What's in a name?

When we run into our friends/neighbors/family and introduce them to the baby, they right away ask his name. We answer-Sam- to which most usually ask, "Just Sam?" and then we clarify, "No, Samuel. Samuel Atticus Earl." Then they comment or question the two middle names and we have to explain. I guess I never realized two middle names was such a rarity. True, none of our other kids have two names, but there is a reason Sam has two names. So...I will explain. It is really quite simple.

Sam is a name we have liked since we had Karl. After we had Karl we knew if we had another boy we would name him Sam.

Atticus is a name Mike has always loved because of Atticus Finch, the father in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel, and the character Atticus are favorites of Mike. Atticus Finch is an amazing character - moral, just, upstanding, brave, honest, and just impressive in basically every way. If you haven't read the novel - you should. Oftentimes Mike tried to convince me to go with Atticus as a first name - but I just couldn't do it...so I used my one power of veto and nixed those plans.

We planned the entire pregnancy to name the baby Samuel Atticus. We both loved the name and were quite excited about finally having our baby Sam. Well...about a week before Sam arrived, Mike shared with me that it bothered him that baby Sam wouldn't have a family name. All our other kids have family names:

Karl David is after Mike's Grandpa Karl - his dad's dad. Grandpa Karl passed away when Mike was younger but Mike always really liked his Grandpa and remembered great things about him. Also, he knew how much his own dad cared for his father and wanted to honor both men who are very important to him. Dave is Mike's dad and Mike really looks up to his father for who he is as a person and what he means to him as a father.

Abigail Kathryn is named Kathryn after four generations of awesome women on my mom's side all sharing that name.

Aine Michelle is named after my mom Michelle. My mom rocks and is a strong female, plus, though we couldn't have planned this, both Aine and my mom are redheads with attitude-it was simply meant to be. Aine has a very cool story as well but that is another day...

So, that left baby Sam, our only child without a family name. Family names are quite important to us so it didn't seem right to not give one to Sam. At the same time, neither of us were willing to give up our name Samuel Atticus - it just fit. So...to continue to make a short story long...we decided, after the idea from Mike's buddy/co-worker Corey, to have two middle names. This is where Earl comes in.

Earl is Mike's grandfather on his mom's side. He was a great person, loving father of five children and many many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was also a decorated veteran and just a person Mike has always admired.

So, there you have it. Two middle names...not that uncommon of a thing - I thought...