Naming Two Daughters Was Brutal Ordeal.

TwinsScrubsLast week Jennifer and I announced on Facebook that the twins have arrived! While the girls aren’t home yet, we’re blessed to report that they’re healthy and progressing splendidly at a fine NICU facility in-town.

While my sweet wife obviously did ALL of the heavy lifting these past spring and summer months, the bed rest part had me doing a few extra chores. With a lot of help from friends and family, we made it to the finish line. That said, one of the most difficult facets about having same-sex twins is naming them. Here’s how “Ivey McGuire” & “Lenora Franklin” shook down.

First of all, we love our four-year-old girl’s name, Finley Sparks Jones. “Finley” is from my side of the family from the Upstate, and “Sparks” is Jennifer’s maiden name. Fast forward to today, and Jennifer was in favor of one of the twins having the name “Lenora,” for her grandmother. Well, knowing “Nora” was all set made the decision even more difficult.

To complicate matters, I wanted to keep the “Franklin” thing going. I’m named for my uncle who passed away at the age of seven, and there are about 10 “Franklins” in a row up the line. Seeing as how I’m not going to have a boy, and none of my other family members had a “Franklin,” Jennifer was generous to keep it going. Stay with me…

Now that we had “Franklin” set, we needed to decide if we wanted a double name like “Mary Franklin” or “Sally Franklin.” Given my preference for convenience, we opted against it. I just couldn’t imagine saying, “Mary Franklin” a billion times, and “MF!” wouldn’t do. At literally the last few hours before we were forced to decide, entered “Ivey.”

The night before the decision deadline, their names were Ivey Franklin Jones and Lenora McGuire Jones (McGuire is Jennifer’s great grandmother). Well, after some deliberation and comparing names on a computer screen the next morning (with friends at work, too), we decided that “Lenora McGuire” was too “grandmother-heavy,” and switched. Welcome, Lenora Franklin and Ivey McGuire. There ya go!

WHEW! I’m so glad that’s over, as I’m not sure I’ve ever been asked a question more than “what are their names??” Truth be told, it was my fault for waiting till the last minute. In the end, however, I think we got it right and hope Finley, Nora, and Ivey love their names, respectively.

Sorry for all the personal posts lately!

Thank you!

Franklin

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