How Everett Became Everett

I love hearing how babies are named. I’m always fascinated with the process people go through to name a child. It’s kind of a big deal.

It’s the label they’ll carry for the rest of their life.

It’s the coming together of two parents to try and agree on what they like or don’t like in a name.

For some people, it’s the deep meaning and significance of what the name means.

And most of the time, it’s not something that comes easily. It’s a bit of a process, and I find that so interesting.

Everett was a bit of a process. He wasn’t going to be an Everett. The name Ben first chose from my list of possibilities was actually Zane. I loved it, because it means “Gift from God”. I thought it would be fairly awesome to be calling “Gift of God!!!” every time I was calling him to come in from playing outside.

We also knew we were going to use Alexander, because we needed something long and hefty with a short name like Zane, plus it means “Leader of the People”, which sounds strong and awesome, and makes me think of his dad, who tends to be a natural leader in whatever situation he finds himself in.:)

But we needed one more name, because Ben likes his babies to have three names, like he does.

When I came across Everett, Ben liked it right away, and I thought we were done. Zane Everett Alexander. Everett means “Brave and Strong”, and is a really old, classic name, but one that I had never heard before.

About a week later, Ben said, “I think I really like the name Everett. I think it should be the first name.” And I said, “Nope. He’s already a Zane in my mind. I can’t change it. He is just Zane.”

And Ben said, “Zane is a surfer name. What if he wants to be a lawyer or a doctor? I think Everett is a good name that will wear well, and stand the test of time.”

So I tried. I really, really tried to rename him in my head, but he was just Zane. And Ben just liked Everett best. It took a couple of months, but one night, I woke up at 3 am, and couldn’t go back to sleep. And suddenly I realized at 3 am that our baby was an Everett. He had finally become Everett in my mind. It just took awhile!;)

Then, a week before he was born, Ben said one night, “I think I’d like it if our son had my name.” And so once again, I had to rename him in my mind, and get rid of Surfer Zane completely. He’s still a gift from God, even if his name doesn’t state that!

He’s a brave, strong leader of the people, and his father’s favorite son. (Good thing he’s our only son, otherwise that meaning could get a little tricky!)

As I look back on that whole process, I feel thankful that I didn’t figure this out on my own! Ben was right, of course. Everett will wear well. And now that he’s here, he just is Everett.:)