What's in a name?

I have seen several posts about the story behind kids names so I thought I would give it a go.

Matthew Bryon:
a.k.a. Matthew Mina, Mina BaDina

There are a few reasons why this name came to be. First of all, my father-in-law's name is Mack B. His father was Mack B. His father was Mack B. My mother-in-law decided with my husband to name him Mack Bryon. He would still be the fourth Mack but there wouldn't be the "Big Mack/Little Mack" thing. When I found out Matthew was a boy, I asked Bryon if we could say goodbye to the "Mack" tradition. Bryon signs all his documents "M. Bryon" so I thought we could have a son with the same initials, just a different first name.

I have loved the name Matthew for years. John Denver had a song called "Matthew" that I loved. I also loved the character Matthew in Anne of Green Gables. I loved his strong, quiet, sweet, gentle demeaner. Wouldn't it be great to have a son just like that? Hmmmmmm.....got the sweet and strong thing right. Quiet and gentle? Oh well, 2/4 ain't bad!
Thomas Michael
a.k.a. T-Bone, Tom Tom, Tom Boy, Hos

Boy did we struggle with this one! For a week, he was Robert. For a while we considered James. Thomas kept jumping out at me. It took Bryon a while to be convinced. I like that he was an apostle like Matthew. Two syllables sounded nice when said with Matthew. It also seemed like a strong name. Everyone is familiar with it, knows how to spell it, but it isn't used a lot here. Michael is my father's and brother's name. Had to get that in there somewhere! I have fallen even more in love with the name now that I know Thomas. I can't explain it, but his name really suits him.

Mary Elizabeth
a.k.a. Mary Beth, ME, ME Lou, Little ME Lou Who, Mary Bear, Mary BooBoo

A combination of my name and my mother's middle name. My grandmother was Mildred Elizabeth. Her mother was Sarah Elizabeth. Her mother was Elizabeth Ann (my name). I knew if I ever had a girl, I had to get Elizabeth in there somehow. Not only is my mom's middle name, Mary, but there are tons of Marys in my ancestry. You can't be Irish without a few Marys in the family! I knew a beautiful little girl named Mary Beth when I was growing up and I remember telling my friends when I was an 8th grader that I would like to have a little girl named Mary Beth one day. As strange as it sounds, my Mary Beth looks an incredible amount like the Mary Beth that I knew as a little girl!

So there you have it. The stories behind my little ones' names. I hope they enjoy the names given to them like I do mine!