Names...

So I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it was a cute idea. It's all about names and where they came from, what they mean, if they are taken from a family name or just made up, etc. So....we'll start with James.



James was named after his ancestors. There are quite a few James' in his family but the one that I'm going to tell you about lived in England in the 1800's. He married a woman named Eleanor and they quickly made plans to join the Saints in America. They crossed the Atlantic and settled in Nauvoo in 1842. While living in Nauvoo, they were personally acquainted and good friends with the Prophet Joseph Smith. Pretty neat, huh?!

James' middle name, Glen, is after his Grandfathers. Both of his Grandfather's are named Glen. It was probably an obvious choice.



My name, Cami, I didn't REALIZE was a family name until my dad just clarified it in the comments. I knew I had an Aunt Camille (and a few other Camille's in my family), but I guess I never put two and two together. My Aunt Camille is my great Aunt. She was my Grandma's sister, and actually just passed away recently. My middle name, Jo, came from my mom, Shellie Jo. I've always loved my middle name and swore I would give my first daughter the same name too.



Carson James was a hard one for us. We could NOT agree on a boy's first name. All James could come up with was BRONCO!! How awful! All I picture is a fat, red-headed kid with freckles and a mullet! I ruled that one out immediately. We knew we would keep the name James in the family, but liked it better for a middle name. When I was pregnant with Carson, I worked at a Holiday Inn, and my manager had a little 3 year old boy named Carson. He was darling, and it wasn't the first time I had heard the name, but it was the first time I noticed I really liked it.



McKenzie Jo was a little easier. We knew it had to be something that worked well with "Jo" for the middle name and we had it narrowed down between Kennedy, and McKenzie. James and I especially liked the idea of calling her "Kenzie" as a nick-name, which we do. I had worked with some sweet Special Ed students while I attended Snow College, and I helped a cute little girl named McKenzie. She was darling, and eventhough I had always loved that name, I came to love it even more after that! Isn't it funny how people can make or break a name for ya? Sweet little McKenzie (that I worked with) LOVED to eat! She probably weighed no more than 40 pounds, but she would get so excited for lunch-time, everyday. Whenever I or her teacher asked her how her lunch was, she would stutter and say in a really high-pitched voice, "It was de-de-de-de-de-de-de-LICIOUS! Anyway, it actually all came down to James. He really wanted McKenzie over Kennedy, and I told him if he dropped the idea of "Bronco" (which he still bugged me about for a future son) I would let him choose. I think I got the better end of that deal.



Madison Joy was also pretty easy. You may be wondering why we didn't go with Kennedy this time, but for some reason, it just didn't fit. I really loved the name Madison, and thought a cute nick-name would be Maddie. For a middle name, we really wanted a family name again, but I was kind of stuck. I thought "Maddie May" was darling, but there is absolutely no "May" in our family so I didn't know what to do. Then, it hit me. I wanted to name a daughter after one of my closest Aunt's, "Aunt Joy". So....Madison Joy it was. Aunt Joy passed away when Madison was only about 6 months old, but I have some darling pictures of them together that I treasure. I think Aunt Joy watches over Maddie with a special love.



Next???? Not that we have anything planned for anytime soon, but we think we have a boy name picked out. We don't have any girls' though, so we'll probably end up having another girl next time! We like "Stockton Jay" for a boy. Stockton is just cute, and we have lots of family with the name Jay. My Grandpa Jay, (mom's dad), my brother Kyle's middle name is Jay, and my Aunt Joy's twin brother, (my Uncle) is also named Jay. It's a given. But if we do have a child AFTER Stockton Jay, I would feel like I needed to find a "J" middle name for them! We have James, Jo, Joy, and Jay! Not planned, but kind of funny!



Anyway, pretty random post, but nice to write it all out. For posterity's sake, ya know?