The Name Game

I've decided to start a little "meme." I've seen this one before and thought it sounded fun, so here we go! If I tag you at the end, you are to post your answer to this question on your blog, then tag others to do the same. See, doesn't that sound fun?

What did you name your kids and why?

I'll start:

Audrey Mae: I've always loved the name Audrey and chose it years before I actually had a baby. Stephanie and I used to be big dorks and we watched AMC, the old movie channel, for fun when we were young. I suppose it was then that I fell in love with Audrey Hepburn and her beautiful name. It evokes such a vision of elegance and grace, qualities any girl would love to be associated with, that I thought it would be a name my daughter would like. It wasn't too difficult to convince Neal that it would make a good name for our baby girl. He just wanted to be sure that she "wasn't named after a movie star." Her middle name, Mae, was derived from Neal's grandmother May Ella Jackson, and her mother, Ella May Riddlesperger. Plus, Audrey Mae just sounded like a perfect name for a little red-haired girl from the South.

Parker James: Parker wasn't too difficult a decision either. Parker is my maiden name and we thought it made for a cool, modern, masculine-sounding boy's name. James is taken from both sides of our family. Neal's grandmother's name was Genevieve James and James Rowland Parker is my great-great grandfather's name. He lived in Missouri, served in the Civil War, and moved his family across the country to California in the mid-19th century. We reversed his name, James Parker, to get Parker James.

Miles Jefferson: Miles was our other boy option when I was pregnant with Parker. We've always liked it. It's classic, easy to spell, and not too common--just our kind of name. In my family history research, I've discovered a great-great uncle named William Myles Parker. Miles' middle name, Jefferson, is an old name in Neal's family. Jefferson DeCal H. is Neal's great-grandfather's name. In subsequent generations, it was shortened to Jeffie, but we decided to reinstate the formal Jefferson. And, if you recall, you all helped us choose that name for Miles. Thanks for your input. We love it!

If we have another baby (heaven only knows when we'll decide about that one), it will probably be either Elliott or Charlotte.

Okay, I'm tagging Stephanie, Grammy, Charlotte, and Natalie. You girls don't forget to tag someone else! You don't have to tag 4 people, I just wanted to get it going. I love to talk baby names. :) You can tag someone without kids, too, of course. If you're willing to share your list, we want to know what you WILL name your babies. Have fun!