Why Ian Michael?

With the exception of a very few people (my sister being one of them), we kept the name a secret this time until baby's big debut. With Ava, we weren't shy about sharing the name at all. As soon as we decided, we let the world know. This time, it was different, and we're not sure why. We just decided to keep it close to our chests. But now that he's here, a lot of folks are wondering why Ian Michael? Where did that come from? I'm not sure if that should be translated into what-in-hell-were-you-thinking, but we LOVE the name and have come to adore it even more as we've gotten to know our little bundle. There are several reasons behind his name, and most are intentional. But there are a few coincidences that we weren't aware of until after we chose his name, and that just makes it even better. And just to clarify, it's Ian as in E-an, not Ian as in Eye-an.

1. Ian loosely translates into "God is gracious." And boy, is He ever!
2. Ian is Scottish for John. Neither of us are Scottish, but John is one of Stefan's favorite books in the bible.
3. Ian is not a very popular boys name right now.
4. Ian is short, but two syllables, so this fulfills two criteria: it has two syllables to go with a one-syllable last name, and it is short enough that you can't form a nickname from it (Stefan is not a fan of nicknames and to this day still prefers to call me Jacklyn).
5. We love the way it sounds.
6. Ian is a good boy's name, but it is also a good adult name, so it will grow with him. Just like Ava's name will grow with her.
7. Ian is one boy's name that doesn't ring a bell to Stefan. He knows no one with this name, and therefore couldn't shoot it down with the classic "I knew a guy once with that name, and he was a real jerk, so no way are we naming our kid that."

As for Michael, there is no rhyme or reason to it. It sounds good between Ian and Blum.