What's in a name

I've often been asked how we chose Liam's name. I first started liking the name Liam in the mid 1990s. There was an Irish band called Hothouse Flowers that I was into at the time. The lead singer's name is Liam O'Maonlai and at the time, I thought he and Chad looked a lot alike. (He wore his hair long, and straight, and red, as did Chad. In more recent photos it looks short and curly and brown - so the similarity has pretty much ended.) I started to envision a little boy named Liam who looked just like Chad. (As it turns out, I wasn't all that far off!)

{In case you can't make it out - the caption on this sign is Harrison Hall, 1889.}

Chad and I had our First Official Baby Name Discussion in 1996. I remember the date because we had just watched either Rob Roy or Before and After, both starring Liam Neeson and both released that year. At the end of the movie I turned to Chad and said, you know, I really like the name Liam. And to my surprise he said, me too. And in all the years from that one to this, we have never found anything we liked better.
I like that Liam is a popular enough name that everyone has heard it before and knows how to spell it, but it's uncommon enough that there won't be three of them in his class at school. We didn't choose it for ethnic reasons, but my dad's ancestors are Irish so at least it's an appropriate ethnicity. I think it suits a redhead and sounds good with Cook.
Now that Liam is named Liam (and Harrison, and Cook), I notice these names wherever we go. I worry when they seem too common and think it's kind of cool when I notice them in unique ways. These three street signs are all found in my little hometown. See what I mean about noticing things now??