We take this infant in our arms to give him a name…
Posted by Isabel on November 6th, 2007. Filed under: Back in the Day, My Sweet Babboo, The King, They're just my friends, Vacations.The King moved to Berlin, Germany when he was almost twenty years old and then lived there for a couple of years. While living over there The King became friends with a German family. He grew especially close with the mom and always planned to return to Berlin to spend more time with her and her family.
After returning to Seattle life got in the way and The King lost contact with the König family. When he went back to Berlin to sell Levi’s he went to their apartment only to find that the family had moved. He thought he had lost them forever.
When The King and I sent out our wedding invitations, he tried (again) to find the König’s. And again, he couldn’t find them and thus they never received our weddings news. When The King and I went to Berlin the first time together he had pretty much given up hope of ever seeing Mrs. König or her kids ever again.
On our first Sunday there we decided to attend the same church The King had attended there so many years before. After the sermon a nice young man came up to us, and in perfect English, welcomed us to Germany. He then gestured for his wife to come over and meet us. His wife was young, like him, had blonde hair and a beautiful smile. As soon as she looked up she said; “Herr King, I knew that was you!!”
It was Josefa König, who The King hadn’t seen since she was a little girl and used to hang out at her house. Josefa was all grown up and a had become a very lovely woman. The King quickly asked her what had happened to her family. She said that right after The King moved back to the states her parents had gotten divorced and her mom and the kids had moved to a town outside of Berlin. Now that Josefa was married, she and her husband had moved back to the city and were living there in a little apartment.
Just reconnecting with Josefa would have been perfect, but it just got better and better. She told us that her and her husband, Andreas, were going to her mom’s house for a birthday celebration that night. They invited us to come along. The entire König family was going to be there.
I knew how much the König family meant to The King, so I knew what an important thing this was for him in his life. Seriously, being able to see the entire König family again was an answer to prayers.
Mrs. König was happy to see The King as were her other kids. One of the older König boys was also there with his lovely wife. He and The King started talking about the old days and pictures of all of them were found and passed around. We ate authentic German food and spent the evening with a German family. Most tourist aren’t that lucky. Plus, this family loved my husband and he loved them.
While most of the family knew a little English, it was still much easier for them to speak in German. At least The King would understand, even if I didn’t. I was drawn immediately to the older König boy. He was charismatic and funny, even if I couldn’t understand any of the conversation. He laughed through most of the night and talked wildly of time spent skateboarding with The King in their younger days.
(The King and I in our Berlin hotel room. Winter’s hotel, we love you and your $30 a night rooms. Again with my damn head-tilt!)
Later that night, in our Berlin hotel room, The King and I talked of our magical night and how we’d never lose contact with the König’s again. I told him how much I loved the oldest son’s name and how we might just have to name a son after him one day.
(In San Francisco with Andreas and Josefa.)
Over the next few years we got closer with Josefa and Andreas. E-mails and phone calls were shared, as well as a few more trips out to visit them in Berlin. We were also lucky enough to vacation with them in San Francisco.
(Andreas, Josefa and us out for dinner in Berlin.)
We headed over to Berlin again shortly after we found out I was pregnant with a baby boy. Of course while we were over there we spent more time with the König family. I was reminded that I wanted to name a son after the older König boy. And then I was also reminded that he had a very German name and that America probably wasn’t ready for such a name. The King suggested we wait and use the name for a future son. Maybe America would be a little more ready for the name in a few years.
I wasn’t willing to wait to use it. I loved the name and was anxious to use it as a reminder of The King’s time spent in Germany and of our love for the entire König family.
Minutes after Babboo was born and we shared his name with our families for the first time they seemed a little taken aback with Babboo’s first name. When they heard his German middle name my mom said “how do you pronounce that again?” I think The King’s dad may have even rolled his eyes. But I didn’t care. We loved the middle name and were happy we chose it.
Yesterday The King called Berlin to catch up with Andreas and Josefa. We were hoping they’d be willing to travel somewhere with us next summer. The King was calling to see what days they had available (they don’t, by the way, so we’ll be traveling without them). While talking to Josefa The King asked for an update on Babboo’s namesake, her older brother.
“Oh, it’s not good.”
“What do you mean?”
“He wasn’t working or going to school. He quit the church and joined another church. And then he left his wife and new baby boy. His ex-wife just moved away to Munich yesterday. We are very sad to see them go.”
