In Search of the Inspirational Grady

My eldest niece Courtney recently had her second child, another boy to join her son Kobey. In addition to this boy's arrival making me an "especially Great Uncle", it brought along some novelty. You see, she and her husband named the lad Grady.

Now for many my age, the face we most commonly associate with this given name belonged to Whitman Mayo, who portrayed the less than gifted friend of Fred Sanford in the old show Sanford & Son. While frighteningly intelligent and well read, I just don't think this is what came to Courtney in selecting the name. Of course, it would be quite simple to ask her the name's origin, but where's the fun in that? Besides, as I've mentioned before, I hate calling anyone unless absolutely necessary.

I begin my quest with a presumption - Grady is named for someone perhaps marginally famous, as opposed to a family name or place (Grady County, GA for example). Also, the Grady in question is Grady Someone, as opposed to Someone Grady. Many of you know that our son Carter was named for a surname, but it's my game. This is probably a built in error, but one I'm willing to accept in that there are far too many of the latter to choose from, and I'm supposed to be doing something else right now.

Off the top of my head, I could pretty much only come up with Grady White, a kind of small boat - probably unlikely. Among the geeks, there's Grady Booch, a legendary software developer and IBM Fellow. Courtney's a lawyer/journalist (really!) and her husband Randy is a tax accountant who's fun to hang out with (really!). I'm not seeing the required worshipping of Grady Booch, but I must admit it's a fun name to say.

Now like most men, Randy is a sports fan, so some possible sources are Grady Jackson (NFL), Grady Little (Dodgers manager), or Grady Sizemore (MLB). They met in New Orleans, so there are musicians Grady Martin (Jazz Guitar) and Grady Tate (Johnny Carson era Tonight Show drummer).

I think it comes down to two frontrunners. First, Grady Patterson, State Treasurer of South Carolina. I know it's a stretch, and I said Randy was fun, but he is a tax accountant. Then again, this comes from a chemist, so it's a pretty weak slam. Otherwise, it's got to be Judge E. Grady Jolly, Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in Jackson, MS. I have no idea what, if any, monumental or brave ruling this man may have made, but this cries out as the obvious conclusion. Courtney has the idealism to make this believable.

I'm having dinner with the new grandma (my sister) tomorrow, so I'll probably ask her, if only to avoid having to call someone.

Welcome to the family Grady. Don't worry about where your name came from. One of my daughters is named partially after a flanker from Syracuse.