That's Duke Franklin

Don't let Anna's casual and conclusive tone fool you into believing that the matter of the name is in any way settled. Well, that's not exactly true. We're pretty much set on two names, Duke and Franklin, but we're still up in the air about the order. I'm pushing for Duke Franklin Breshears, and Anna's obviously a Franklin Duke supporter. She likes the idea of a cute little boy she can call "Frankie." This is precisely my father's argument against naming the kid Franklin, or Frank, or any variation thereof. Having been one of those unfortunately named little cuties, my father is adamant about this. "Frankie" is apparently a tough nickname to shake, and not something you want to be called after you reach the age of five or six. His opposition seems reasonable when you consider what vicious little shits kids can be.

Franklin is actually Dad's middle name; his first is Hearl. Swear to God: Hearl Franklin Breshears (thus his obvious decision to go by "Frank"). I'm David Franklin Breshears. So, the way I see it, it's only fitting that our son should be Duke Franklin Breshears. If the kid likes "Frankie" better than "Duke," he can follow in his Grandpa's footsteps. And if he changes his mind at some point and decides that "Frankie" isn't doing it for him, he can switch to "Duke." "Duke" is pretty much the antithesis of "Frankie." Duke doesn't take shit from kids who think its funny to make fun of other kids' names. I'm sure Anna shudders when the mental image of her little Frankie (Duke) bowing up to some preschool thug flashes across her mind. I'll confess only a slight twinge of pride.

We actually settled on Duke because it's Anna's mother's maiden name, and not because it more or less guarantees that our son will be a little stud (although it can't hurt). "Frank" was also our boy's Great-Grandfather's name, Anna's mom's dad. So, it's a name that echoes a family history. Duke Franklin or Franklin Duke...I guess I could really live with either. We're actually just glad that our baby's a boy, because we couldn't really come up with any good girl names, familial or otherwise. Anna was pushing for Brittany, but I was dead set against it.