Little Jake

Jake's full names is Jacob Duke Rhoades. This name is a long story. I've always had a great obsession with John Wayne "The Duke." after we had Sammy I told my hubby that I thought the name Duke was great and we should save it for our next baby. He agreed. The name was Duke James (after one of my favorite great uncles). Some people liked it most didn't. I was CONSTANTLY told how it sounded like a dogs name. Although this is not a good argument considering I have 2 cats named Jerry and George and I've seen dogs named Sophia. But this is why you should keep names secret until the baby arrives.

My mom was always giving alternate suggestions for names. But we held fast to Duke for a while. We had 3 miscarriages before finally getting pregnant with Jake and each one was going to be Duke if they were a boy.

When we got pregnant with Jake my mother suggested the name Jacob. And I though Fine I'll change the name. She was not the only one feeding me alternate names and everyone I met seemed to comment on it being a dog name. UGH! Well since my inspiration for the name was John Wayne (but I'm not a fan of the name John) I picked Jacob from one of my favorite John Wayne movies. And his middle name was going to be Luke (my Dad's middle name and my grandpa's name). After we found out he was a boy my poor husband asked, very cautiously, why I was crying. I was so in love with the name Duke and was worried I'd regret my whole life not naming him that, but was devastated (give me a break I was pregnant) that no one liked it. So Jesse said we should just make Duke the middle name.

So there you have it, Jacob Duke! It's perfect for him. And that's how Jake became Jake.