What's In a Name?

My wife posted a clip from Friends where Ross and Rachel were trying to pick their baby's name. I wanted to post a clip of my own, but apparently YouTube and SNL don't play nice anymore. The closest I could get was a transcript. Enjoy:

Baby Names

Wife.....Julia Sweeney
Husband.....Nicolas Cage
Telegram Deliverer.....Rob Schneider

[ open on a married couple trying to think of a name for their unknown baby ]

Wife: I was thinking about Joseph.

Husband: [ turned off ] Joseph?

Wife: Yeah. Joseph.

Husband: Well.. it's a nice name, but the kids are gonna call him "Joe Blow". I mean, as long as you know that. Or "Sloppy Joe", you know.. "How are Mr. & Mrs. Schmo?"

Wife: Well, I guess that's true..

Husband: I mean, it's a nice name.

Wife: Well, that's alright. How about John? That's nice and simple.

Husband: What, are you serious?

Wife: Well, yeah.

Husband: John? You want to do that to the kid?

Wife: Do what? Husband: [ mimicking ] "Hey, John! Hey, let's go to the john. Huh, John? Let's go!"

Wife: Well.. wouldn't he outgrow those jokes?

Husband: Look, kids are mean. I just want him to have a happy childhood, too.. but, "Long John Silver"? I mean, I don't know what to say!

Wife: Okay, okay, okay.. Well.. um.. what about Peter?

Husband: Oh, right. Sure. Peter. Let's just put him up for adoption right now, save the kid a lot of agony. I mean, obviously - no Peter, no Dick, no Rod! Can we just discuss this intelligently, please?

Wife: Yes, we can. [ thinking ] Okay.. um.. William.

Husband: William. Good. "Wee Willie!" "Chilly Willy!" "Willie Wonka! Hey! Where's your chocolate factory?! Oompa-Loompa" every day of his life!

Wife: Did you get teased a lot as a kid?

Husband: [ defensive ] No, I did not. Did you tease a lot of kids? Because, judging from these names you're picking, you don't seem to be very sensitive.

Wife: Okay, I'll just keep trying.. What about Fred?

Husband: [ sighing ] Please.. Fred, Frank.. lease, the F's are no good. If he's fat, it's just a disaster.

Wife: Okay, alright. Um.. Sam?

Husband: Great. Sam. "Uncle Sam." "I want you.. to be ostracized!"

Wife: Then, let's [name him]Paul.

Husband: Right. Paul. "Hey, Paul, where's Peter and Mary?!"

Wife: What?

Husband: Peter, Paul and Mary. "Hey, Paul! Play me a folk song, and then I'll beat the crap out of you!

Wife: Well, at this point, I'd just settle for anything. How about.. Jack?

Husband: [ thinking ] Hmm.. yeah.. yeah, Jack's a fine name.

Wife: Really?

Husband: Oh, yeah.. as long as we make his middle name O'Lantern! Because that is what everyone's gonna call him!

Wife: Okay.. fine.. what about Ben?

Husband: Ben! Oh, fine, we're giving birth to a big bear? Great! "Gentle Ben!" "Hey, Ben, where's Jerry? Get me some ice cream, or I'll beat the crap outta ya!"

Wife: We could call him "Benjamin".

Husband: Sure. Benjamin. Harrison! "Hey, Benjamin, how's that tariff coming?! Montana a state yet?!"

Wife: Well, what about.. Todd?

Husband: [ stretching for an excuse ] Todd.. Todd.. Tad! "Tadpole!" Our son's a tadpole! "Hey, Tadpole, I don't like you! Thank your parents!"

Wife: Now, come on, I said "Todd", not "Tad". You changed the name, that's cheating.

Husband: Yeah, and it took five seconds. It might take a kid ten.

Wife: [ sighing ] Okay.. what about Harry?

Husband: "Hey, Harry, where are the Hendersons?!"

Wife: Oh, come on! Nobody even saw that movie!

Husband: Kids saw it! Alright, one more.. come on, we can do it..

Wife: Alright. Um.. Nate.

Husband: "The Nate Rockne Story." "Hey, Nate, where's the Gipper?"

Wife: What?

Husband: [ pacing the room ] Na-ate! Na-ate! Do you like that sound? Well, you better get used to it! [ his wife walks across the room ] Hey, where are you going?

Wife: [ leafing through book ] I'm looking at this Baby Name book, I thought it could help us.. [ looking through book ] How about Bjaardker?

Husband: [ intrigued ] Oh?

Wife: Bjaardker. It's Icelandic.

Husband: [ considering ] Yeah.. that's a tough little name to crack. That could be good. [ puts his face up to his Wife's belly ] Hey, Bjaardker, little fellow. You might just have a good childhood, after all. [ Wife laughs ] Talk to you later.

Wife: I love you.

Husband: I love you. [ they kiss, as the doorbell rings ] You sit, honey.

Wife: Alright.

Husband: [ answering the door ] Yes?

Telegram Deliverer: Hi, how you doing? I've got a telegram here for a Mr. & Mrs. Asswipe Johnson. I'm supposed to read it. [ holds telegram ] "Dear Asswipe & Emily: Congratulations on your upcoming blessed event. All our love, Bob & Diane." Here you go, Sir. [ hands him the telegram ]

Husband: Uh.. listen.. that's "Os-wee-pay".

Telegram Deliverer: [ confused ] What?

Husband: Uh.. forget it, forget it.. [ closes the door and sits next to his wife ]

Wife: That was really nice of Bob and Diane.

Husband: [ sighs ] Yeah, but why do they have to mention my name so much?

Wife: Oh, honey..

[ fade ]

This is my way of telling her we need to be careful about certain names. I want to do my best to provide a strong, appropriate name that has a slim chance of being made fun of. This includes boy names that have been hijacked and are now either girl names or gender neutral names. I also want to make sure the initials don't spell anything funny. For example, Liam Owen would have the initials LOP. Not good. I can name others, but you get the point. I don't see a problem with being careful, Does anyone else?