Why “Marcus”

Several people have asked how we came up with the name Marcus for TheLittleGuy. I’ve been meaning to post about that for awhile, but then my weblog broke, and things got delayed. But here we go.

First, we had no set notion of how we should name him. That is, it didn’t have to be a family name, or be named for someone, or have a particular meaning, or anything like that. Our criteria were basically

• that it be a name that was not ‘odd’ – that is, we wanted a recognizable name;
• that it not be too common; and,
• that it be something that would work for him whether he ends up a Supreme Court Justice, a plumber, a football player, or a gay opera singer.

We checked out a bunch of baby name books from the library and just started leafing through them from time to time. We’d also spend time when out to eat tossing names back and forth to each other. I was quicker to reject names than TheGuy was, and we never had a very long list. I think “Marcus” was second for awhile – but the name that was first (Connor – which occurred to us after listening to some Mark O’Connor one day) we decided was much too common these days. We know a few little Connors among our set of friends as it turned out. We only know one Marcus, and that’s our gay veterinarian.

“Marcus” initially ended up in the set we were considering because of the character Marcus Cole on Babylon 5 (a dashing romantic sort – TheGuy and I had a quote from that character on our wedding program). If you Google Marcus, nothing too alarming pops up, and while if I remember correctly, it may be in the top 100 or top 200 on the Social Security name lists, it’s still not that common. (I think it may be more common among African Americans – coincidentally “Lynette” is as well.) I like that it’s kind of classical/Roman as well – Marcus Aurelius being the philosopher-emperor, after all. (I’ve always had a vague, mostly unrealized, interest in Roman history.)

Early on I decided that we would stick with just 3 names for his full name – First Middle Last – rather than have 2 middle names. And I’d always wanted “Millett” to be part of his name, so that pretty much decided the middle name. It was my decision to stick with the patrilineal naming convention – TheGuy would have considered other possibilities. I figure with my last name as his middle name, he’ll always have the easy option of using Marcus Millett as a pen name, stage name, or whatever, if he wants. And I am persuaded by the notion that naming helps reinforce paternity out in the world (shame, but that’s the way it is) whereas maternity is somehow less questioned. I didn’t want TheGuy to run into trouble taking him to the doctor or picking him up from school or whatever because they have different last names. Also, ‘B’ is earlier in the alphabet, which can accrue small advantages over time, supposedly. Turned out well, as, at least for now, he totally looks like a Millett – so there’s no question there.

TheGuy also wanted a name that would pass the Sheldon test, for those familiar with When Harry Met Sally.

We are not planning to use the nickname “Marc” although we recognize he may choose to (or his friends may). (TheGuy likes “Marc” less than I do, but I’m not crazy about it, either.)

Right now his nicknames are:

• Little Mister
• Little Mister B
• Mister Boo
• Mister Boogaloo
• Mister Boogitaloo!
• Boo
• Little Bear
• MonkeyBear
• Little Man
• and, of course, Little Guy.

And here’s a recent amusing picture of the little fella, just for good measure (9.5 months old):

Raawwrrr!