Conference oass::babynames

    I vote for Grant.  It fits your requirements, and I haven't heard
    it in quite awhile, so he won't have a name like everybody else.
    Don't know its origins, but I think I sounds good with your last
    name.  Will you use one of the others for a middle name?
    

    Short, masculine, not overly trendy, sound like Craig...
    
    How about Greg?  (Gregory)
    
    K.C.

GRANT : (French) "great".  A short form of Grantland.  Also Grantham,
	Granthem, Grantley, Grenville.

BENJAMIN : (Hebrew) "son of the right hand."  Ben, Benjamino, Benjamen,
	Benji, Benjie, Benjy, Benn, Bennie, Benny, benyamin, Jamie, Jim.

KEITH : (Welsh) "from the forest"; (Scottish Gaelic) "from the battle place".

CARL : (Old German) "farmer."  A swedish form of Charles.  A short form of
	names beginning with "Carl".

I agree with -.1, if you want something close to your name, Greg/Gregg/
Greggory is about as close as you can get.  I think all of these names 
are nice, but I especially like Benjamin and Grant.

    As we're on the subject, can anyone give me some possibilities on a
    boys name to go with the surname Pritchard? I too think something
    short, not old fasioned and not too trendy would do. I think the name
    has to be one sylabal (sorry can't spell!) to make it 'flow'.
    Any comments?
    Janet

    Hi Janet,
    
    	I had a friend years ago named James Earl Pritchard. Short form
    
    	Jim Pritchard. 1 sylable, easy to spell.
    
        Swaff -)
    

    
    I vote for Carl - plus then you can have the same initials!!!  
    
    I also like the suggestion of Greg.
    
    /Kim

    Thanks so much for the background info and opinions.
    
    Re: .1-
    	I like Grant, too, but my wife is leaning towards Benjamin.
    
    Re: .2-
    	I didn't really want a name that sounded like mine. I have a good
    	friend named Greg, but I think it is too easily confused with my 
    	name. 
    
    Re: .3-
    	Thanks for the background info! I especially like the meaning of
    	Benjamin.
    
    Re: .6-
    	I like Carl, too, especially since I am half German. I think we are 
    	leaning away from this one, though, because it doesn't match the
    	last name quite as well as the others.
    
    Thanks again to all for the wonderful feedback.
    
    Craig

    OK, if not Greg, my vote will move to Benjamin.  (I don't care for
    Grant.)
    
    K.C.

    Well folks, I'm back with the same old names for boys that
    I'm stuck on.  Ian and Evan!  Craig, I agree with you about
    Greg being too similar to your own name and causing too much
    confusion.  I really do like your name, though.  Sounds great
    with McGowan.  My step-son's name is Craig and I think it goes
    well with MacDonald.  Of the names you've chosen, I have to
    say I prefer Grant to Benjamin although both are nice.  My
    favorite boys' name in the whole world, however, is Ian as
    most people in this notesfile already know.  My husband and
    I fought like cats and dogs over what to name our child if
    it was a boy and I finally won, but we ended up having a girl
    and he chose her name.  At any rate, I think Ian Grant McGowan
    is a wonderful name.  Just my 2 cents...
    
    Good luck and congrats,
    Kathryn
    

    
    re:-1 
    
    What about combining Ian and Evan to spell it differently..Ivan
    pronounced E-von...my cousin spells it that way in Europe.
    
    -Jeanne

    
    re: .9---
    
    Thanks for the new suggestions, Kathryn. We added Evan to our list
    just recently. I like Evan a bit more than Ian, but I'll see what my
    wife thinks of Ian.
    
    re: .10---
    
    Thanks for the suggestion, but Ivan is already an established name with
    a cultural background that is (I think) different from my own. Maybe I
    am wrong, but I associate the name with Russian or eastern European
    origins. Keep 'em coming!
    
    On an unrelated note, my wife is now trying to resurrect a boy's name
    we had picked out the last time she was pregnant. (We had a girl). We
    both really like the name, but it has become so popular that I am
    reluctant to use it. The name is RYAN. What do you babynamers think?
    Too trendy?
    
    Craig

    Craig,
    
    I've always liked the name Ryan, but you're right - absolutely
    too common.  I think my neice has 4 Ryans in her class at school
    and my step-son has 3.  That's 7 Ryans out of about 25 boys!
    
    I thought of another that sounds good with your last name (practically
    _everything_ sounds good with McGowan) - now, this name people either
    really like or really don't --  What do you think about Jesse?
    I like it - but I still like Ian the best.
    
    - Kathryn
    

    Well, I received the biggest shock in my life on Friday.
    
    My wife had an ultrasound on Tuesday and the baby was not head down, so
    they gave her some exercises to move the baby into position. We went
    back in on Friday, and a second ultrasound revealed TWINS!!
    
    Yesterday we had a third, sophisticated ultrasound, and it looks like
    both babies are girls! We have a 2.5 year old daughter at home, so it
    looks like I will be the only male in the household. We had planned to
    stop at two, but......
    
    Thanks for all your suggestions on boy's names. I will post the names
    of our twins here after they are born. Too bad I will not be able to
    use any of your wonderful suggestions.
    
    Craig

    Wowie zowie, Craig!  Congratulations!  I can't even begin to
    imagine what I'd do if I had twins.  One is already so much work!
    It *is* exciting, though.  I'll bet your daughter is absolutely
    thrilled.  One thing I want to mention, though...  Don't hold
    too much stock in ultrasounds to be too accurate regarding the
    babies' sex.  My girlfriend was told DEFINATELY a girl and wouldn't
    you know it - she had a little boy.  The ultrasound technician I
    had said that she never will tell someone they're having a girl
    because it's too risky.  Sometimes the cord gets in the way and
    hides little boys' apparatus, etc. so she doesn't feel confident
    telling someone "It's a girl".  You just never know, I guess.
    At any rate, congratulations and good luck.  BTW - when is her
    actual due date?  A friend of mine had two boys on Saturday, 4
    weeks early.  I heard twins are almost always early.  You could
    have yours by this weekend!
    
    - Kathryn
    

    Thanks. I realize that the ultrasounds are not entirely accurate, but
    two different technicians were fairly sure they are both girls. I am
    maintaining some hope for a boy, but I will not be suprised or
    disappointed if they are both girls. Only time will tell.
    
    My wife had 4 weeks to go until her original due date (2/21) as of 
    Wednesday, so she can go into labor at any time. She is resting at 
    home now, but the suspense is getting to us both! I'll keep you posted. 
    
                      

    Our twin GIRLS have arrived. My wife was scheduled to be induced at 8am
    on Wednesday the 7th, and at 6:30am her water broke. It happened as
    though we had planned it that way. 
    
    The vital stats:
    
    Jane Hurley McGowan 	5lbs, 6oz	1:48pm
    
    Cara Lynn McGowan		6lbs, 9oz	1:52pm
    
    Both girls are blue-eyed blondes, and look like their older sister did
    when she was born. Now the fun begins.
    
    Craig

    Oh, I'm so happy for you all, Craig!  Hope your wife is doing
    well in addition to the babies.  Their big sister must be so
    thrilled.  At any rate, I like your choice of names.  Nice, simple
    and to the point.  My niece's name is Jane...  and she's a classic!
    
    Congratulations!
    
    - Kathryn