What's in a name

We ran it down to the wire when it came to picking a name. Having been caught off guard by the early breaking of Lisa's waters, we went into labor with a list of candidates but nothing near a decision.

Kelton Finn Bailey. Where'd that come from?

We knew we wanted something a little different, a little creative, yet not in a way that would get the poor kid beat up on the schoolyard. We always thought we'd pick a Spanish name, since we like the sound of the language and there are many California place names that might've served as inspiration. But at the end of the day they just don't go with "Bailey".

So, since Bailey's a British Isles name (seems to have Gaelic, English and French origins, meaning a bailiff or other kind of government clerk) and we always liked Celtic stuff, we looked there. Kelton is both Scottish and Irish, it's not clear which came first, and may have meant "woodland" before meaning "town of Celts". Finn means "fair" and meanwhile conjures up Mark Twain's endearing character Huckleberry Finn.

Kelton has a short, strong sound to it, "a name that makes you expect a firm handshake". Meanwhile Finn is a bit more playful and impish and maybe he (or we) will use it as a nickname. We're happy with the combination, and are pretty sure it won't prove too common!

But that doesn't mean there isn't already a website out there for Kelton's history as a family name including a page of people's stories of having Kelton for a first name!