What's in a name?

A lot, if you are a parent deciding what to call your child.

It was this time last year — how fast the months have gone — that my wife, Cindy, and I narrowed our list of boy names. We wanted something that was not too common, yet not too unique, either.

Our list was down two names when a wild card emerged. The Philadelphia Phillies drafted a player named Jesse Biddle. I read the story about this southpaw pitcher and emailed Cindy. "What about Jesse?" I asked.

I am big into meaning with names, something I inherited from my mother. Eric, for example, means kingly, so I wanted a name with a strong meaning for our son. Jesse is Hebrew in origin and is defined at "God exists" or "God's gift." Cindy and I really liked the latter meaning, because as older parents, we certainly believe our son is a gift.

But the passing grade on the name came with the "song test." Cindy and I both knew cool songs with Jesse in the lyrics.

First was Carly Simmon's "Jesse" — one of my wife's top ditties, which debuted in 1980 and peaked at No. 11 on the music charts. Cindy still sings the tune to our son.

Then there's my favorite, Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl," which rose to No.1 in 1980. Even though the spelling is more common for a girl's name, I grew up playing that song loud on —!\qget this — a boombox. Remember those?

I recall as a youngster, my cousin Doreen, who now lives in Lititz, had a Rick Springfield poster on her bedroom door, and I thought he was a cool guy. (Note: Mr. Springfield recently was arrested for a DUI, which is not cool. But when I was younger, he was the guy from "General Hospital" who starred as Apollo's brother in the pilot episode of the original "Battlestar Galactica.")

We liked that Jesse was a strong, traditional name that was not too common, and if two hit songs used this moniker, it must be a winner. So our musical background factored into our son's name.

No offense to Greg, Ken, Robert, Fred, Mark, Jason or even Eric, but how many Top 20 songs bear your name?

No noon news: Because of NBC's Wimbledon tennis coverage, there will be no noon news on WGAL-TV 8 the week of June 27.

New channel: Comcast Cable is adding the Smithsonian Channel in late June on standard cable on channel 124 and in high-definition on 915 for Lancaster and Elizabethtown customers.

New exhibit: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland has opened a new exhibit of items from the Beatles as part of the first redesign in the facility's 15-year history, according to The Associated Press.

The items are funded in part by the Rock Hall's $35 million capital campaign. It includes technology upgrades and changes aimed at presenting the history of rock 'n' roll more chronologically. Visitors can learn more through interactive kiosks and listening stations, new exhibits and oversize images of inductees including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

The exhibit features nearly 70 items, including several that are being displayed for the first time, such as Paul McCartney's handwritten arrangement for the song "Birthday." Visitors also can see guitars played by John Lennon and George Harrison, the logo drum head from the kit that Ringo Starr used on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in February 1964 and notable clothing worn by each group member on tour or on film.

Staff writer Eric Stark discusses trends and tidbits in broadcast media each week in the Sunday News. Write to him at estark@lnpnews.com.