Naming rights

So David won a dumb bet and has long gloated over the right to name the first boy, Leonard. I would elaborate on the specifics, but it makes me look really stupid so I'll spare the details. Anyway, I have never been fond of the name and have long tried to find ways to de-legitimize the agreement. David himself is named Leonard which many people do not know. David’s parents wanted to keep the family name alive, but Claudia, his mother was not fond of the name either so they named him Leonard David and called him David. It seems we have followed in this pattern. Just a couple of weeks before the baby was born we were both playing around with other names but nothing stuck. In the end, I came to the conclusion that I would rather name my son after people I know and admire rather than finding a cool and interesting name that I like the sound of. I guess I am traditional. David is VERY traditional. So for us it does make more sense this way.

David and I are both blessed to have wonderful fathers. I think we can safely say that both our fathers are amazing people -- not only to us but to a multitude of people. So it wasn’t that hard in the end to settle on naming him Leonard Jonathan and calling him Jon or whatever names happen to develop over the years (Anyone who knows the Kruse family knows that there will be many). We chose his saint name (baptismal name) to be Jonathan rather than John because of the wonderful relationship between King David and Jonathan. So in this way, our son’s name has a connection to the three most important men in his life.

I made a plaque for his name (Claudia designed it). The bottom script says:

You have been given the name Leonard after your grandfather, Leonard Lawrence Kruse because of his faithfulness to the Lord, never-ending patience and his kind and helpful nature.

You have been given the name Jonathan after your grandfather, John Patrick Howe because of his hardworking character, unceasing ability to listen ad his generous and self-sacrificial nature.