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I was thinking along those same lines. I don't have nearly enough faith in my fellow humans to be able to think the best of how they in general would react to a Down syndrome kid being named Abel, especially since my own first reaction to the post was to wince and think Oh my god, what a rotten thing to do to a kid whose deck is already stacked against him, and the kind of people who would think it's a good idea are the type who call people with disabilities "inspirational" or use the term "handi-capable."

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The whole thing reminds me of a short fiction story I read years ago. A black couple had a third child, a little girl with albinism. I mean, her skin, hair and eyes were totally Caucasian in coloring, but her facial features and hair texture were like everyone else in the family. The mother was having a hard time accepting her daughter's condition, and even though they'd already picked out her name, the mother was hesitating about it now, because she was having such a hard time bonding with the baby. She asked her husband if he thought they should name her Ebony, and he reacted kind of like I do with Abel. He didn't mind the name itself but thought it was adding more baggage to the load the child was going to have to carry.

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Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you criticize him, you're a mile away and you have his shoes!
Steve Martin