Because sign post and billboard were already taken...

I've been getting a lot of questions regarding the actual name of the baby.

And, no. Thor isn't it.

(I know you are disappointed.)

Let's just say that naming the kiddo has been a topic of major debate in our household. Not because Trevor and I couldn't agree, but because nothing (and I repeat: NOTHING) goes well with Trevor's last name.

In addition to being a mouthful, Trevor's last name is also not spelled the way it sounds. So, no matter WHAT we chose, the name - in combination with the surname - is already predestined to be a long and somewhat complicated one.

As a result, we both thought that whatever name we picked should either be short or easily shorted AND simple to spell and pronounce.

Making this whole process a little more challenging, we decided that using family names was very important to us. I am, of course, a history nerd, and Trevor has always wished that his name had a connection to something other than a baby book. The only problem with this is that you are limited to...well, family names. And not all family names are worth passing down. Namely, Orville, Elmer and Villard.

(Sorry, Dad!)

And then there were family names that were *almost* worth considering, like Henry and George. Except when they were combined with Trevor's surname all I could think of was a fat kid with bad acne that was beaten up with his own tuba after band practice in high school.

And, let's face it, George G-Wink is just a BAD name.

Plus, I wanted something unique. Henry is very trendy right now.

But I digress...

The kiddo will actually go by his middle name (just like his mama). It was my great, great grandfather's middle name as well, and - ironically - the very first name in the baby name book I saw when I opened it back over the summer (before I even knew if I was having a boy or a girl).  Looking back, it was almost as if our kiddo chose his name for us (as strange as that sounds).  I mean, what are the chances that I'd open to THAT page, glance at THAT column and see THAT particular name first?  Especially in a book that was literally HUNDREDS of pages long, with THOUSANDS of naming possibilities?  Whatever it was (fate? coincidence? divine intervention?), once I read the name in the book, it just seemed to fit.  Trevor agreed, and we never looked back. 

Anyway, we aren't going to call him by the entire name (although the whole name will appear on the birth certificate), but a shortened version of it which used to be very common among men with the same name centuries ago. The name today (in either the shortened or longer version), however, is relatively rare.

The first name was harder for us to decide on. We threw lots of names back and forth, but kept coming back to one in particular. It is more widely used than the kiddo's middle name, and goes surprisingly well with the last name (which is very important since the name will be called out on the first day of school and will appear on most legal documents throughout his life). It also happens to be Moo's father's name, which is our special way of honoring her and her memory. Especially since it is very much in the realm of possibility that the kid could come on the third anniversary of her passing. That would actually be rather serendipitous if it didn't mean that I would have to be pregnant for another two and a half weeks.

The best part about these two names together for me is that way, way, way back when I first started at my job at the museum 7+ years ago, RR found a letter from my great, great grandfather (where we are getting the middle name) to my great grandfather (first name). At the time of the correspondence, neither man had any idea that their two families would ever be connected - much less that one day 80 some odd years later a baby boy would be born that would bear both their names. In fact, the families weren't connected until my parents wed in the 1970s - twenty or thirty some odd years after both namesakes had passed away.

I think that is sort of special.

Of course, no matter how much thought and effort we have put into naming our first born, there still have to be haters out there. Which I find fascinating because how would they feel if the situation was reversed and I told them outright that I thought what they were naming their kiddo was a bad idea? And the implication that I am intentionally naming my kiddo something that will get him beaten up in high school is ridiculous. The name is shortish (if you go with what we are going to call him), easy to spell, unique, has history behind it and passes both the Banana and the Google Test. What else can you ask for?

I guess I am both cursed and blessed to be surrounded by people who do not hesitate to tell me EXACTLY what they think of something.

In any event, the name is decided, and both Trevor and I love it (which, in the end, is all that really matters). And since I am 5'10 and Trev is nearly 6'4, any future high school bullies should probably beware!

It is shaping up to be a banner year!!