What's in a name?

My wife and I named our son Bronx. I am a huge New York Yankees fan. I have a room in my house devoted to the Yankees, complete with pin-striped walls and Yankees memorabilia. This room has since been converted into my son’s nursery, but it has maintained all of its Yankees integrity. Yankees Stadium is located in Bronx, New York, so when it came time to name my son, Bronx seemed like the perfect choice. However, my wife was not so sure. She was really sold on the name Braxton, and she thought Bronx may be too unusual for her taste, but the more we discussed it, the more it grew on her. Finally, she agreed with me that Bronx was the perfect name for our son. We were overjoyed to tell people what we were going to name our little blessing, and we could not wait to see what they thought of the name. Unfortunately, our name choice met mixed reviews. All of our family and friends seemed to love the name, but they all understood how much I loved the Yankees and my wife’s love for anything to do with New York City. However, people who did not know us as well did not share our enthusiasm for his name. My wife even had a lady tell her to be sure and give Bronx a “normal” middle name, so he could use it when he grew older and did not want to be called Bronx anymore. I was amazed by how brazen people were with their opinions of his name. Normal people who seemed sweet and innocent were suddenly bitter critics who felt empowered to tell us exactly what they thought. It is astonishing how people who would never hurt our feelings on a normal basis felt that they could be brutally honest with us during a time that should be filled with joy. I know that we are not alone in this experience. A friend of my wife’s named her son Asher, and she also received caddy comments about the name choice. She was also told to be sure and name him a “good” middle name, so he could go by that when he got older. I am constantly amazed by why people become bolder when a baby is involved. If anything, people should be overly gentle to pregnant women when it comes to the decision of their baby’s name. These women are carrying a precious gift, and they are stressed enough by the changes that are going on in their body without having to deal with the changes in people becoming unkind and insensitive. It is my opinion that whatever a person chooses to name their child is their decision- no ifs, ands, or buts about it. No one else is entitled to take the joy of naming a child away from the parents, and those that feel entitled to take away that joy should instead feel entitled to keep their opinions silent. No one should be deprived of the joy of naming their child.