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You are here: Home / Familia / The Silver Surfer & Luke Skywalker: The Inspiration For My Son’s Name

The Silver Surfer & Luke Skywalker: The Inspiration For My Son’s Name

June 2, 2014 by Lisa 4 Comments

We were out on a date. Joseph and I weren’t even living together. But somewhere between dessert and the check, the subject of baby names came up.

“If we have a son, I decide the name. If we have a daughter, you decide,” Joseph said.

“Deal!”

Well, we got married. And a year later, I was pregnant. A few weeks into my pregnancy, Joseph made sure to remind me of our deal; the one that we made years before.

“Wait…you’re serious?” I asked. I really didn’t think that he’d hold me to that promise. Little did I know he had a name already picked out.

Neither one of us cared if we had a boy or a girl so long as it was healthy. But those first few months before I knew the gender, I was hoping for a girl… just so I would have some control over the name.

It was a few days before my thirtieth birthday when we went in for our sonogram to determine the sex. And when the clinician said we were having a boy, I looked over to Joseph who was smiling, his brown eyes shiny and with a clenched fist, he whispered “Yes!”

After I got dressed we took the train into Queens to see my parents. On the ride over, I tried to talk about possible boy names. But for Joseph there was only one name: Norrin Radd – the real name of the Silver Surfer. I didn’t even know who the Silver Surfer was and Joseph was trying to convince me to name my first born child after him.

The Silver Surfer, aka, Norrin Radd, is known as “one the noblest cosmic entities in the universe.” He values freedom and loves all living things. A selfless superhero, the Silver Surfer sacrificed his own life to save his beloved planet. His powers include durability, energy and speed.

When our friends and family asked what names we were thinking of – Joseph would immediately say “Norrin Radd.” No one liked it. And some had a hard time even pronouncing it.

Eventually we compromised. Joseph chose Norrin as the first name and I chose the middle name – Luke as in Skywalker.

I am a huge Star Wars fan. I remember standing on line with my parents and brother at the Jackson movie theater to see Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I remember being mesmerized the entire time. It was the trilogy that defined a big part of my childhood and as I grew up, I appreciated the story more and more. And for me, Luke Skywalker was the ultimate good guy.

During one of my first conversations (via AOL instant messaging) with Joseph I asked what he was doing. He told me he was searching on eBay for a Boba Fett helmet. “You mean from Star Wars?” I typed. Joseph says that that was the moment he knew I was the one for him.

We’re heading to Disney this week for Star Wars weekends and Mark Hamill is going to be there signing autographs. It may be my one and only chance to meet the man who inspired Norrin’s middle name. Autographs can only be obtained if we get a Fast Pass and they are first come, first serve. So here’s hoping the force will be with us.

Joseph and I wanted our son’s names to mean something. We wanted him to embrace the qualities and characteristics of our childhood heroes. And so far, we believe that he has.


photo credit: marvel.com and disneywiki.com

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Filed Under: Familia Tagged With: Atypical Kid, Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, the Silver Surfer

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Comments

  1. Julie Sparks says

    June 2, 2014 at 3:21 pm

    My younger son's real name is Luke as well. I call him by his middle name (Alan) on my blog, but he is my Luke-a-bug. I also love Star Wars and that was certainly a contributing factor in his name! 🙂 I had forgotten the Silver Surfer's real name until reading this, though. Yep, I've seen those movies, too! Geek here …

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. I Made It To Round 2 of the Disney Mom Panel Search! Will I Move On To Round 3? {#DisneyMP} says:
    June 16, 2015 at 7:53 pm

    […] every single Goofy item I could. The first moment my husband and I bonded was over Star Wars. We named Norrin after a Marvel Superhero. And our first date night after Norrin was born? Disney Pixar Cars! Walking through The Magic […]

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  2. Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion on Disney XD! says:
    June 16, 2015 at 7:55 pm

    […] universe and characters lends itself to many possible story lines. If you are a rabid fan like me (who will name their kid after Luke Skywalker) you have many questions about how all the movies connect. What was missing to this point was […]

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  3. May the 4th Be With You: My Favorite Star Wars Quotes - Atypical Familia says:
    May 4, 2016 at 9:47 am

    […] May the 4th aka Star Wars Day! We are HUGE Star Wars fans. Norrin’s middle name is Luke. As in Skywalker. And one of the reasons why Joseph first liked me was because I knew who Boba […]

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Hi, I'm Lisa aka @laliquin on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest & Snapchat. I'm a 40-something mom raising a son with autism in The Bronx, NYC.

Atypical Familia is a personal blog & resource site for Typical Parents raising Extraordinary Kids. We focus on autism parenting, special needs travel, work/life balance, family entertainment and more. This is parenting from a unique perspective.

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Atypical Familia focuses on autism parenting, special needs travel, work/life balance, family entertainment and more. If you'd like to work with us, send us an email: autismwonderland(@)gmail.com. 

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