Just for Today: Nolin Leigh

Paul & I discussed baby names from the start of the pregnancy. We knew from the start that we wanted "Nolin" to be a part of the baby's name, whether it be a boy or a girl. We assumed Nolin would be the first name for a boy & the middle name for a girl. We tossed around all kinds of names before we found out the gender of Tiny Markham, but nothing ever really clicked for us. The day we found out what Tiny Markham was going to be, I told Paul that we had to choose a name right away. I was just too anxious not to name our little girl immediately!

We had already been talking to my mother, my step-father, & Paul's parents about names in the families. We had decided that we really wanted to carry on family names. We wanted to tell our child stories about where their name came from. However, I had not yet talked to my dad or grandmother. So, on November 15th, the day we found out Tiny Markham's gender, I called my grandmother to ask about family names. I had to ask about both boy & girl names, of course! As soon as I hung up the phone with my grandmother, I said, "Nolin Leigh". Paul immediately loved it also, be we decided to sleep on it for about a week to be sure.

Well, our minds did not change. I think we both loved it even more every day! Nolin Leigh Markham it is! We love this name because it is different & it comes from our families. Nolin is actually Paul's middle name (Paul Nolin Markham) & Paul was named after his great grandfather, Horace Nolin Markham. Leigh came from sort of a collection of our families. On Paul's mother's side of the family there was Lee Ota Yates, who is Paul's great grandmother. On Paul's father's side of the family there was Ora Lee Harris, who is Paul's great, great aunt or Nolin's sister. (Confused yet?!) On my father's side of the family there was Leona & LeeAnn. Both of these ladies were my grandmother's sisters, my great aunts. With a version of Leigh coming from many sides of our families, we knew that would be perfect as a middle name. We chose the spelling "Leigh" because we thought it was very pretty & feminine. The only thing that would have been more perfect would have been to have a Leigh on my mother's side of the family also.

Below you will see some pictures of Paul's great grandfather, Nolin Markham. The second picture is my favorite. It shows such personality! Nolin is the one dressed up as a woman & sitting on the other man's lap! :)