Baby Name Bracket: CHAMPIONSHIP!

We have a winner in the Baby Name Bracket! Naomi and Anne edged out Lydia and Emma with Naomi holding a slight edge over Anne in the championship. But, Anne's runner up finish completes our baby girl's name:

Naomi Anne Basham

It was a tough decision, but family roots won out for both names. That said, there were lots of good reasons to choose Naomi.

1. My oldest known female ancestor was named Naomi. Her son John was a wagonmaker in colonial America after moving here. Naomi and her husband (also John) came to America sometime later.
2. Naomi means "one who is pleasant" in Hebrew, but it also a Japanese name which means "a beauty above all others." Just like her mama. :)
3. Obviously, it's a solid Bibical name, like Simon.
4. It's a fairly simple, well-known name, but it isn't used that much (like Simon). We only know one other little girl named Naomi. This is one reason Emma lost out early. Even though we love the name, there are lots and lots of little girls being named Emma right now.

Same with Anne.
1. Laurie's family was full of "Ann(e)s." Her mom's middle name is "Ann."
2. Anne means "a woman graced with God's favor."
3. We were a big fan of many "Anna" names: Annabel, Anne-Cullen, Anarosa, Anna Maria, Anne-Claire, probably some others. This was a simpler version of some of those names that were a little too elaborate for us.
4. It's a classic, simple name.

So there you have it. I'll do at least one more post on baby names as the process of baby naming is something I've thought about a lot and have even taught in my classes (the book Freakonomics has TWO chapters on the economics of baby naming). I find the whole process absolutely fascinating.