remember standing in the middle of my grandfather’s dusty library, pulling down a heavy, leather-bound book on theology. I…
I’ll never forget the bone-chilling cold of a Moscow December. I was standing outside a metro station, teeth chattering, waiting…
It was hot. Seville in July is no joke. I was hiding out in a plaza, nursing a café con…
Naming a child feels like the first time you actually understand gravity. It anchors you. I remember standing in the…
My phone buzzed late one Tuesday. It was Dave, my college roommate, and he sounded like he was about to…
I remember the exact moment my buddy Takeshi called me. It was 3 AM my time, and he was standing…
Picking a name feels a lot like hunting for a specific snowflake in a blizzard. You want something unique, beautiful,…
Names are heavy things. You hand them to a stranger, and before you’ve even opened your mouth, they’ve already made…
It hit me in the parking lot of the hospital. We had nine months—forty weeks, give or take—to pick a…
I still remember the absolute, chest-tightening panic I felt standing in the hospital parking lot. My wife was eight months…
I still remember the smell. It was damp grass, wet leaves, and that specific, metallic scent of cold aluminum. I…
I still remember the smell of my Nonna’s kitchen on Sunday mornings. It was a mix of garlic, simmering tomatoes,…
You know that feeling. It’s 2:14 AM, the blue light from your phone is burning your retinas, and you are…