In the 10 days he's been alive there's been some things that have come up about my son's name and I'd just like to clarify because I fear I may have doomed my son to a life of explanations. Hopefully, this will help ease his future burden, the burden I completely unknowingly placed upon his shoulders.
1 - It's spelled B-E-N-N-E-T. Just one "t".
2 - Spelling it with one "t" seemed to be a good choice to us, and one that was validated by our peers (see here). To me, Bennett (note two "t"s) is a last name. I know of a couple who named their son Bennett because it was the mom's maiden name. I like this, and I like that the name has so much meaning, but there are no Bennetts in our family tree. In fact, the only Bennett I even know (as in personally know) is a guy I went to college with. Nice guy, decent singer, fairly cute. I haven't talked to him since I graduated over 5 years ago and we were never good enough friends that I'd name my first born son after him.
3 - It is in no way a nod to the Bennet family of Jane Austen's imagination. This might be amazing to you since I spelled L's middle name with an "e" as a nod to Anne of Green Gables. I do love Pride and Prejudice and I have called my son "Mr. Bennet" already, but for the most part that family was incredibly silly and Mr. Bingly is actually my favorite character. But Bingly is probably a better name for a pet.
4 - My one semester of college French does not make me an expert, and maybe my friend, the MHS French teacher, could help me out, but I'm pretty sure that Bennet is not actually a French name and should be pronounced "Ben-ae". Do Travis and I look like pretentious people? I mean, have you seen our house? Seriously, knock it off with the "Ben-ae" stuff.
5 - To further emphasize point #4, allow me to point out that Bennet is pronounced exactly as it is spelled: Ben - net. I'm fairly certain it is an English name.
6 - You may call him Bennet or Ben. If you seriously love him, you may call him Benno. But only if you've met my Grandpa W or know of his glory.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteLOVE that picture!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. I know I told you Bennet is one of my favorite names and I always planned on spelling it with two "n"s and two "t"s. For high school my mom went to a school called Benet Academy.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange that such a normal-sounding name would have so many different ways to spell it.
But your son is *adorable* and I can't wait to meet him.
I love the French pronunciation of his name...that really makes me laugh. I second Tonya; love the photo, too. Very touching.
ReplyDeleteEm
Great name Bonnie! The more I hear it the more I love it. Congrats and I hope you are feeling better. So what nationality is your grandpa anyway?? He looks like he might be some sort of European?? Italian?
ReplyDeletegreat post! I enjoyed reading it. It is funny how you give a child a name and then realize how many different ways to spell/say it there are out there.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! :)
ReplyDeleteJackie, my grandpa is European, but mostly German, some of it Jewish German, with a little bit of Irish.
When he was young he was thin and had dark hair. He was so handsome and I think that in the right picture he looks a little like a young Elvis.