Jackman...The Story Behind The Name....

First off, in the contest to guess Jackman's name before he was born, not one person guessed the name "Jackman". I believe every other J-name conceivable was guessed, and some were very creative. From to time the guessing started until the time he arrived, I had almost 200 facebook comments (containing anwhere from 1-5 guesses each) and I don't know how many emails. Me and Lisa were pleasantly surprised that his name was never guessed (although the Jacks and Jacksons had us a little nervous).

So how did we decide on Jackman? To fully appreciate it, you need a little back story. And by the way, it has nothing to do with racing...his name is not Jack-Man.

Most of you probably know that I have been keeping a list of possible names. This actually goes back to well before we even got pregnant. I always wanted a perfect name for my son. One that would be tough (and hard for little kids to make fun of, which makes for a real challenge).

Over the months me and Lisa would text message each other with possible names whenever one popped in our heads. Here are some actual texts that were sent:

"Jaxon?"

"Cougar?"

"Sawyer?"

"BattleCat?"

"Chigurh?"

"Cobra?"

Okay, most of those were my ideas, but you have to admit...those are some tough names.

Well, one fine summer day I found myself wandering through The WalMarts when the other 6 out of every 10 people are at work. All of the sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a reflection of myself. I turned and looked, and soon realized it was a picture; not a reflection. My curiosity got the best of me, so I had to investigate.

As I approached the celebrity news section of the magazines, I realized it wasn't myself I saw, but someone with a similar muscle structure and hairy-ness. It was none other than Wolverine...aka Hugh Jackman.

Wolverine is obviously a tough name, but since it doesn't work with the middle name "Dale" it was never a consideration. But "Jackman" had a lot of potential. No one can say that the name "Hugh Jackman" isn't tough. If that name ain't tough, then I'm a Chinese jet pilot.

Now me and Lisa aren't X-men fans, but we've got no beef with mutants either. And while we both concede that Hugh Jackman is a handsome fellow, and we enjoy his movies, neither of us have a crush on him (if I did, it would be a man crush, which is ok, but I don't...I'm a Clint Eastwood man).

I quickly realized how perfect the name was...rugged and down to earth, simple, tough, and just different enough to be different. I decided "this will be a funny one for me to send to Lisa", but at the time, it was more or less a joke on my part, so the text that would affect our firstborn son for the rest of his life was sent......."What about Jackman?"

A little while later I learned from Lisa that she liked it, and it quickly worked it's way up the short list, and found it's permanent spot at #1. I suggested many other names over the next few months, just to test how much Lisa really liked the name. To my surprise, not even the name "Methusaleh Hyphen Cobra Tornado" could de-throne "Jackman" from the tough-baby-name-list. The name "Jackman" dominated our top five list for over two months, and it became official about two weeks before the one who would bare the name arrived. Lisa did some checking; she never found the name "Jackman" in any of the baby books, websites, or even on Facebook (except for last names). We've gotten a lot of compliments on his name, and obviously we are fond of it.

I know not many of you have seen little Jackman in person yet, but this kid was born tough...and strong. He can push himself up when he's on his stomach and turn his head, seriously. He kicks like a Georgia mule. When he squeezes my finger, it's amazing to me the strength in that little grip of his. I know...you will say all parents think that about their kids. Well, my response would be...you'll see.

Jackman has got a long road ahead of him, and a lot of obstacles to overcome. God is already making a tough little man out of him. He's already molding him into who he is going to be down the road. It's really exciting. Part of me can't wait to get through all of this, and another part of me wants to savor it. It's such a strange, new feeling for me, and Lisa too.

We can't wait for all of you to meet our tough little guy,

JACKMAN.....that just looks tough, don't it!