More on the nomenclature of babes...

First of all, hooray for the new baby Israel! So wonderful. Also wanted to throw out that I wasn't named at first, either. My parents let me marinate for about three days before they decided on "Rebecca" (of course, never to call me it, and it has now become my "slave name" or a name I must respond to when formally rewarded or punished). Of course, "Becky" soon followed, and my mother stuck with it because she thought, though perhaps slightly campy (come on, other Beckys, you know you've felt the burn), it was the name of the most popular girl at my mother's high school. On the shoulders of giants! Whatever, I like the obverse meanings: Becky="ensnarer"; Rebecca="faithful Hebrew daughter"--prime for all kinds of schisms. Back to the real reason of the this post: a New Zealand couple who named their baby Superman, after they were prevented from naming him 4Real:

Mum and Dad decided to call their son 4Real after seeing an ultrasound image of him. It was then they realised that their baby was "for real." They are considering legal action to force officials to reverse the ruling.

4Real. Hmm. Okay. It's also the name of an excellent song by Okkervil River. Apparently, Superman's parents are already referring to him as his vetoed name. Interesting, too, how people are inspired by technology. I used to date a guy named Manhattan, named because his heartbeat on the EKG resembled the New York skyline. Is your name derived from a technological inspiration, or are there names you narrowly escaped?