The King didn’t know what to say. He was sad to hear that this person we respected enough to name our child after was having so many internal issues.
We hope that he gets things worked out and can find happiness soon, at least in time for our little Babboo to meet him next summer.
So tell me, any special story about the name of your child, or a name you want to use?
November 6th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
I would love to name a daughter either after my husbands mom’s mom and my fathers mom… which would be Evelyn Rose or the town which we got married in Meredith
November 6th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
I think using family names or the names of loved ones is so fantastic.
My sister’s middle name is Petrine after our great-grandma. My mom wanted to use it as her first name, but like you, she felt the world wasn’t ready (plus, I think she wanted to save her from a lifetime of latrine jokes).
If we have a boy his middle name will be Edward (it’s my dad’s and brother in-law’s middle name and my husband’s maternal grandpa’s name). Other names I’d like to use for boys if given a chance – Lawrence and Anthony.
Girls are a bit tougher. The names I’d like to use are just too old fashioned.
November 6th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I take it Babboo’s middle name is Fl*rian?
My daughter has two middle names. The second one was also the middle name of my grandmother who died before she was born and my husband’s favorite aunt’s middle name who was killed by a drunk driver.
My son is a Jr. Enough said.
Isabel: Yep, that’s his middle name. In all its German glory!
November 6th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
The woman who adopted my dad is named Thelma, but goes by Tommie. I’ve always wanted to have a little girl and name her Tommie.
November 6th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
I can’t wait to have kids to name them and do all of the fun stuff, and not so fun stuff. Names, though? Gosh there are so many I’d love to use, but it’ so far off and who knows where I’ll be or what my husband will think. I can tell you that Babboo’s name is totally on my list.
November 6th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Well, my brothers and I all have fad names that were hip in the 80s but Kristopher’s spelling was changed to be more in line with our German heritage and so he could have the same initials as my dad. After I was born, my mom heard the name Katherine Anne somewhere (in a book?) and fell in love with it, but it was too late to change my name, so she made me promise to give that name to my future daughter.
November 6th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
I named my little girl Ryan. I didn’t want anything too trendy. It was our boy name, but after finding out she was a girl, the name for a girl struck a chord in both my hubby and I. We love it and it fits her perfectly. Her middle name is Michelle, which is my middle name.
November 6th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Hola, Isabel. Long time lurker, first time commenter.
My daughter’s middle name is Blair, which is her dad’s family name. He had to give it up when his stepdad adopted him.
All my girls have names which work (in my opinion) when they are children and adults. I just can’t get my head around a grandma named Bambi. No offense to the Bambis out there.
November 6th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
My little boys name is Jack after my husbans step dad who he was very close to. Have you/will you share Babboo’s “real” first name?
November 6th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Both my husband and I have last names for first names (Janssen and Barton) and we plan to do the same for our kids. Bart’s step-dad (who we both absolutely adore) has the last name Tate and we’re planning on using it for our first son (with my dad’s first name for a middle name).
November 6th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Now I’m dying to know Babboo’s name! I love the idea of naming children after family or loved ones. I want my son’s middle name to be my step-grandfather’s last name. I never met my real grandpa because he passed away, but I loved the man my grandma remarried. He passed away when I was six, but most of my memories before age six involve him. And I also love his daughter, my aunt.
November 6th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Just leaves that much more curious as to what Babboo’s REAL name is!
November 6th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
I’ve always thought Babboo was such a sweet little nickname, but now I have to admit – I’m way too curious!!
My son’s middle name is Thomas, which is my step-brothers middle name. My SB died in a motorcycle accident many years ago.
Our daughters names have family connections, too – after Grandma’s & whatnot.
November 6th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
I want to name a daughter Julia after my mom, Julie, who was named after HER grandmother “Julia Eva” (which means ‘christmas eve’ in Swedish–Julia was born 12/24).
November 6th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I share a middle name with my mom and Great Grandgrandmother (although it was her first name)… it’s Aline… pronounced “Al-een”. I love it.
Neat story about your sweet Babboo’s name. I like it. (Of course, I’m half German, and therefore biased.)
November 6th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Well, I’ve officially “adopted” my German pet name for my virtual name, but most of the other names I like should really be reserved for pets, not people. I like Ellemosynary (ella-MOSS-a-nary: means “charitable”) and I like Taliesin (TALLY-essen: of Frank Lloyd Wright fame) and I like the name Harley Morgan… all for girls. Sigh, can’t justify them for an actual daughter though.
