How did we come up with his name you ask? Here are ALL of the details surrounding what this name means to us, how it was decided on and when we picked it!
It all started back in the fall of 2013. I was a few weeks pregnant with Heidi, but we didn't know the gender quite yet. We were laying in bed and something came on the TV regarding events surrounding the September 11th terrorist attacks. It was a story I had never heard of about a man who had died in the attacks while rescuing many people. The man's name was Welles Crowther. There was something about that name... I immediately added it to our "boy" name list and told Ryan that would be a consideration if we ended up having a boy. We soon found out that Heidi was a girl, but that name remained something that I always thought about. I always knew we would have a son at some point, but when that time would come was still an uncertainty.
Very rarely are you moved enough by a name (especially the name of someone who isn't a family member and also a person whom you have never met) to name another human after that person. But there was something so special about this name and the story behind it. It's not really anything I can explain other than it was just something that I knew in my heart.
My "boy name" list has always been very short. For some reason, boy names come way easier to me than girl names so the list is short and decisive. (I think my "girl name" list is about 50 names long - just a bunch of names that I have heard here and there and think are semi-cute. It's very random.) So when we found out that this baby is going to be a boy, Ryan and I discussed the list (which consists of about 3 of 4 names, if that). Obviously, a name should be something that Ryan and I both love and agree on, so I of course asked him if he had any other names he wanted to add, or any names already on the list that he wanted to veto and what his opinions were on the existing list of names. For those that don't know my husband personally... he is a super over-thinker/planner/ducks-in-a-row kind of guy. "Naming another person is a strange concept/a big deal!" he always says... So he really didn't give me ANYTHING to work with and I had no idea where he was at with all of this. I am ready to commit to a name the second we know the gender (I think it helps me to bond with the baby growing inside of me, and helps me put a "name to the face" in a way). So by the time Christmas had rolled around around I started to get a little impatient. I didn't want to nag him to death, but every time I asked him he gave me nothing!! I finally told him that I was going to give him a deadline if he waited much longer to give me his thoughts. He said he would tell me what he was thinking "sometime" by the end of the year. I could live with that.
On Christmas morning, Ryan had one more present left for me to open... I opened up the small flat package to find this book:
Obviously, knowing what it meant I immediately started sobbing. I can't really even describe all of the different emotions that I was feeling at that moment (and still feel now) knowing the strength behind this name we have chosen for this baby boy. In the days following Christmas, I felt totally smitten and my heart so full every time I thought about the name we had finally decided on. A few days later we picked his middle name - Allan - Ryan's father's name (and also Ryan's middle name). (Also, we have decided to take the "E" out of the original spelling of the name, just to make things a little easier. After growing up with an impossible maiden name, I am very much into names that you don't have to explain to people how to say it or spell it!)
After we told Ryan's family, we took some silly pictures so that I could text my mom and sister about our decision. This kind of started off as a joke with the chicken, but I now I kind of like it... and it always makes me laugh because it's so goofy!
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| (Yes this is STILL one of the baby chicks from Easter 2013 for those of you who are wondering!) |
Below is the ESPN special on the story of Welles Crowther. I would really like to encourage you to watch it. This man and his legacy spoke so deeply to us - even if you don't care that our baby's name has anything to do with this - this story deserves to be shared and passed on.
The Man in the Red Bandanna ~ Welles Crowther | Edward Burns ESPN HD from Bluefoot on Vimeo.
We couldn't be more thrilled to share this special news with you and the meaning behind it. I know the weight that this name carries and I can only hope that our son can come even a little bit close to displaying the strength, courage and love that this name represents. My heart is so full knowing that Welles Crowther's story will continue to live on forever - and that my baby can be a part of sharing it as long as he lives.
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