Who’ll Win the Baby Name Game?

My daughter is pregnant and wants to talk about baby names. I’m reluctant. My parents never advised me on what to name my kids or how to raise them. My wife and friends all say I should plunge into the name game.

I’m touchy about names. I have an artificial last name. My dad changed it from Soltzberg in 1941. He got Stratton out of a phone book in a waiting room before a job interview. He got hired. Anti-Semitism was the reason for the name change. When I finished college, I told my dad I was thinking of changing back to Soltzberg, and he went nuts: “You’re looking for trouble. Don’t do it!”