What's in a name?

Kolter Howard

I love names! I'm the girl who has had a running list of baby names since I was 10 years old. And I always love to hear the story behind a person's name. So, I thought I would describe how Kolter's name came to pass.

Kolter: young horse

First and foremost we (or maybe just me :) wanted a name that started with a "K" since both Kyle and I have the same initials (KS) we thought it would be fun to carry on the tradition. So, as we discussed a name for this 3rd child we created a list of about 5 "K" names. Kolter was the 1st name on the list and the only one not eventually crossed off the list :)

Kolter's name (though spelled differently) originated from John Colter. If you are not familiar with this American historical figure you can find out more here and here. He is widely known as the 1st mountain man who traveled with Lewis and Clark's envoy as he explored the western US. His story of courage and perseverance is often told in football meetings conducted by men of faith and Kyle's role models. So Kolter's name is a nod to those important figures in Kyle's life.

And as a bonus we like that both of the boys names represent an adventurer (though Sawyer's is a fictional character :) and they correlate because they are both typically used as surnames.

Truth be told we almost used Kolter for Sawyer's name. However, there was one major hurdle we couldn't overcome…we did not want him to be called Kolt. Now we realize as he grows he can make that decision for himself, but while he is small we will call him by his full name or who knows he may have a nickname, but per Kyle's wishes it will not be Kolt.

Howard was Kyle's grandfather's middle name. All of our children have family middle names and we wanted to continue the tradition. Now both of the boys are named after a great-grandfather.

these pictures were taken in the hospital, he was 2 days old