By Natalie Hanson

　　Claude Indiana Emmanuel Hanson is here! He joined us on a rainy December evening and we all fell instantly in love. Now that he has arrived I’m thrilled to share the story of his baby name with you all!

　　First, Claude. Claude is a name I’ve loved and wanted to use for years. In fact, Viggo was going to be Claude for months before we took a left turn towards his Danish warrior name.  Claude was my great grandfather’s name, and the name of great uncles on both Taylor and my sides of the family. So when I found out it was a boy, Claude was back in the game. I wasn’t sure if that was what I wanted to call him but having it as a part of the name became my non-negotiable in the process. All other options would have to work with Claude.

　　We had some other solid family names thrown around but nothing felt like THE name. I had an idea of the sound and style I was looking for but not the exact name. When Kate and I did a name consultation for our friend Blythe last year, she went with one of our suggestions, Albert, with the nickname Albie. I loved that name and especially the friendly sounding nickname of Albie! I knew I wanted something in that vein, but really didn’t have any ideas I was attached to. For a while it was David, nickname Davy. I was picturing a coonskin hat. Ah! So cute.

　　One afternoon while discussing topic of names with my daughter Penny, she brought up how much our family loves movies. Then, in reference to the classic Lucas-Spielberg film hero she said, “Actually mom, I think Indiana would be a perfect name for another Hanson brother!” As I often do when someone else dare suggests a name to me, I shrugged it off. No thanks, not classic enough. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love a handsome, well-dressed archeologist as much as the next girl. But, no. Well, if you know my daughter she doesn’t give up on anything easily, so she started a campaign for the name.  Her brothers weren’t completely sold. They had actually all been campaigning for Klaus, inspired by Series of Unfortunate Events.  I felt like Claude covered that vibe but still wasn’t sure I wanted to call him that. When Penny passed her idea along to her dad, he was into it…but I still wasn’t there.

　　This past year was a special one for our family. We spent most of the year traveling together around the US on tour with my husband. One of the first stops was a show outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.  While we were there I saw signs all over the city that said “Indy”. I’d found the nickname! It was two syllables and perfect for brother number four. Although his name is not a direct reference to the state, its Americana sound is sort of an ode to all the wonderful American cities and states we visited while awaiting Indy’s arrival.

　　As soon as I realized how close to Christmas this baby would arrive, I couldn’t help wanting to acknowledge the special season with a Christmas name. So at the last hour another great-grandfather moniker was added in, the perfectly fitting Emmanuel. I really loved all three names but didn’t want for my two-name children to feel shorted. In the end I justified it by saying that his extra Christmas name is a little present to make up for the birthday/Christmas combo gifts he will inevitably receive in his life!

　　As I wrote in my last blog, the decision of the name was not one I came to on my own. Everyone in my house had a lot of opinions on what his name should be.  I really doubted sometimes if we could ever find something everyone was excited about. However, in the end it all came together, and it is special to think he carries a little love from everyone in his sweet name.