Not Sure About Your Baby’s Name? Blurt it Out at a Coffee Shop

The Associated Press report about a New Haven, Conn., couple that was torn between two names for their unborn son to the point that they left the decision up to patrons at a local Starbucks has been making the rounds. It begs the question, “What kind of people would let strangers at Starbucks name their child?”

Stock Photo. This is NOT Logan Jackson Dixon

The answer is Jennifer Jackson and Mark Dixon, who couldn’t decide between Logan and Jackson, so they put up a ballot box next to the condiment counter. Voting ended yesterday, and a majority of the approximately 1,800 votes went to Logan. Clearly not strong decision-makers, the couple ultimately gave life to both names, going with Logan Jackson Dixon.

Criticize if you will, but Jackson and Dixon may have exercised responsible parenting through careful decision-making, according to at least one parenting expert. In a story for Parents magazine last year, Jennifer Moss, the founder of BabyNames.com and author of the The One-In-A-Million Baby Name Book, suggested that coffee shops make excellent sounding when trying out potential names for your progeny.

“When deciding on a name, you want to see it from the child’s point of view and how she or he will have to live with it throughout their lives,” she told Parents. “Try the name out at your local coffee shop. How do you feel giving that as your name? What kind of reaction do you get and how does it make you feel?”