Baby Names Part I

So this will be a running feature of the blog, my and E's musings about the names of our future children. Current front runners:

GIRLS
Clara
Isabel
Ariana

BOYS
Garrett (or Garret)
Parker
Devon

We just recently started discussing 'Ariadne' instead of 'Ariana' -- we both think the name is pretty and unique, the two principal criteria for girl's names. The question is whether it would fit with our last name, which I think would be okay but not great. And E is still bemoaning my rejections of 'Abigail' (ugh) and 'Donovan'. I think former first-round pick 'Evelyn' is now out of contention.

And speaking of baby names, our friends just named their child Arjun (AR-joon). Apparently, Arjun is a mighty and virtuous hero from Hindu mythology, which I think makes it an awesome name. The closest equivalent in Judeo-Christian mythology is possibly David, though that name has become so secularized that relatively few people associate it with the biblical figure anymore. Arthur might be another close match in Anglo-American mythology (or Lancelot, I suppose, though that's a pretty dorky name), but it is also so generic now that the association with King Arthur is lost. Which is too bad; it's sad that western culture generally doesn't appreciate its mythological roots the way that eastern cultures do.