Colton Kent Thompson:
The name Colton came from my very favorite movie ever, Romancing The Stone. The character Michael Douglas played is named Jack T. Colton. He was a little crafty and mysterious, but also rugged and romantic, and how could Kathleen Turner resist him? Besides, the T. stood for Trustworthy!
We thought we were very clever choosing that name and we had no idea then just how popular the name Colton would become. I had a coworker at the time who loved the idea but her last name was Bolton and there was no way that she could have a Colton Bolton. She talked about it every day throughout my pregnancy and really cemented for me that it was a good name. Wes liked it because it was kind of like mountain man John Colter and he thought it was kind of outdoorsy and manly sounding. Colton's middle name is a family name. Wes's dad is Kent and Wes's middle name is Kent. Wes is named for his Grandpa Wes and so we thought we would carry on that tradition. Maybe one of our kids will name a grandson for Wes.
Kori McKenna Thompson:
Kori was named long before she ever came along. In fact, she was named before Wes and I were even married. We talked about baby names while we were engaged and he mentioned a cute little red headed girl he knew on his mission. He thought she was the cutest thing and her name was Kori. I had always been in love with the name McKenna because of the character from Somewhere In Time, another of my very favorite movies. I thought Jane Seymour was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, still do, and her name in the movie was Elise McKenna. That Christopher Reeve was pretty handsome too, and he was obsessed with love for her.
As Wes and I talked about those names, Kori and McKenna, they just started to sound really good together, Kori McKenna. When she was born, I was overjoyed to have my girl, and Wes said, "it's Kori McKenna!" There was absolutely no question what she would be named, and everyone seemed to really love it. I think it's a name that really fits her too.
Clint Michael Thompson:
Because we wanted to be surprised, we didn't find out the gender of any of our kids, and when I was expecting Clint we just thought we were having a girl. We had 2 girl names picked out, Miranda or Michaela. We had talked about a few boy names, but weren't completely sold on any of them. All of my labors were long, and while we were in the hospital for this third child, we were watching TV and The Outlaw Josey Wales was playing, one of Wes's favorites.
When the baby finally came, we were surprised to find out it was a boy! And we didn't have a name picked out! But sticking with the movie theme that we had started, we remembered how much we liked Clint Eastwood and thought Clint was a good name. It sounded good with Colton and Kori too. Clint's middle name came from his Grandpa Mike, who is my dad.
Wesley Kent Thompson: I already mentioned that Wes is named after his Dad's Dad, Grandpa Wes. Grandpa Wes died before Wes was old enough to know him, and he has always been proud to carry on that name. Kent was Wes's Dad's name. I have always loved Wes's full name. He doesn't like to be called Wesley, he much prefers Wes. I remember first meeting him and rummaging through his wallet. When I saw his full name on his credit card, I thought to myself "what a great name." I had also fancied myself marrying someone named Thomas because I just thought Michelle Thomas sounded good. So Thompson worked!
Michelle H. Thompson: My Dad's name is Brent Michael and he goes by Mike. My parents wanted to name a child after him, but they didn't want a Michael Junior, so they decided that their first daughter would be Michelle. They only had one son and one daughter, and I've always been glad that I wasn't a second daughter because my Dad liked the name Renata for another girl. Apologies to all Renatas out there, but I like Michelle a whole lot better! My parents also didn't believe in middle names for girls and I always wished that I had one. So I like my maiden H. I always sign my name with it.
