Names Explained

We have gotten a lot of compliments on the boys' names (thank-you!) and questions about the meanings, why two middles names, etc, so I decided to shed some light on why and how we decided to name the boys what they are named.

Asher - Means blessed. Obviously! Could it be more fitting?! I have liked Ash for a long time. It came and went off the list many times and eventually we decided on Asher because giving him Ash as his "real" name didn't seem official enough for me. That being said, now that he is Asher, he is Asher to stay. I'm sure Ash will happen one day, but not right now. Additionally, since Asher was baby A, it seemed too perfect not to.

Timothy - Jordan's Grandad. Back since Rio, Timothy has been our first choice for a boy's middle name to honour Grandad. Because in utero I decided that Asher was "Jordan's baby" and Nolan was "Tracey's baby" (based on their movements - Asher was active and Nolan was lazy!), it made sense that little Jordan was named after Jordan's side.

Cohen - Cohen is the baby we lost. We debated giving Cohen as a middle name, and finally decided against it when we decided to go the great grandfather route. However, when I went into labour and found out Dr. Cohen was the OB who would deliver (and ended up delivering incredibly safely for all three of us) I took it as a sign our guardian angel was with us for their birth. Asher, being first born, got the honour.

Nolan - Means Noble. Nolan was the last name added to our list of boys names, not long before they were born. We decided on Asher first and then decided that Nolan sounded and looked good with Rio and Asher, so by process of elimination, it won out.

Giovanni - My dad's dad, my nono, naming both boys after their respective paternal and maternal great grandfathers. It also honours their italian heritage.

Luke - Early on, Lukas was a name we were considering. We ran the names by Rio and she immediately started calling the boys Tukie and Lukie. Baby A was always Tukie, and Baby B was always Lukie, and she never ever confused them. We had discussed how it would be nice to give the boys middle names based on Tukie and Lukie, but gave up quickly realizing Tukie had no hope of a similar "real" name. When the decision was made to name Asher for Cohen, it became a no brainer to name Nolan for Rio, and therefore out of Lukie, Luke was born.

Well now that I'm on a roll, I may as well give some explanation to Rio, since there have been a few misconceptions about her name too...

Rio - no, she was not conceived in South America (hello - do the math! She was born 1.5 years after our honeymoon!) and no, she is not named after Rio de Janeiro (we didn't even go to Brazil!). Just a name we liked. Initially suggested by Jordan as a boy's name, which I shot down quickly then reconsidered for a girl. I will admit, although having no ties to South America, we did appreciate that it is a beautiful spanish name meaning River.

Elisabeth - My mom was Ann Elizabeth; my dad's mom (wife of the above mentioned Giovanni) was Elisabetta. Elizabeth + Elisabetta = Elisabeth. Very fitting, I see Rio Elisabeth's Grandma Betty in her every day.

There you have it. Now you know. Assuming you actually cared of course ;)