Like all parents my wife and I had the very lengthy discussions on what to name our son when we found out he was a boy.

This was a very arduous task both opposing opinions and armies. So we had to compromise and compromise we did.

First we eliminated all outside influences – family and friends. They all had their own agenda and we wanted this to be personal and in our control. Obviously that went over very well with everyone (not).
1. My wife wanted a name of Indian origin. I was indifferent. In this day in age all ethics names sound cool. Especially in America.
2. I did not want a name starting with the letter ‘A’ or a long name. Have you tried pronouncing 16 letter names lately? Let’s not start the boy out with an unpronounceable name.
3. The name could not rhyme with some type of body fluid or other word that can be made fun of. The playground is a rough area to transverse.
4. The name had to grow and fit with him as he becomes a man and starts a career. A 40 year old man named “Tiny” or paging “Dr. Junior” just does not sound right.
5. The name had to mean something profound and have our sound be proud of it.

So we started compiling names and narrowed it down to 2 over the months. The final month before my wife went into labor we decided to refer to the baby by both names to see how the name rolled off our tongue. That was important because now we heard it out loud and in context of various conversations. We eliminated one of the names and decided on ‘Rishi’. This in the Hindu language means sage or wise one in. Number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 all covered.