He Who Has Just Been Named...

Any HP fans out there catching that reference in the title? If not, I promise it's OK-- I totally was not a fan until I promised Kyle I'd read the books and loved them! Shout out to my cousin, Anna, who got our little guy his first piece of HP merchandise-- this precious onesie-- and inspired this post title :)

With my sweet baby boy's due date fast approaching, I realized that I had yet to blog about the name that we've chosen for him. And, to be honest, the post title is a tad bit misleading since technically he hasn't "just" been named--we've been calling him by name for a while now!

Even though it's a little late, I know I'll be glad I wrote this post-- And, I hope he'll enjoy reading this one day, especially since his sweet daddy is making a guest appearance on it, too!

We are thrilled to share that the first and middle name we have chosen for our son is...

There seem to be a lot of different thoughts on the internet about what the name "Oliver" means. Some sites mention something about Elf Army (bizarre!), but I'd like to stick with the thinking that name Oliver is associated with the olive tree (a symbol of peace) or with the Norse word for affectionate.

Here's the story on how we chose...

So, names. Kyle and I have been talking about names for our future babies since college, if not before. Sometime after we got married I started a note on my phone with baby names-- ones we both liked, ones I heard and wanted to ask him about, etc., and we'd have fun looking at the list and checking in with each other to see if we were still on the same page. I think we were both in agreement about wanting to use middle names to honor family but didn't feel as strongly about having to have a first name that was necessarily tied to family. Since we both have pretty traditional names, I think we definitely liked the idea of something a little less common.

Now, here is where Kyle and I disagree!

My Version:

I feel like the first time the name Oliver was put on the table was about four years ago. I was in my 3rd year of teaching and remember sharing with Kyle about how one of my students, Milo, came from a family of kids who all had really awesome names-- Delia, Milo, Eloise, and Oliver-- and that I especially really liked the name Oliver. And, I don't remember much more about the conversation other than that at some point (whether it was that day or sometime soon after) we were in agreement that we really liked the name Oliver. Kyle is really into music, and he loved that there was a song by Fleet Foxes called "Oliver James," and I loved that it was a name I hadn't heard a lot at the time and thought it had a nice ring with our last name. Bonus points for the fact that I had never taught an Oliver because you know being a teacher means a lot of names get nixed pretty quickly ;). And, so, Oliver was added to the top of the list. I wish I remembered the exact moment when we said, 100% yes, this is it. I do remember telling my girl cousins at Thanksgiving 2012 that Oliver was our top boy name, and I know we haven't wavered since! Choosing his middle name was a little easier. We did debate a few possibilities, but we knew our daughter would have my middle name (Elizabeth) since that has been passed down from my grandmother to my mother and then to me. So, we felt like it would be special to pass down Kyle's middle name, Robert, to our son. Oliver Robert. Happy sigh. How I love the name that we have chosen. 

Now, I'll turn it over to the hubs...

Kyle's Version (The correct version):

Oliver has been on the top of this list for years. By the way, there is actually a list on Laura's phone that we would periodically add and subtract names to. Oliver has been the number one boys name since 2011 or 2012. However, the story goes a little differently than Laura claims. First off, it was my suggestion. I had always liked the name Oliver and suggested it a few times before we were married (we married in 2010). Laura had axed my first choice name, Callahan, and I was forced to come up with other options. Oliver never really made it onto the list until after Laura's story. Once the above mentioned story took place Laura fell in love with the name and we really went with it. I am not saying it was my first choice all the while and Laura had nothing to do with it. I just know that I had mentioned it, among many other names, before Laura had this student that had a brother named Oliver. I, too, really like the ring of his name. I have never thought my last name was the easiest last name to match a first name with, but Oliver really sounds good with it, at least I think it does. The middle name part of this story was told with 100% accuracy. However, it should be noted that because of the Fleet Foxes song we toyed with James as a middle name. But, (and this is a BIG but) I didn't want our son to potentially be nicknamed OJ. Not a future I want for our kid. 

Clearly, my hubs wanted to take advantage of his brief appearance here on the blog, what with his sass and sarcasm (oh, and his conviction that he is correct!).

Regardless of when we first heard the name Oliver, the important thing, is that we found a name that we both LOVE, and that we are days away from holding this precious life who will own this name!

Oliver Robert, you are the most precious gift and have completely taken over our hearts. We cannot  wait to meet you, to snuggle you, and to love on you. You are our biggest blessing and our greatest adventure.