November 6th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
My oldest boy’s middle name, Willoughby, is a family name on his dads side.
And the baby’s middle name is my last name.
Their first names are just ones that I love.
I smiled reading Jana’s comment. Baby H, was going to be Ryan if he was a girl!
November 6th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
My son’s first name is what my parents had planned to name me had I been a boy. His middle name is the same as my father’s middle name, which was also his father’s first name.
November 6th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Lookit you, young Isabel! So beautiful and in lurve and in Germany!
Henry has two middle names, and all together, it is a combination of both paternal great Grandfather’s: Henry Raymond Dervin. Two wonderful men to be named for.
November 6th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I love your blog! This is my first comment.
My daughter’s name is Trinity, and it just came out of my husband’s mind somewhere!
Her middle name is Louise. Louise is the middle name of five generations of oldest daughters on my mom’s side of the family. I had a great-great grandfather named Louis and Louise I guess came from him. I was so excited to have a daughter and get to pass it on!
November 6th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
My brother and I were both named after godparents, and I’ve always loved having a namesake who was so special to me. So it’s always been important to me to name my future kids — whether with first or middle name — after someone special. Our son will share a middle name with his dad and his grandpa — a middle name I happen to have loved since long before I met Tim and realized it was a “family name” of his. We haven’t decided who we would name a daughter after yet. But we’ve got some time to figure it out.
November 6th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Our daughter is named Georgia because my husband and I met in Georgia. He was from New York and I was from Texas and were both sent to Georgia for work related training and met and fell in love. We also really liked the name Georgia but the sentimental attachment sealed the deal. I smile every time I tell people the story of her name.
November 6th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Really we just wanted names that weren’t too common and would hopefully not cause them to be made fun of later in life.
My husband is a junior and did not want our son to be a third. My father and grandfathers were Fred and Floyd. So yeah, we didn’t carry on a male family name.
Even though it seems like a popular name now, my oldest daughter’s middle name is a combination of her grandmothers’ names. Katherine and Linda = Katelin.
We knew we wanted a name that started with A for our youngest. Our last name begins with ‘S’ so we had to be careful with her middle name.
Not that my opinion really matters overmuch, but I think Babboo’s name is fabulous.
November 6th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Logan’s middle name is Clifford. It’s a name that’s been passed down from generation to generation. It’s Bill’s middle name as well as his dad’s middle name & his grandfathers first name.
I wasn’t a fan of it, but how can you say no to a tradition like that?
I’m also extra curious as to Babboo’s real name too!
November 7th, 2007 at 1:15 am
Both of my children have their first names just because I liked them:James, Christopher and Matthew.
The middle names are after family members (My brothers and Jon’s middle name) Rhett, Bradley and David.
If we ever have a girl? Her name will be Lily after my favorite musical theater song on the planet “Lily’s Eyes”
November 7th, 2007 at 1:36 am
My middle name is the same as my mother’s. My dad, my brother and my nephew all have the same middle name. My sister has the same first name as our grandmother who was killed by a drunk driver when our mother was a little girl.
If I can talk CP into it, our first son will have my paternal grandfather’s first name and CP’s middle name (which is a name I have always loved anyway). Haven’t decided about a girl yet.
November 7th, 2007 at 1:59 am
I am all about beautiful traditional names, but they can be bad too. My soon to be Mother In Law is named Jimmie Lou, which will NOT be a name of any future offspring of mine!
And, just for the record, there is nothing wrong with your head tilt. In all of your pictures you look so hopeful. In all of mine, I look downright evil, head tilt or no.
November 7th, 2007 at 2:49 am
I love Babboo’s middle name, absolutely love it!
My oldest son is a Jr. and Isaac was named after two people in our families. Isaac was the middle name of my mother’s only living relative (it was his middle name, and he died just a few months ago at the age of 98) and his middle name ‘Nelson’ was Keven’s mother’s twin brothers name who died when he was 18. I love names and where they come from.
November 7th, 2007 at 3:37 am
Sorry for Babboo’s namesake’s turmoil & the turmoil it’s causing for his families. Ugh. How awful. I hope everyone finds peace and happiness. Jojo’s middle name is my maternal grandfather’s name. He died when my mom was 20, and she loved him more than anyone in the world. I knew it would mean a ton to her.
