Selecting the perfect, simple name for a new baby may sound easy, but according to one Mom-to-be, today’s popular choices are enough to make your head spin!

In the corner of the playground are River and Skye. They are playing with little Autumn, even though she usually comes with Sunday. Nearby, Gray, Scarlett, and Azure have commandeered the swings, while Sienna waits for a turn. In the sandbox, Zander hits Serenity on the head with a stick, but he claims she hit him first!

Now that I am pregnant, I listen to the names people give their children. The Internet swells with advice, and the tabloid aisle is a big source of inspiration. While out shopping with my two boys, I keep my ears open. Naming baby number three is difficult among the sea of new choices. But even the unique seems to have become commonplace. So, what is a mother to do when it comes to finding an original name, especially when Mercedes, Lexus and Armani have to use their last initial in pre-school to avoid confusion among similarly named students. Also, consider the scenario involving Caitlin, Caitlyn, Kaitlin and Kaitlyn. Well, much to the horror of each child’s mother, they all ended up in the same classroom. Pity their Kindergarten teacher!

At the pediatrician’s office, the nurse calls for Lindon (or Lyndon) and Madeline (or Madelyn, or maybe Madelyne). Smith Sadie Smyth sits in her stroller, while Edna Ami and Anne Brilane play with the blocks. Churchill and Kipling are not getting along, and are seperated by their mothers.

New parents use “Jaxon” instead of “Jackson,” and tend to skip “Amelia” and choose “Emilia.” Don’t make the mistake of using “Jason” because, in 2011, it is most likely “Jayson”.
(As a note, it’s Conor with one “n” not two, just in case you were wondering…) Noah was once the guy with the Ark, not the kid who chews crayons. And Apple was once a Red Delicious and a Golden…We won’t even mention that computer company!

Today, I met Blender; not among the toasters and microwaves, but standing in line at a cash register at Target. Oh, yes, we know a Smiley. I can vouch that her parents got that one wrong! And one can only hope that she doesn’t end up working at Walmart.

Dakota was born in Brooklyn, and Brooklyn was born in North Dakota. Bronx lives in California, and Paris lives in New York. Keegan, Teegan and Meegan were born to an Italian family a few blocks away from an Irish family, who just had Genevieve. Love, Honor and Cherish live down the street, but that might change because I think their parents’ divorce will be finalized next week.

These days I hear mothers call, “Silas!”… and they don’t mean “Marner.” I know a Charly who is a girl, and a Devon who is a boy…not to be confused with Devin, a girl, who has a brother named Charlee. A generation of kids, whose parents named them James, Michelle, Nicole, and Kimberly, has decided that their babies will answer to Homer, Zuma, Seraphina, and Liberty.

Have you noticed that books, Internet sites, and magazines offer very little help when it comes to selecting the perfect name for our lambkins? The unique names are already used up. There must be another way to arrive at an appropriate moniker.

Hallelujah! Last week, at a Greek diner, I think we came to a decision. No, fear not. It didn’t come from the waitress’s nametag or the back of a menu. It came to us out of the blue, with no need for us to Google the spelling. A stroke of genius! And so simple that we won’t need to endlessly repeat and spell it out! Unique? Well, I’ve haven’t heard it uttered on a playground in many years. Our baby will be named…are you ready?… Jane.

But hey, if it turns out to be a boy, there is a possibility we might go with Octavius!