Guest Post - Heather's Hubby - What's in a Name

Since Wayne's parents arrive today in time for baby E's imminent birth and Wayne has already taken to calling him by his first name around the house, he's devoted a post on his blog to explaining out his rationale... which I have now promptly (and with permission) stolen to share with you:


One of the deals between Heather and I is that if she ever got pregnant I would get 'naming' rights on the child (with her having a veto).  Liam was Heather's idea.  Though it came as a result of wanting William (a family name) but already having a 2nd cousin with the name and not wanting to duplicate.  So we did the next best thing and use the shortened version of the name.  The middle names were also easy with Liam.  His first middle name 'Kenneth' is Heather's grandfather.  His second middle name is after a good friend of mind Stephen L. J. Smith.

This little guy has been a little tougher.  I really have to family no obligations to fulfill and Heather won't let me put his naming rights on E-Bay.  So like the researcher I am, I came up with a set of rules for choosing a first name:

  1. It has to be short.  I do not like long names.  So four letters or less;
  2. His name has to be two syllables.  How else can be chant his name in the future? 
  3. It has to be recognizable but not necessarily common; 
  4. The name can not be easily 'rhyme-able' and;
  5. The name has to have someone of historical significance somehow.
As for middle names, one will come from Heather's side and the other will come from my influences.  My middle name criteria are;
  1. It can not come from within my family;  
  2. It has to be a person I consider critical to my development in this world; and
  3. It has to be a name that the child could use as a first name if they wanted to (i.e. Stephen Smith with Liam).
So for those of you who care about this subject, here are you clues;
  1. His first name starts with 'E' and follows the first name rules. Think 'Norse' for the historical figure;
  2. His first middle name is one of Heather's family members (a close one);
  3. His second middle name was/is a strong influence in my life.  It is not their first name (as the person is a woman);
  4. I am pleased to announce his last name is Smith.
Good luck with your guessing.