Carter – What’s in a name?

So, of course, we get the question all the time: “how did you pick the name Carter?”  To be honest, I came up with the name because I was seeing it all the time on Graham’s clothes.  Carter’s is a very popular children’s clothing line and I think most of Graham’s pajamas are Carter’s brand. 
But, even though that is how the name came into my mind, there is a lot more to it. 
With Graham, we printed out lists of the top 10,000 names and would go through them marking nos, possible interests, strong interests, and matched interests.  Graham ended up being a name that we had both put in our no piles, so I decided not to waste time with the lists again. 
Nick and I would suggest names to one another and they would either be automatically vetoed or would be kept around for some vetting and testing. 
We like uncommon but not unusual names and we wanted a name of old English origin.  I’ve always gravitated towards last names that are used as first names and the name had to pass the ‘google’ test to make sure there were no negative attachments. 
Let’s review all the little points that came together to make Carter Anthony Jay the winning choice!

• According to Wikipedia, “Carter is a family name, and also may be a given name.  Carter is of English origin and is an occupational name given to one who transports goods by cart or wagon.”  We figured if you close one eye and squint, then maybe what Nick does can be considered a transporter of goods, so we were OK with that meaning (have I mentioned before that Graham means a gravel homestead?).
• Carter is a more common name in the South than here in California, so we felt like we were giving a nod to Nick’s mom’s roots.  
• Nick’s parents have always mentioned that siblings should have the same number of syllables in their names.  Although I think of Graham as one syllable, both my dad and Nick’s dad pronounce it as Gra-ham with two syllables, so we figured we could get away with Car-ter.  And, of course, Anthony Jay conveniently matches Nicholas Moe.  
• For the middle names, we love that Graham got Daddy and great grandfather’s names, while Carter gets both grandfathers’ names.  We also love that Anthony Jay has the same initials as Anthony John (Nick’s middle name), so Graham gets Daddy’s first name and Carter gets Daddy’s middle initials.  Plus, we like the possibility of calling Carter “AJ” if we find that Carter just doesn’t fit him (although that is not the direction we are heading in right now).  
• Finally, we have always called Graham “BG” (Baby Graham) and, while we were keeping Carter’s name a secret, we started calling him “BC” (Baby Carter).  It has stuck, so we are still calling him “BC”.  We think it is fun that our kids are “BCBG”, a commonly recognized clothing brand in the US, but derived from the French acronym bon chic bon genre or ("good style, good class").

So, there you have it.  We love the name, but if you ask Graham what his baby brother’s name is, he will proudly say “Baby Anthony Jay Millington!”