We debated. We looked through all of the books. We attempted to follow tradition. We searched for names that didn't stir up memories of crazy childhood acquaintances, rogue children in the community, or just sounded weird. Naming a child is hard. Luckily now, we know ... with 85 percent accuracy that we're having a boy. I always remember the song by Johnny Cash ... "A Boy Named Sue" ... and think eerily about mistakes when naming. Peppers is a hard name to blend with. You can't add more p's, like Cooper, for fear of a lispy child spitting on everyone. You also can't start a first name with p's, like Peter, for fear of sounding too much like a nursery rhyme. The name Red is completely out as is Sergeant, Peppar, and heaven-forbid Waldo (remember the similarly named restaurant).
We decided that William Arthur Peppers, Jr., would just perpetuate the identity of this brilliant bloggist, while leading to massive confusion in later days for the Social Security Administration, Credit Bureaus, IRS, and hopefully never to be re-established, Draft Boards. We could have easily continued the Prather family tradition, sans Pierson (bless his heart ... we love him), and use the starting initial of J, but none of the names we came up with touched us completely and felt satisfying. Josiah, Jefferson, Jon, Jodin (we mentioned it), Jamerson, Jasper, Jebidiah, Jeremiah, and Jonas just didn't seem appropriate yet. Believe me, the biggest debate came over Julie's thoughts of the name Jeff Davis, which I argued would kill my political chances before we've even started. They are all great names, but naming a child means digging deeper. Although, I don't think one could dig deeper than our nephew Jackson's attempt to persuade friendly ballot voting by inscribing each with his humorous choice to immortalize Julie's current state through the name Preggo. :)
In the end, we did decide. Julie and I talked about it in bed before drifting to sleep. Our idea was sealed through email the next day. TURNER BENNETT. We decided that we could do something for this child that would make him strong, give him roots, and remind us of our own.
The name Turner comes from Julie's maternal grandmother, Jonnie. It was her maiden name. She is strong. She is caring. This name will be a reminder of will-power, dedication, and the power to overcome any obstacle to succeed. We love Jonnie (Mom ... as we call her). 
The name Bennett comes from my maternal grandmother, Lois. It was also her maiden name. She is faithful. She is resourceful. This name will be a reminder of trusting God, keeping busy, and the ability to crack a joke while crocheting. We love Lois (Nanny Bearden ... as we call her).We love these women so much. We love this baby so much. Where there is love, there is family and that's just what Turner Bennett Peppers will make us.
Wonderful, thoughtful post!
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