What's in a Name
Jason. A soccer player my dad coached at Springfield College in the seventies.
Harris. Ode to my great grandfather Harry Greenberg.
Rachel. Biblically apportioned.
Alana. Shout-out to Alana Stewart, first wife of Rod Stewart, who was previously married to George Hamilton.
Andrea. Alliterative memorial to Great Great Uncle Abe Litsky.
Robyn. Keeping similarly connected by one letter to Great Aunt Ruth.
Candice. In honor of actress and model Candice Bergen.
Diana. The Princess of Wales.
While there are many strategies for coming up with the name of another human, we were quick yet prudent reaching a conclusion. After scouring some web sites for proven strategies, we each curated a list of names we liked. One night, we penciled 20 names on paper.
Sharing with each other, we crossed off those that were immediately out and marked stars beside those we liked. Rachel re-wrote the remaining combined list and posted it on the fridge.
Over the subsequent days we whittled the list in half and after much reflection took it with us to Tennessee after Christmas. Rachel, impatiently, wanted to determine a name the day after learning the gender. Agreeably, I promised that we wouldn't leave Tennessee without a name.
Sitting down in Memphis on December 28 at South of Beale, it took but five minutes to reach our conclusion. It was the name -- or permutations, as it were -- that we liked most from the very beginning. If we had picked a name that first night of sharing, it probably would have been the same name. But as I printed the letters on the back of the receipt, and our boy had a name.
Greyson. The greatest honor of my life was serving as medman captain of the grey team during Camp Manitou's annual Color War. Being "grey" for several years, including serving as captain in 1993 and learning to keep an even keel in 1994 helped form my identity as a boy and a man.
Ernest. A reflection of our shared affinity for Rachel's maternal grandfather, Ernest Presseau, one of the nicest, kindest, funniest, most endearing people to have walked the earth. He is adored by his family and sure to be beloved by his great-grandson.
Harris. Ode to my great grandfather Harry Greenberg.
Rachel. Biblically apportioned.
Alana. Shout-out to Alana Stewart, first wife of Rod Stewart, who was previously married to George Hamilton.
Andrea. Alliterative memorial to Great Great Uncle Abe Litsky.
Robyn. Keeping similarly connected by one letter to Great Aunt Ruth.
Candice. In honor of actress and model Candice Bergen.
Diana. The Princess of Wales.
While there are many strategies for coming up with the name of another human, we were quick yet prudent reaching a conclusion. After scouring some web sites for proven strategies, we each curated a list of names we liked. One night, we penciled 20 names on paper.
Sharing with each other, we crossed off those that were immediately out and marked stars beside those we liked. Rachel re-wrote the remaining combined list and posted it on the fridge.
Sitting down in Memphis on December 28 at South of Beale, it took but five minutes to reach our conclusion. It was the name -- or permutations, as it were -- that we liked most from the very beginning. If we had picked a name that first night of sharing, it probably would have been the same name. But as I printed the letters on the back of the receipt, and our boy had a name.
G R E Y S O N
Greyson. The greatest honor of my life was serving as medman captain of the grey team during Camp Manitou's annual Color War. Being "grey" for several years, including serving as captain in 1993 and learning to keep an even keel in 1994 helped form my identity as a boy and a man.
Ernest. A reflection of our shared affinity for Rachel's maternal grandfather, Ernest Presseau, one of the nicest, kindest, funniest, most endearing people to have walked the earth. He is adored by his family and sure to be beloved by his great-grandson.
Sixth in a series about the birth of #lilmill
Comments