November 7th, 2007 at 3:49 am
I think I am named after no one really. Booooring!
Andrew and I have a name picked out for a daughter. A slight variation of his sister’s name for a first name, and my sister’s name for a middle name. Now I just need a BABIEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
PS I remember when you were prego and we would email about names for Babboo! that was back in tha day!!!!
November 7th, 2007 at 4:27 am
I sort of doubt I will have any kids at this point, but I’ve always thought if I had a girl, I’d name her Alexia (which was my grandma’s name and is my middle name).
What I really got out of that post, though, was a burning curiosity about Babboo’s name!
November 7th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Not going to share the name stories as my children have very, very ‘different’, easily recognizable names. BUT!!! I wanted to say I smiled when reading this post because I dated a Konig (although Americanized version of the name) boy in high school. Nothing came of it – I ended up meeting and dating Coffeehusband around that time and the Konig boy was forgotten…. but I loved the memories you brought back.
November 7th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
My oldest daugher’s name seems to be becoming more common, but she was named after my husband’s grandmother (her maiden name). Her middle name is my middle name (after my grandmother who died when she was 8 weeks old). Most of the girls in our family have this same middle name (or first name) or some variation.
I always liked using a family name for first or middle name.
November 7th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
That’s a great story! Our baby is going to be named something kind of bland, but feminine, easy to say and spell, and something that will suit a wee baby and a successful surgeon/lawyer/ software engineer
I’m jealous of those who can use their parents’ family names for their kids’ first names – combining the maiden names of Brad’s and my moms would result in a baby named…no joke … “Harder Butts” or of course “Butts Harder”!!!
November 7th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Having heard some wacky Utah names….I think Babboo’s names are way stylish and original.
But Not all Utahns will agree with that though. I know this couple who named their son ELDIAS coz it sounded like LDS. I’m like “what? u serious?”
November 7th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Look at all your comments!
When I was pregnant, we thought we were going to do family names, one from each side. But we couldn’t agree on them. (Too many uncool German names on my side. We didn’t want an *ich.)
We ended up with a list of ~20 names and about 3 weeks before my due date, we started the coolest tradition ever. Each night at bedtime, we picked a different name, and called the baby that for the next 24 hours. By the end of the first week, we knew his name, and it wasn’t either of the two we thought were most likely.
BTW, this weekend, we watched the documentary “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” about how the MPAA does ratings. FACINATING! Very surprising. And of course, I thought of you.
November 7th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
My daugthers middle name is my mom’s maiden name – Hanna. This is a pretty normal name so there were no issues with this pick. But we did have a long long talk about how naming a child after someone has to mean you have NOTHING but good feelings for the person – and that is hard to come by. If we have another girl I’d like her middle name to be after my hubby’s Grandma – Fern. That one is a little more old school!
November 7th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
I picked Kaylie’s name because it was pretty but not common. Her middle name is Ann which is my mom’s middle name.
Alyssa Grace was picked because Chris and I thought it was pretty and feminine.
November 7th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
That is such a neat story!
Since I don’t have any kids of my own, but I do have two kitties, and the first one I named MiMi because she is a tuxedo cat, and kinda looks like a cow. My brother wanted me to name ehr MooMoo, but MiMi was much cuter. I got my 2nd cat just over a year ago, and she is also a tuxedo cat, and I named her CiCi. So now I have my two tux kitties named MiMi and CiCi
November 7th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Fl*rian is often used in French names here in Québec. But mostly our uncles are named Fl*rian
November 7th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
I love it when there is a story to a name. Babboo’s story is no exception. My son’s middle name is the same as his dad’s, his dad’s dad, and both of our grandfathers. The tradition is way cool, but the name not so much.
November 8th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Ashley Gail – my Mom and my MIL both have the middle name Gail.
Audrey Rose – as I realize this was some horror film in the 80s, that is not why we picked that name. Audrey was Ray’s Grandmother’s name, and my Grandmother’s name is Rosemarie.
November 10th, 2007 at 2:04 am
My eldest has the name that is my step-mom’s maiden name.
Yes, STEP mom.
If she had not led me to the Lord, I would not have attended church.
If I had not attended church, I would not have met and married the most amazing man on the planet.
We thought it only fitting to name our first born after her.