Here is a list I’ve compiled of baby names that have been rejected by Lauren.

Tripper – This could be for a boy or girl, probably a boy. It would have been original, snappy, and a wonderful homage to Jack Tripper (John Ritter) of Three’s Company. Lauren didn’t take this suggestion very seriously. I am going to save this name for future pet consideration. Likewise, Roper (Mr. Roper the landlord) was a first-round cut.

Landon – Another tribute to classic TV, this was again either a boy or girl’s name, but again probably a boy. The name was to be a tribute to Pa Ingalls of Little House on the Prairie fame, played of course by Michael Landon. Lauren didn’t scoff at this name nearly as much, but again gave it a pretty hasty rejection.

Trenton – Another boy name, I have had this one in the back of my head for years. Not because of my love for the state of New Jersey, or my admiration for former Timberwolf Trenton Hassell, but I just liked it. It is not to be.

Harmon – It was a long-shot even in my book, but I was trying to think of a legendary Twin to name a baby after, and frankly the names of legendary Twins aren’t very great. Kirby, Kent, Rodney, Tony, Bert, Cesar, Lyman, Johan… you see where I’m coming from. The only one that really jumped out was Harmon… Lauren said no way!

Kennesaw – This had long been an idea after seeing the Ken Burns Baseball documentary. The first commissioner of baseball was Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Yes, he was a racist, but he was a fine commissioner. To offset this name I thought an additional baseball middle name of an anti-racist like Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey would even things out and continue to display our passion for the game. Kennesaw Branch Poulter Glanzer would have been as original as they come. But, no…

Anything I came up with ending in -er – And for good reason. The child is already going to have Poulter Glanzer in his or her name. We don’t want three straight -er sounds. Baxter already has that distinction and look where it’s gotten him. Nowhere.

Minnesota – Lauren was trying to think of some locally-inspired possibilities, and I suggested straight-up Minnesota. There was a fictional pool hustler named Minnesota Fats, after all. And George Costanza once liked the name Soda for a child… his buds could call him Sota for short. I will say that right after South Dakota, Minnesota is one of the very best state names for a child. Texas, or Tex for short, would be good too.

As it is, we have some ideas for either a boy or a girl, but those are all still just ideas and we have nothing decided. It will probably be a surprise anyway. But I’ll continue to update the great ideas I come up with that are rejected–maybe someone reading this will use one of these names.