Name change decision complete!

It's a common practice: when people get married, the woman will change her name (unless you're like this couple and flip the script). Allicia is looking forward to doing this even though I told her she didn't have to do so. I guess the name Faber really carries awesome power and responsibility.

But why should the woman get all the fun? Why can't I make a change? While I don't plan on changing anything about my first and last name (I paid $40 for dustinfaber.com, not going to throw that money down the drain), I have never really liked my middle name, Allen. So why not take this opportunity to change it up a little?

My bride-to-be and I were going through some names, and I picked out a few I liked, and eventually chose my winner. However, I thought I'd share some of my choices. They had to sound good, have a nice flow, and make for a good second name to go by.

1. Ashley - dustin Ashley Faber has a nice flow to it. Ashley could also be shortened to Ash, which would have made a cool name to go by instead of dustin.

2. Archie - I've always loved Archie and the gang. And going around telling people to call me Archie would have been really fun. It's a unique name as well, something uncommon.

3. Mohammed - I'm not a Muslim, but Mohammed is the coolest name in the world. Actually, Arabic people have the greatest names in the world. Omar, Youssef, Ali. I'm very jealous of those names. And for you nutjobs who are thinking of sending me a nasty comment proclaiming that Islam is a religion of terrorism and violence, I say this: If you make that conclusion after seeing the actions of a few idiots, what is to stop someone from saying Christianity is a religion of hatred after seeing Westboro Baptist Church?

4. Neil - Not to spoil the surprise, but I'm going with Neil. It was actually down to Neil and Mohammed as my final two picks that I spent a few weeks wrestling with. I'm choosing Neil because it is my grandfather's name, and he's the man who has been with me from day one, never letting me down and always providing great wisdom to live by.

Long after he's gone, I think I can look at my middle name and remember what a wonderful soul he was. And to pass that loving kindness on to future generations, well, that will be a wonderful way to honor him