Internet, I’d Like To Introduce You to Athena Marie Morrison

Hello World!

Oak Creek, Nov 22, 2008

Thanks to the well over 10,000 people who voted in our baby name poll, we’ve chosen the perfect name for our new baby – Athena Marie Morrison.

Those of you who have been following this story might be a bit surprised at the name choice, since Olivia was leading the poll for girls’ names.  But the very, very few readers who managed to make their way through my boring (but educational) statistics posts will remember that Ann and I controlled for popularity, hoping to pick a name that was loved by our voters but still reasonably unique and interesting.

We took three names that our voters liked better than could be explained by general popularity in 2007 – Cassia, Ada, and Athena – and waited to see which name would fit her best.

Since our baby was born with her eyes open, perceptive and looking very thoughtful, we thought it was appropriate to name her for the goddess of wisdom.

Thanks again to all the family, friends, Googlers, and random internet strangers who voted.

If you’d like to keep following Athena’s first days on the planet, you can follow me on Twitter.

For photos (a few now, and hundreds more as soon as we get home), feel free to friend me on Flickr.

If you’d like to read more about web design, usability, and doing crazy social experiments with the internet, please subscribe to my blog feed or subscribe via email.

Oak Creek, Nov 22, 2008

7 thoughts on “Internet, I’d Like To Introduce You to Athena Marie Morrison

  1. Ooooooh she is so beautiful!!! And I think her name fits her beautifully, a very powerful name too so she will have some interesting times ahead of her methinks!! :) Hope the birth etc went well!

  2. She looks gorgeous! I wish you, your wife and your daughter health and happiness. I’m from Greece, so I find your choice of name pretty neat. Cheers from Athens.

  3. She is beautiful! I was afraid she would end up stuck with Olivia, thank goodness that didn’t happen! Athena is a beautiful, strong name with meaning and history, but still original, great choice!
    I wish you all much happiness and all the best in your lives.

  4. Oh, she’s so cute! And I like the name. It fits her beautifully. Great choice!
    All the best for your little family!

  5. Completely adorable baby, and quite a nice name. And the world doesn’t really need another Olivia; kudos for not picking it. She won’t be one of many Athenas in her class, that’s for sure. Congratulations!

  6. She is beautiful! So alert and curious! And that’s a lovely name. May she bring you much joy; may she have a long and happy life with no more than the usual amount of sorrow.

  7. This is too funny. My husband and I are expecting our first child – a girl – this October. We’ve made the decision to name her Athena Marie Laufgraben. I started googling to read about other parents who had chosen the name Athena, and found that you chose the same middle name as well! We loved that it’s beautiful sounding and easy to pronounce, yet not too common. We also love that it conveys strength, wisdom, and confidence.

    We both have great taste! ;-)

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