The Birth of a Name

The birth of a name is sometimes complex, and sometimes serendipitous.  

Here is the story behind Jakob's name:

Anders was named after Anna's dad, Bjorn.  We chose Bjorn for Anders middle name.  Because Anna's dad is Swedish we felt this very Swedish first and middle name was perfect for him.

Jakob is named after my father, Leonard.  My father is Polish, and we wanted both of the babies first and middle names to be Polish too.   We searched and searched for a first name that we liked, but pretty much came up with nothing, unless Lech or Stanislaus sounds good to you.   

Then serendipitously at Anna's doctor's appointment mid pregnancy, the nurse who worked with her just happened to be from Poland.  Anna asked her about good Polish boy's names, and she laughed out loud.  She said many were not translatable here in the USA. (we had sort of already figured that out!) Then she told us her favorite boys name, which was Jakub, Kuba for short.  Of course, that became the immediate nickname for the baby...baby Kuba.  Anders has been calling him Kuba for months.

So the name Jakub rose to the top of the name list.  Still, we continued to search bringing a list with us to the hospital.  Felix, Soren, and Tobias (none of which are Polish) were on the list, as were Marek, which is a second Polish name.  

In the end, after meeting the baby, we decided Jakob Leonard was the perfect name for this little fella.  And there you have it, the birth of a name.  

Oh, and you can call him Kuba if you want to....or even sweeter than that, how about sugar KUB.