BUCKING THE SYSTEM: BEING PRACTICAL ABOUT BABY NAMES, JUNIOR SOUNDS GOOD

I'm not a very unique person when it comes to naming babies.

Sure, I love to hear unique names, I'm just not any good coming up with any.

My mom did a good job naming my sister and me (Dad gets no credit in this regard.) She managed to come up with names that flowed very well and gave people just the right amount of pause before they attempted the pronunciations. This generally gave us an edge when it came to standing out in a crowd.

I've always been an old-fashioned girl when it comes to this baby-naming business. I never spent any time thinking about naming babies as a teen-ager, mainly because I figured the need just wasn't there. I didn't have any babies, so why waste my time on something I was probably going to forget within the next day or so anyway?

This was in direct contrast with what my friends were doing. I'd bury myself in a book while my friends were fantasizing about Mr. Right. They'd sit around trying to come up with fancy combinations of their names with that of their future mates, and I'd sit around looking philosophical and trying to think deep thoughts.

Not much has changed over time. I have given up the deep thoughts and am just trying to stay sane, but other than that, I'm strictly business as usual.

People keep asking me what name Patrick and I are planning to bestow on Baby Buck. Call me overly practical, but I'm more concerned about keeping the little man clothed and properly supervised after his arrival.

I've never seen anything wrong with a good ole "Junior" or child whose name has Biblical implications. In fact, I like to think that naming a baby after someone special or respected in your life is a blessing for the child.

That's why our son, Jerry, has his name. The first Jerry Thomas Buck was my husband's older brother, secret confidante and best friend. In fact, they were so close that throughout my pregnancy I held regular conversations with him, even though his death preceded my arrival in Patrick's life by a couple of years.

It was natural to name my son after his uncle, and I think Jerry is a blessing to everyone he meets (I admit to some bias here.)

The next Baby Buck is supposed to be a boy, and he'll be named after his father. I'm not crazy about the name Patrick Leon Buck Jr., especially because this will be the fourth Patrick in our small circle of friends. However, the name's a keeper because I AM crazy about the daddy, and he is being insistent about having a namesake.

Although Baby Buck is supposed to be a boy, we all know how those shadows can fool even the most experienced ultrasound technicians. That's why I've got a plan, just in case the core falls off of the apple and our little man turns into a baby girl.

If that happens, be prepared to hear about Clarissa Patrice Buck in a future column. This little girl will be named after two of the most important people in my life.

Clarissa is my sister's name, and she is everything to me that Patrick's brother was to him. Patrice, obviously, is a female version of the name Patrick.

It's a pretty good compromise, isn't it? Too bad it's not in the cards this time, because no more shuffling is scheduled unless Mommy and Daddy hit the lottery.

~Tamara Zellars Buck is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.