The Great Name Debate

As most of you know, the hubby and I have been in a last name quandry since the wedding. Now that we are expecting little Riley, it's crunch time as we can't just leave his birth certificate blank. Though, we have actually considered the option of not giving him a last name and preparing him for rock stardom. He can be just Riley - which at the rate we are going may wind up happening whether we want it to or not! Chris and I have spent endless hours discussing the last name options and we are no further out of our conundrum than we were before. So here it is... Neither one of us can really imagine changing our names but Chris doesn't want me to take his name and I don't want him to take my name. On the other hand we both want to have the same name as our son and we'd like to have the same name as each other. There is just something about being able to purchase address labels or a doormat that says the "_____'s." We also really like the idea of taking a common name as a way of beginning our own history. There is something very spiritual in that for us. The difficulty is that we can't seem to find a name that holds a real connection for both of us. We would love to take a family name from somewhere but that would mean choosing one of our families over the other. We have gone through all the things that we have shared over the years... places, pets, cities, jobs... but none of them really fit either. It's just so overwhelming to think of a whole new last name. I mean a first name is one thing but a last name is going to be in our family for generations and it should mean something. So we have been tossing around the name Rowan which we have taken from the Rowan tree. We love the name and we love the meaning and history behind the Rowan tree. It has been said to have magical properties and to act as protection from evil spirits. In addition it is a tree that can survive in the most difficult of conditions... poor soil, harsh weather, dramatic changes... It's berries are often used for healing and medicinal purposes and it has beautiful white flowers that blossom each year. So this is where we are leaning but it's hard to make the decision as it seems so final. It's hard to let go of who we've been for so long but this is important to us so we're going to have to just make a decision and be done with it... and soon! For now the debate continues... but we'll keep you posted.