My third grandson is due to be born soon. Which means... the child needs a name.

My daughter and son-in-law have picked out a strong, solid, terrific real name. But this grandma needs a bloggy name by which to call the kid. (You didn't think Bubby and Mac were my other two grandsons' real names, did you?)

So I spent much of yesterday searching online for nicknames, inserting this word and that into Google translate, wondering if Ditto might be an appropriate moniker for the third son of my second daughter.

It's not. So I nixed Ditto. And Hoss (hey, that's a tough name for a kid who better be tough, considering the row he'll have to hoe on the heels of Bubby and Mac).

I also decided against Roo, which sounded cute for a little one. Roo was ousted mostly because the last time I thought a nickname was cute for a little one — when Mac was initially considered "Birdy" — that little one's mother (meaning Megan) thought I'd gone utterly bonkers and offered up Mac.

As I write this, I'm waiting for a reply from Megan as I just texted her the bloggy name I think I'll dub Grandson No. 3. I'm pretty sure she's at the doctor, though, getting a closer look at Grandson No. 3... or at least a closer idea of when the kiddo might make his grand appearance.

Which means she's not answered my "Is that okay with you?" text.

Which means I think it will just have to be okay with her. Or changed at a later date as we did with Mac-formerly-known-as-Birdy.

Once I moved beyond considering Ditto, Hoss and Roo, I contemplated Grandson No. 3's real name, the name chosen by Megan and Preston. It's a strong name, an Irish name, a name that's not real common.

(And it perfectly fits the parameters Megan set for choosing baby names, parameters that include how many syllables a name must have, what the ending must sound like and more, to complement the real names of the rest of her family. Tell me: Have your adult children done the same when naming your grandchildren?)

I digress...

So once I took the new baby's real name — a unique name — into account, I decided to go with a very not unique name, pretty much the most generic name I could think of (except John because that would be a dumb bloggy name for a baby). Just to be different. Different from the child's real name, at least.

Ultimately I decided that I will call him... my new grandson... here on Grandma's Briefs... not in real life... I will call him...

JAK

Yep, I'm doing that goofy thing all the cool kids are doing nowadays and altering the spelling of a common name just a tad (Jack with no C) to seem all cool and original.

I know, I know. It's really not all that cool or all that original, but I think it's fitting. And it's far more fair to the third and final kiddo in my middle daughter's family than Ditto would be. Or Hoss. Or Roo.

Besides, "Bubby, Mac and Jak" has an awesome ring to it, I think.

There! My work here is done, the new grandbaby has been named. Jak it is!

And all before Megan even had a chance to weigh in on it. (Cross your fingers she doesn't find Jak as horrid as she did Birdy.) I'll let you know if Jak's name changes.*

And I'll definitely let you know when Jak arrives.

It shan't be long, my friends. Feel free to chill the champagne and get out the noise makers for Baby Jak shall soon be here!

(Okay... full disclosure: Jak's not scheduled to arrive til mid to late June. This grandma's got a feeling it'll be sooner, though. Like I said, I'll keep ya posted.)

*Megan texted me back not long after I'd finished writing this post. Her response: "Fine with me!" Shew... No name change for Jak.

Today's question:

What degree of input did you have when it came to naming your grandchildren?