Names names names...

It was so easy with your sister's name.


Your mother and I had her name picked out before we even knew she existed. Mom and I were watching Firefly on my computer and I turned to her and said, "Do you think River is too pretentious of a name?" And wham! So it goes, we had her name from the very beginning.


You, son of mine, now you were a different story.


There are a LOT of good names out there for girls, lots and lots. Not to mention you can get away with naming a girl something unique, the standards for girl's names are...different. But a boy's name is important in a different way. At times, it has to serve him as a shield against the world. If that shield is too soft, it will yield too much, if it is too hard, it will shatter. It's all about balance and symbolism. Your name had to be water. No not literally Water Tejeda, but it has to have the spirit of water. I will let the great Bruce Lee say it:


"Empty your mind...Be formless, shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle, you put water into a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash, be water my friend."


 That is what your name has to embody, a name that will shape itself effortlessly around the man you will become. Here is a little history behind your name, and some facts to give you perspective on our choice.

Origin of the name Callum:

Borrowed from the Scottish, Calum, it is a Gaelic form of the Latin Columba, meaning dove.




Global Popularity:

• #7 in Scotland
• #15 in Wales
• #17 in Northern Ireland
• #22 in England
• #22 in Ireland
• #80 in Australia (New South Wales)
• #86 in Australia (Victoria)
• #156 in Canada (British Columbia)
• #170 in Canada (Alberta)
• #976 in United States

 This is important because your mother feels you may travel and be worldly, and Callum will ring nicely in the ears of strangers in a time when you may feel very out of place and alone and not surrounded by your loving family. Again, like a shield against your heart.




Here is a random stranger's post from a baby name site:


"I live in the UK where Callum is very popular and I have never heard any pronounciation apart from Cal-lum. Callums normally go by Cal."


 Also I (your dad) wrote a story once with a character named "Callim". I thought it was a name I had completely invented and I felt very proud of myself for creating such a cool sounding name.


I know this name may not be easy at times, but honestly, none of them are. The fact is you may have to repeat it to strangers you meet more than once, but I will tell you this: they will remember it and they will remember you. We have given you this name because it is special to us, and because you are the most special boy that your mother and I will ever know, and the most important man in our world. So know that we give you this name as a gift, with our best intentions and hopes filling it to the brim. And long after your name has simply become your name, and you no longer give it much thought, if you do happen to think about where it came from and what it meant to your mom and dad, we hope you will be happy with our choice.


And when in doubt, be water, Callum.


Love,
Dad. 7/16/2012