What's in a name?

I felt more pressure picking a name for baby #2 than I did for Rhys. Not only were we picking a name that went well with our last name, but this time we wanted to 'match' Rhys as well. So we came up with some criteria that we felt would deem a name a good 'match'...

Maybe it would start with an 'R', or end with an 'S' or feature the letter 'Y' in some way. Maybe it would have a silent 'H'. Maybe it would be 4 letters long, or simply be just one syllable. Or maybe it would be Welsh like the name Rhys, or maybe it would be a name that is common in the UK.

With that criteria in our minds, we set out to find the perfect name for our youngest son.

I don't remember when we 'found' the name Kyle, but I do know we both really liked it when it was suggested. Unlike Rhys, though, we decided to keep an open mind in case another name came along that we liked better. But Kyle kept growing on us, and we even started referring to him as Kyle, and started getting Rhys to say his name. Eventually there was no turning back. This was his name.

Here are some of the name 'casualties':

Ryan (I have a close cousin named Ryan - would be weird, so clearly it was a weak option... never a real contender).

Sean (We have a close friend named Sean - same as above).

Cohen (Ever since I was little I wanted a son named Cohen... but then I married a man who's last name was Cronin, and that dream kind of died... ).

Names Warren liked, briefly, that I totally used my VETO powers on (and obviously they follow none of the criteria):

McCartney and Marshall

Can you say 'shortest list ever?'. I think that's because we found Kyle so early on.

As for the middle names, we wanted to find a way to incorporate our moms, since our dads were incorporated in Rhys' middle names. Joseph is my mom's dad, and Jones is Warren's mom's maiden name.

So Kyle Joseph Jones Cronin it was.

To round off this post, Warren thought it would be fun if I posted the girl names we had (same criteria). So, here they are:

Neve (like the actress, Neve Cambell. Side note: If Rhys had been a girl, he would have been Neve for sure).

Audrey (this was the one we were leaning heavenly towards this time around).

But, since we have a beautiful baby boy named Kyle, let's bask in his cuteness: