What's in a name?

I have been thinking about the boys' names this weekend as I work on the letters for their room and fill out paperwork for their upcoming baptism and I realized that I never really explained the origin of the boys' names. They are not exactly the most common names and we have a lot of people who absolutely love them and then we always get some funny looks from other people. It's funny because with Sofia I had boys names picked out until I found out we were expecting a girl and with the twins I had two girls' names picked out until we found out they were both boys.

Let's start with Everett. During most of the pregnancy he was referred to as "Baby A". For a long time we thought he was going to be named Henry. During the last trimester of the pregnancy I started to waver on Henry for several reasons. Tim and I went back to the drawing board and I told Tim about a name I have always loved, Everett. Everett is an English variation of a German name which is perfect for us. My family is German and Irish and Tim's family is German, Irish and very English. The name means brave as a wild boar and boy oh boy does that suit Everett well. Tim was a little cautious because it is such a unique name but we decided on it a few weeks before the boys were born. Everett's middle name, James, is the first name of Tim's Dad. Once Everett was born I thought his name suited him perfectly. And now that I know him and his personality I can't even imagine ever calling him Henry.

Sullivan's name was a name Tim and I always knew we would use if we ever had a boy. This is kind of similar to Sofia's name. This may sound strange but when Tim and I were traveling around Europe together after my semester abroad in Spain we had a lot of time to talk with all of the plane and train rides. We wrote down a list of boys and girls names that we liked. The name Sofia was at the top of our list back in 2005 and we still love it today. Sofia's middle name, Lorraine, is Tim's mother's name and grandmother's name. We wanted to continue the tradition. We were a little cautious to use it with her because it has become somewhat popular but we finally decided to do what we love and not worry about other people. Now, back to Sullivan. Sullivan is Tim's mother's maiden name and a great Irish surname. Jeffrey is my father's name. Both boys have their grandfathers' names as middle names. We mainly call Sullivan Sully and his name also fits him perfectly. He is just a jolly little guy. I call him my jolly Irish man. He has such a happy, laid back personality and he always has a little twinkle in his eyes.

Here are both boys with their namesakes reversed, Sully is with Granddad Jim and Everett is with Grandpa Jeff.