How I chose the name for my son

When telling people I am pregnant, or when they ask if I am having a boy or girl, the first thing I am always asked is, "What are you going to name him?". Seeing as John is a family name, I assume that most people, those who are in my family, must think I am naming my son after my Grandpa John, who passed away when I was 12. Truth is, my grandfather already has a namesake, my cousin. And as much as I love my grandpa, I felt that my son should have the namesake of someone who is very important and special in my life who does not have the honor of having someone named after him. It just so happens that this person also has the name of John.

John is my stepfather, and has taken on the role of father figure in my life when unfortunately, my real father just wasn't there. I am not trying to hurt my real father by saying this, but if he does read this, he knows this, and I have told him this. John and I have a very close relationship, he takes care of me when I need it, and I do the same for him in return. He has had a lot of medical issues in his life with my mom and I, and I have spent many a time in hospitals and at home making sure he is OK. He is a very kind and loving man, although to those who don't know him he seems very quiet and reserved. But he has a wonderful sense of humor and we make each other laugh all the time.

What I find most upsetting is that he has four children of his own, all of whom have removed themselves from his life, rebelling against having any sort of parental figures in their life, and wanting to do their own thing. He has grandchildren which he has only seen from pictures, and some new grandchildren he has never seen a picture of. He'll never say it, at least not to me, but I know that it hurts him that his children have acted the way they did when all he ever tried to do was give them love and discipline and show them how to be decent people in life, and it must hurt him to have grandchildren he has never met. I thought, what a better what to honor a man who has done so much for me, then to give my son his namesake, something his children have not done. Of course, John is a family name, on my mother's side, and it is nice that he will be able to have a family name, but when people ask me who my son is named after, I tell them he is named after my dad.

Phillip is my husband's name, and since this is our first child, and first son, I thought it fitting to give him my husband's name, even though he liked the name Michael for a middle name, which is his brother's name. And I think John Phillip Fry is very professional sounding, a name he can use when he becomes an attorney or doctor (a mother can dream..lol)