Awww... Cuteness! *head asplodes from cuteness of Ender*
And welcome to Hatrack, dude.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Very cute.
But, um, you named him Andrew, nickname Ender, right?
Posted by kacard (Member # 200) on :
Totally darling!
Posted by DDDaysh (Member # 9499) on :
He's VERY cute.... How big was he? How is parenthood treating you?
Posted by Shermhead (Member # 10341) on :
Hello everyone.. thanks for the welcome and the comments.
Ender is a great newborn in comparison to what other people have said about newborn behavior.. there is always a maximum of a three step proccess of elimination and a easy solution to soothing him.
I named him Ender and not Andrew because I wanted a unique name. I was actually consdering "Bean" for a hot second because he was born at 6lbs 2oz but, if genetics carry over he'll be 6"2 or taller at maturity like his daddy.
Im glad I found this great site.. thanks again all.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Congratulations! Your family is lovely. Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Oh.
Posted by Perplexity'sDaughter (Member # 9668) on :
Ha, I seriously considered naming my son Ender too.
Posted by BlueWizard (Member # 9389) on :
Just a thought, while I agree that 'Ender' is a nice sounding and unique name, have you ever wondered how your son's classmates are going to react to that name?
Sadly, boys can turn nearly anything into innuendo of sexual or non-sexual nature. Any chance 'Ender' might become 'Suspender' which is about the nicest twist on the name that I can think of?
I'm not saying you are wrong. I think short of some mild teasing which every kid must endure, it will probably work out OK. But it is something you should have seriously considered before you gave him that name.
Let me be clear here, I'm not criticizing you. I think it will work out OK especially when there is a heroic story behind the name. I'm merely curious if you look at the long term consequences of such an unusual name.
To show that I'm not biased against unusually names, I liked George Costanza's* idea of naming his kid 'Seven', odd as it is, it does have a nice ring to it.
* Jason Alexander - George Costanza - 'Seinfeld'
Steve/BlueWizard
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
We had a boy and a girl, and when we were pregnant with our third - another boy - we seriously considered Andrew, as our own private in-joke. Ended up not using it, but I know where you're coming from.
Sometimes when he's not listening, I call him "Third". Posted by kacard (Member # 200) on :
Just so you know, we've met several very young Enders at book signings. One was a girl. The oldest one we've met was about 16 at the time and that was a couple of years ago. He HAD to be the first one named for the character. The rest of them have been very young! So your Ender will not be all alone.
Posted by kacard (Member # 200) on :
You also might be interested in this little "fun fact" listed on the page about Ender's Game on this website. I quote it here:
Twenty-two years after the story of Ender Wiggin first appeared in print, Orson Scott Card learned that the name "Ender" really exists - in Turkish. The name means "one in a million" or "something that is rarely found" - an extraordinarily appropriate name for Ender Wiggin. Card affirms, however, that he had no notion that the name actually existed in any language - he coined it only to allow the title "Ender's Game" to be reminiscent of "endgame" in chess. The correspondent who informed Card of the meaning of the name is himself named Ender. "Many people are named Önder in Turkey," he writes, "so Ender is a rare name even in Turkey."
Posted by DDDaysh (Member # 9499) on :
I wouldn't be too worried about unique names. At least Ender is easy to pronounce. It's not like ANY name you give a child will be safe from teasing, even nice normal names like... hmmm.. Richard for instance?
Besides, Ender sounds nice. I grew up with a name that is fairly unusual, Dacia, and also impossible for most people to either spell or pronounce. When I got ready to name my son, I didn't want to give him a hard to pronounce name, however I also wanted it to be something semi-unique, because I know my best friend (Jennifer) hated ALWAYS having to give a last name. We went with Azriel because it fit those two classifications and also meant "Help of God".
Ender is a great name, be proud of it, and your son! I'm sure he really is "one in a million".
Posted by BlueWizard (Member # 9389) on :
Don't mean to get side tracked, but I can't help wondering about all the boys who are likely to end up named 'Draco' in the very near future. Though I suspect, there are already a few. 'Ender' is at least a heroic name, but Draco is the bad guy, Slytherin through and through. That doesn't bode well in my book.
Sorry for the distraction.
Steve/BlueWizard
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Flaming Toad on a Stick beat me to the cuteness punch. He is so totally cute.
Posted by Charistay (Member # 10424) on :
Shermhead:
Egads. The cuteness! He really is adorable.
And Bean? Haha. IF you did that, then your son would endure MUCH teasing and strange looks. You could have gone with Julian though.
Posted by Lemonymous (Member # 2662) on :
I don't think there's anything wrong with the name. Yeah, kids are going to be rough about it but if they want to pick on you they'll find a way. I had all sorts of nicknames when I was younger. And I hated them. Had nothing to do with my name.
Meanwhile, my stage name is Ender Bowen so... It was just going to be Ender but I couldn't get away with it - too many plain ol Ender bands out there.
Ender
Posted by DDDaysh (Member # 9499) on :
I heard the most pitiful name for a kid today. Pegasus Vanderwende... poor kid is in middle school right now. I'm sure it gets butchered all the time.
Posted by Marek (Member # 5404) on :
My wife and I almost named our latest son Ender, but went with Julian instead.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)