We Like the Letter "R"

Rocco & Ruby

Kind of sounds like our kids should have a series of books named after them... or a television show... or a clothing line.

Believe it or not, we never had the intention of sticking with the "R" theme. It just sort of happened that way.

While scouring the baby name books with Rocco peacefully growing inside me, I initially wanted something very traditional: Robert, Michael, George, Henry, Thomas, Cameron. Nothing seemed to just... click. None of those names were... THE ONE. (For those of you who have never named another person, it's sort of a really big deal. It's a lot of pressure to pick the perfect name!) Plus, whatever we chose had to go with the middle name of Todd. It is a family tradition on Todd's Shaffer-side that the first-born son receives his father's name as his middle name. It was important to Todd, and therefore myself, to continue the tradition.

Then, I came across the name Rocco. And loved it immediately. For Todd, it had to grow on him awhile. But, he eventually decided that he loved it, too. It was a way to represent a side of my family, as well, with the apparent nod to Italian heritage. Plus, we loved that it was such a strong name-- and prayed for a tough little guy and not a wimpy boy to live up to such a masculine name. The more research we did, we found the Rocco is also a saint. This particular saint is the saint of the sick, known to cure diseases. We were met with some very positive responses when unveiling our choice of name... and some not very positive responses. Regardless of whether we were met with a "That's a great name!" or "What kind of a name is that?" (wrinkled nose, disgusted face) we knew that Rocco would be a name not easily forgotten by the fans or the critics.

So what about Ruby? Where did that come from?

My great-grandmother's name was Ruby. I don't remember her very much, nor did I have a lot of time to spend with her. She died when I was very young-- maybe 4 or 5? But from what everyone tells me, she was gracious, sweet, the most amazing baker, giving, and a great mother/grandmother. What I remember was her immaculate roses in her garden, her ornately decorated home, and stunning jewelry collection. I have seen very few photos of her-- a lot of photos were burned in a fire-- but what sticks out about the photos is that although Ruby might not have been the most conventionally beautiful woman, she was beautiful in her own way. She was part Native American, which gave her a somewhat exotic look. She had dark hair that she wore in braids which were pinned to the top of her head. And, maybe this is exaggerating, but it seemed as if her lips were naturally, well, ruby-hued.

I have always been in love with the name Ruby. I wasn't the kind of girl who dreamed of my fairy-tale wedding, but, as a little girl, I always knew that if I ever had a daughter she would be Ruby. My Ruby's middle name is also very sentimental. She will be named after my Grandma Fawn and myself (my middle name is Fawn.)

We don't know what the future holds. We might have another child after Ruby. We might not. Until then, keep a running list for us of good "R" names for us just in case! Maybe "R" is our lucky letter. What I do know is that we are lucky to have our Rocco and Ruby.