What's in a Name?

Harrison James Snyder was born on December 8th, 2015 at 02:04 AM.
He weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long.

Many people are wondering how we decided on his name, we've been asked if he was named after Harrison Ford or George Harrison (of Beatles fame). Of course, neither of those are the case and we would love to explain his namesake to the world.

Harrison is the name of his paternal Great-great Grandfather (his father's father's mother's father). Harrison Garner Garrett was born on October 14th, 1894 in Waynesville, North Carolina. When World War I broke out Harrison was 20 years old. He tried to enlist in the Navy, but was rejected because of his poor eyesight. On June 15, 1917 Harrison registered for the draft and then enlisted in the Marines on April 1, 1918. Harrison served until March 26th, 1919, a little less than one year. We loved the fact that Harrison tried to serve his country and was denied, but the moment a second chance was given he jumped at it by dutifully signing up for the draft. We thought this was an excellent example for Harrison to live his life by.

James is the name of his paternal great grandfather (his father's father's father). James Edward Snyder was born in 1933 in Lowell, Washington. James served in the Army as a green beret during the Vietnam War. He served as an advisor to the South Vietnamese who were fighting against the Communist North Vietnamese. After serving for many years, James retired from the army and consequently served as an elementary school teacher in Oregon. These acts of service, combined with the special relationship Kurt Jr. has with his grandfather James, warranted a namesake.

Naming Harrison was the most difficult thing we have done for him so far. We have so many wonderfully strong men in both of our families and it was difficult picking just two names. In truth, I wanted to give him a name that was a little bit longer to include more of the great men in our family. Fortunately for Harrison, Kurt reminded me that too many names can be a burden for a young man. Picking a name for a human being is terrifying and intimidating but we hope that Harrison will grow to love his name and appreciate the effort we took to finding the perfect one for him.