What's in a name?

So one of my very dearest friends from my graduate school days is about to have a baby girl.  This, of course, brought about the inevitable question:  "Do you have any names picked out that you like?"  Naming a child is probably one of the single most important decisions someone can make, and shouldn't be entered into lightly.  Case in point:  I went to high school with a girl named Sunshine...yes, that was her first name.  It's a bright and sunny name.  it conjurs images of a blonde haired, blue-eyed, dainty cheerleader-type, no?  Precisely the problem, amigos.  Sunshine was a 300 pound goth chick who looked like she was, quite possibly, the most unhappy individual on the planet.  No amount of therapy can undo the wrong her parents inflicted upon her with that one impetuous, not-so-well-thought-out decision...

Back to my friend, though...

She's having a baby girl, and she wanted a name with a beautiful meaning and of muslim origin preferably.  I scoured the baby name websites in order to help her.  (The best part was that 2 out of the top 3 sites were blocked by my company under the category "Shopping/Baby".  Uh, I'm not trying to purchase a muslim baby girl...I'm trying to name one, fools...BUT, I digress...)  I found some good contenders, but they didn't really resonate with my pal.  She listed out a few of her favorites as well.  This entire conversation is happening over IM, mind you.  The beauty of that little fact was that I couldn't hear her saying the names...I could only use my powers of sounding them out.  As someone who's first name is not spelled phoenetically, I feel that I must act as the guardian angel of any child who might be subject to being named something the american kids can't pronounce.  If my name were spelled Arthi, think of all the time I could have been doing something more productive...like curing cancer or figuring out how to achieve world peace.  The world will never know...

I have a friend who had a baby boy that was unsure of what to name him.  She made a game out of it at her baby shower, aptly called: "Name My Baby".  She ended up naming him something other than what won the game (I believe Fletcher won...at least I'd like to think so.)  The point is, that the name she picked totally fits the kid.  Maybe you need to meet the person you're naming before you name them. Maybe the name you choose changes the person they eventually become.  I know that I'd probably have fewer rage blackouts if people weren't calling me Arty, Ardy, or Arthur. 

Just a thought....