What’s in a Name?

It dawned on me last night, as I listened to a friend talk about how they chose their baby’s name on a podcast, that I hadn’t shared how we came up with Brady John’s name.  I even looked back at my earlier blog posts to make sure.  There’s a brief mention of why we chose John, but otherwise, nothing.  Like most stories, there are two sides.  In this case, I’ll share mine and my husband’s.

Her side:

I don’t remember the day that I threw out the name Brady, but I do know that I had tossed out a couple of other names prior with not a lot of excitement from Jeff.  I’ve always liked the name Brady, back from junior high summers where I watched Days of Our Lives every. single. day.  I haven’t watched in a long time, but the name stuck with me throughout the years.  Recalling the name, and realizing that I really, really loved the name now, I selectively withheld that I had gotten it from a soap opera.  I didn’t want Jeff’s opinion of the name to be tarnished by that little fact.

His side:

Brady was the first name that Becca mentioned that I didn’t hate.  She admits that she thought I liked the name because I’m a Tom Brady fan.  Though I am a Tom Brady fan, that didn’t have anything to do with the choice.  If I was going to name my son after a professional athlete, he would be named Jordan or Puckett.

Brady was actually the only name that we both liked, boy or girl, so I breathed a sigh of relief when the ultrasound confirmed that our little man was, well, a little man.

The middle name was a much easier decision.  Jeff’s side of the family is well-represented for names with our niece and nephew, so it seemed natural for us to lean towards my side for middle name inspiration.  My dad’s name is John, and he ended up with two daughters, so there was no opportunity to name one of us kids after himself.

Later in my pregnancy, we had told people that we were thinking we’d name our son Brady, and the next question always was whether we had also decided on a middle name.  Jeff and I chose to keep the middle name a secret, as we wanted to surprise my dad with it once Brady was born.  I remember being over at my parents’ house and my dad suggesting that John would be a really good middle name.  I tried so hard to keep a neutral face and act like that wasn’t a thought that had ever crossed Jeff’s or my mind.  We had already decided on Brady’s middle name at that point, and I have an awful poker face, so there’s a good chance that my dad might have had some idea that was the direction we were leaning.

Fast forward to January 15th, emergency c-section time.  My antepartum nurse had been swapped for a labor & delivery nurse.  I can’t recall her name no matter how hard I try, but I do remember that she asked us if we had a name picked out.  I’m sure when you’re delivering a baby so prematurely, many times the parents don’t have a name decided upon.  Jeff shared that we decided on the name Brady John, and added that it sounded a little hick-ish.  The nurse questioned this, and Jeff repeated “Brady John” with a hillbilly accent.  We shared that it was perfect considering our names are Becca Jean and Jeff Merle… a little hick-ish runs in the family.  She thought this was really funny.

I continue to be obsessed with how perfect Brady John’s name is.  I’m guessing almost all parents think they picked the perfect name for their baby, and I feel no different.  Most of the time, we refer to him by his first and middle name, and I totally love that, along with any time that someone else says his name.  Since Brady isn’t living, there are not as many opportunities for us to actually hear others say his name, so it’s truly special when we do get to hear it.