A Clarification on a Name

Many peoiple feel like we named our son Cassius as an homage to the late boxer and activist, Muhammad Ali, who viewed his other name as a slave name: Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.

We actually decided on the boy's name before Ali died, and while we never found out our baby's gender, we had conversations for far longer on girl's names. We both liked Cass, "Ca-shuss" and "Cass-ee-us" as pronunciations and use all three with regularity.

But Ali wasn't the only inspiration.

I liked the heritage of the Cassius moniker, dating back to anti-despot Epicurean philosopher, military leader, and politician Gaius Cassius Longinus:

Most famous as the main instigator in the assassination of Julius Caesar and one of the villains in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", his legacy is one of strict adherence to rule of law and to oppose dictators in all forms.

And then there's the OG Cassius Marcellus Clay:

This Cassius Clay was an abolitionist and served as Lincoln's ambassador to Russia during the Civil War. Clay having the ear of the tsar put Russia in position to help out the Union: Russia threatened to declare war on France and the UK if they sided with the South.

Herman Heaton Clay, the child of former slaves, named his son Cassius Marcellus Clay, after the abolitionist, who in turn named his son after himself, and the rest is history...