So Kelly's middle name is Lake, which has led to a lot of comments and questions.Some of them are of the "That's beautiful! Where does it come from?" variety. Others are delivered in the "where the HELL did you come up with THAT name?" tone.
I don't really care how people react. I think it's a beautiful name. But for those who have been curious, here are some of our reasons.
Lake, first off, is not that odd a name. Consider River Phoenix, or the actress Lake Bell. (Her twin's name is Luke, which ... Luke and Lake? Not so cool.)
It's a beautiful word. Easy to spell, easy to say, and something about it just bespeaks what it is -- you can almost hear the water lapping the shore in the word itself. (Or is that just me?) It goes well with Kelly, and it gives her the same middle initial I have (L is for Lee, in my case.)
There's definitely a Minnesota connection. I doubt we would have given her that middle name had we lived in Minnesota now -- there it would have seemed too obvious, I guess, being the Land of 10,000 Lakes and all. But here, where lakes are not that common, the name does not give everyone the same associations.
Mary McCarthy's famed "The Group" has a character called Lakey. It's a nickname, for Elinor Eastlake, but when I read it used as a name, I really liked it.
And one pop-culture association that Rob loves to fool people into believing is our only reason: Remember "Bad News Bears," the original, with Walter Matthau? Jackie Earle Haley played the cool kid, who batted and fielded like a pro, rode a moped, and dated Tatum O'Neal. His name? Kelly Leak. OK, so it's not quite Kelly Lake, but really, who would want "leak" anywhere near your name?
We seriously considered Kelly Grace (Grace is Rob's mom's name, plus a beautiful, if popular, name in its own right), but I couldn't bear to think of her going through her life being asked about Grace Kelly all the time. (Half the people I tell this to don't make the connection, but the other half nod knowingly.)
Shockingly, we did NOT name her after this.
8 comments:
Can I just say how impressed I am that you still find time for blogging? When I brought my little one home this January, it took me forever to get back into the blogging mode.
And I think Kelly Lake is a beautiful name. She's a doll! It's so hard to remember my little one so... well, little! My Emma is now 9 months old and crawling -- time flies!
Take care.
I was going to email this b/c it's so long, but I couldn't find a link. I'm a Kelly, with a very Irish middle name to match (Corcorran, a family name that earns me a set of pearls once my aunt is done with them...obviously I hope I don't get them anytime soon.) I HATED my middle name as a kid, and as such, I am an authority on what names should be paired with Kelly.
I think Kelly Lake is beautiful, for all the reasons you mentioned. I had a huge crush on Kelly Leak, and I just moved to Michigan after years of wanting to live here year round. Grace is pretty, but very common now, while Lake is original without being weird or sounding made up. Also, I highly commend you for spelling each name right- She will be asked "with a Y or IE" her whole life, but the Y is the only way to go in my opinion. Of course, you know how the spelling your name thing goes, and I am biased. My last name has to be spelled to everyone too, so I have always wanted to marry a Smith or Jones or something.
I think Kelly Girl is really sweet too, but I have always been Kel-Kel to my dad, which is special partly just because no one else calls me that. All of my cards from him are to Kel-Kel, and he puts it on Christmas present tags and doesn't bother to put anything in the from: section, because I already know who it's from. Also, and your Kelly may find this too, I can tell who my true friends are by who I let call me Kel. Of course, I don't correct people who call me Kel without a relationship with me to warrant it, but it drives me crazy when someone I don't especially like or care about calls me Kel. It's too intimate or something- but when someone I care for calls me Kel, it kind of hits me in the heart, and they have a place there forever. But maybe I'm just weird. Probably.
On another note, I am Kelly because my mom's mom was Katie, and she died 9 months before I was born (one soul out, one soul in) and my mom wanted to honor her, but felt it was too soon for the family to have another Katie. She thought Kelly was a close compromise, and I am glad- it fits me well. She was so sure that I was a girl in the womb that their backup if I had been a boy was "junior". My little bro goes by his middle name, Max, short for Maxwell, and I think our names are a good pair. Just in case you need a boy's name in the future.
Sorry, I had no idea my name meant so much to me. I hope it means as much to your little Kelly.
I drive by that place every day. Sudbury has a Kelly Lake, as well as a Kelly Lake Road. I instantly thought of it when I heard the name.
Kelly Lake is a beautiful name!
Sam's middle name is Elliott, and we never anticipated that people would ask us if we named him after the actor Sam Elliott...as if...
Hmmm...my middle name is Grace, and I don't remember ever being asked about Grace Kelly!
But Lake is a beautiful name. You made the right choice!
Delurking to say I love the middle name. Mine is Field. One of my good high school friend's is Hill. Kelly can totally join our club.
Its a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl. I love nature names. Our daughter's middle name is Lily and I wish we could have agreed on a similar middle name for our boy.
I like it! People will always find something to say about what you name your kid. I know someone with the last name of Powell who named thier sun Lake. That was a little corny, I though. But Kelly Lake is SOOOOO sweet, especially cool when she is in high school.
Post a Comment