Baby Names

{Asian babies are the cutest!}

Even though we're still a bit ambivalent on the whole Having Kids thing {That's a big statement. I need to talk about that in a later post. Next week!} , we were at Trader Joe's last night when someone yelled, "Capote!" to call over their son. ... Interesting name choice, no? Capote. Capote Castillo? ;) Got us talking baby names on the ride home.

I tend to love names that are classic, understood in many languages or have Latin roots.

For girls:

:: Olivia is darling, but so common now. I love that is comes from olive branch, a sign for peace.

:: Olaia is a Basque name we liked when we lived in Spain; pretty, and the name of a pink Mediterranean flower. We both like it.

:: I've always loved the name Mia, but Mia Castillo -- too rhyme-y.

:: Theodora and call her Teddie. Flavio is not a fan.

:: Clara is sweet, but Flavio doesn't love it. (Clarita, how cute is that?!)

:: I like Norah, but Flavio worked with a crazy person named Nora, so that's out. Funny when you love or hate a name based on a person you once knew.

:: My middle name is Grace, and I like it -- but it's not multilingual/Spanish-friendly. Grace Castillo? Hmm...me gusta.

:: Caroline is classic. Love it. And Flavio likes it.

:: Amelia is nice (But I read people may call her Millie. Ugh.)

:: Camila is cute. Flavio likes Camila a lot.

:: We have a friend named Dalia and we both like it.

:: Flora is sweet. Flavio says.."Meh."

:: Vivienne is understated yet glamorous and means vivacious/life. But Flavio thinks it sounds old lady-ish and gave me the stink eye for mentioning it.

:: My dad's name is Michael and he's one of my favorite people in the world. I think Michael for a girl is very cute, but Flav says no.

For boys, I am stumped:

:: I love the name Claudio, but read that it means lame/gimp. :( That won't work.

:: I like Gael - especially because it comes from Gaelic (homage to my Irish roots), and works in Spanish. But not sure if I really like the name, or just like the actor. Flavio likes Gael, but worries gringos will forever pronounce it: "Gail."

:: Rafael is nice, but Flavio is not a fan of its diminutive: Rafa.

:: Flavio's great uncle's name was Nicolas, and we both like it, but I had a student named Nico in Spain who sold drugs to the other teenagers. They called him Nico el Narco. :(

:: We both like David as a middle name - multilingual, masculine, and the name of our favorite Norwegian friend. :)

:: I like Alex (Flavio's middle name is Alejandro) but he thinks it's too common. I like Alex for a girl, too.

***

We both agree: Boys' names are much harder than girls' names.