Harper’s Name
People tend to ask where we got the name “Harper” for our month-old daughter, so here’s the story. Shawna first mentioned it about three months into the pregnancy and it immediately resonated with me. I started thinking of her as Harper and was never really able to envision her with another name. In talking about its meaning to us we realized there were many positive connotations. Here are the ones we’re conscious of:
- My first date w/ Shawna was Oct. 26, 1996, when we saw Susan Tedeschi play at Harper’s Ferry
- I’m an amateur but passionate musician, so the musical connotation is meaningful
- Harper Lee wrote the all-time classic To Kill a Mockingbird (we both love to read and enjoyed this book)
- We wanted her to have a unique name
- We don’t mind the neutral association w/ the old magazine Harper’s Weekly, I kind of like it actually.
Anyway “Harper Elise” just rolls off our tongues, I love saying it, and now you know where it came from. 
