Kerri Walsh, two-time Olympic gold medalist for beach volleyball, says she was very thoughtful when it came to naming her two sons, Joseph Michael, 15 months, and Sundance Thomas, 3 months.
Kerri says that people often question her choice. “Why did we choose to go with such a traditional name in Joseph Michael and then go the opposite direction with Sundance Thomas? How could we do that to our boys?! They’ll be ruined for life!” jokes Kerri in her blog on People.com Moms & Babies.
When it came to her first born, Kerri and husband Casey Jennings considered “Joseph” a no-brainer. “We settled on Joseph right away. Regardless of whether we were having a boy or a girl, we wanted a ‘Joey’ — it’s a family name for both of us.”
But, naming the second child proved a little more difficult. “When Casey threw out the name Sundance his eyes lit up like the sun and he smiled so big and bright. ‘Baby,’ he said. ‘Can you imagine a little Sundance?! Picture our 5-year-old little boy shaking hands and introducing himself at school. …And then when he’s older, sitting on his porch watching his grandkids run around — ole Sundance!’”
After much convincing, Casey managed to get Kerri to fall in love with the name, too.
“‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ is a favorite movie in our household…I love the relationship between Butch and Sundance — so much love and respect…That’s what we wanted for our boys. Love, respect, self-confidence and wisdom through experience.”
