I Don’t Regret Giving My Baby a Weird Name

I’m one of those parents who gave his kid a weird name.

I know. It’s kind of weird. The wife and I weren’t sure about it either. In fact, there are days when I’m still not sure we made the right decision.

Our first two kids have regular names. Sure, they’re kind of hipster-cool/over-popular, but we like the names we gave them just the same. She’s Harper: Her name was inspired by author Harper Lee and musician Ben Harper. He’s Wyatt; we gave him a laid-back name that could fit easily on the nameplate of a future judge’s office or on a blue-collar work shirt.

And the Weird Name is …

Then there’s our third child.

His name is Hawk. “Hawk? Like the bird?” asked my mother.

“No. His name is Parker,” Wyatt flatly stated.

“That’s not a very great name,” Harper lamented with tearful eyes as she met him for the first time.

Wyatt was almost named Hawk, but we chickened out. We just couldn’t pull the trigger. It was a little too weird. We went with choice 1B, and we haven’t looked back. There was no second guessing. No one asked where we came up with the name.

When the new baby was born and the doctor announced that it was a boy (another boy!), we already had the name picked. Before I cut the cord, my wife asked, “Are we going for it? Is this Hawk?” Still stunned at the miracle of birth, I replied, “I think it is.” Cord cut; baby named; destiny spun into motion.

We named him Hawk because we like the name. We named him Hawk because we’re sure it won’t be a hindrance for him now or in the future. We named him Hawk because, quite frankly, we think it’s a badass name. We named him Hawk because we could and because we wanted to. It’s not a family name. It’s not a “normal” name, but it’s his name, just the same.

So, yes, like the bird, Mom. And no, his name isn’t Parker, Wyatt, even though that’s the name you lobbied hard for. As for whether Hawk is a very great name — time will tell, Harper.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Matt Norman, an at-home dad of three, is the organizer of our Austin Dads Group chapter. A version of this post first appeared on And So It Has Come to This.