Kim and Lynne Rilleau of Provincetown, MA, welcomed a baby boy in January of 1985.
But they didn’t know what to name him.
After five months of indecision, the Rilleaus turned to the local weekly newspaper, The Advocate, for help and agreed to take part in a “name this baby contest.”
Kim (dad) and Lynne (mom) received dozens of suggestions — Brillo, Gore, Lynke, Jericho, Rambo, Rupert, Ziggy, and more — over the next few weeks. “It sort of got to be a town joke,” said Kim.
Halfway through the contest, they nearly settled on Remy…until they “decided [they] didn’t like the alliteration.”
Finally, in July, they made a decision: Guy (pronounced ghee, “as in geese”). It had been suggested by a group of tourists Kim had met while waiting tables.
The Rilleaus were so happy they’d finally found a name that they “hired a plane to skywrite the news over Provincetown as residents cheered.”
Source: Wetlaufer, Suzanne. “Whole Town Joins In Effort To Name That Baby.” AP News 30 Jul. 1985.