Why William Lawrence?

I thought I'd make a post going into the reasons we decided on the name we did. Personally, I've always been a fan of the less-common names. My brother was Ross and had I been a boy my name would have been Rex, which I love. My great-great-grandfather's name was Vader (this was obviously before Star Wars) and I kinda wish I could use the name, it just has such a nice, manly sound to me. Of course, I think Patrick would have been fine with Rex or Vader, although I wouldn't have allowed myself to name a child Vader.

William is the exact opposite of an uncommon name, up in the top 3, if I recall correctly... So how did I end up deciding to go with that instead of  Rex or Kellen or even the name I was set on, Lewis?

William- Strong-willed warrior

William is my maternal grandfather's first name. He was a huge part of my childhood, he adored me and I adored him right back. I remember him making me pancakes, taking me on train rides, taking me fishing. We went to Desoto Caverns along with my brother and I became so frightened (I was three to four) that he asked a young couple in the group to keep an eye on my older brother while he waited outside the caverns with me. Grandaddy told me stories about his childhood, his very german grandfather, and his time in the army. He wrote me songs, taught me how to draw flowers and paint. He would sing "You are My Sunshine" to me frequently. Grandaddy was grumpy and somewhat stern, but he could be fun. It's so funny, I always think of him as grumpy but when I think of the stories he told me--about when he was in a snowball fight in the army and hit one of the higher-ups as they were coming out of a building, it's strange to think that my grandaddy wasn't always that way. My grandmother showed me old cards my grandfather gave her back when they didn't have a whole lot of money for him to by her presents, cards saying how he loved her and with little drawings for her on the front, and I always loved that. He died when I was about 10, but I still miss him dearly to this day.

Lawrence- Laurel

My father's middle name is Lawrence. My father died three months before I was born, so I never got to meet him, but I've only ever heard  amazing things about him. I grew up idolizing my father, I turned out to pick up a lot of the same interests he had, as well. Another neat connection is that my grandmother's name, Lorene, also means "laurel" so even though she doesn't realize it, he's also being named for her.

We had decided on Liam as the official nickname but now I'm starting to second guess that choice. Part of the whole reason I want a nickname is to allow him to not live in my father or grandfather's shadows but have his own identity--but until I actually see him I'm wondering if Liam is the right choice, if it will even fit him. Part of my uncertainty may also be that I love less-common names. While common names today aren't as common as they were in the past, I still am a little wary of how popular Liam is becoming as a name. But, my biggest concern is that it just won't fit him. Patrick is at work so I haven't been able to run this opinion by with him, since he likes Liam as well, but I'm thinking we'll just wait until he's born before settling on a nickname. That way we can see what name properly fits him, be it just calling him William, Liam, Billy, Wiley... whatever.