What’s in a name?

My boy’s name is Jamshid Morrison Macdonald. We named him with the kind of care we hope will follow him for a lifetime.

Jamshid is Persian, drawn from the Shahnameh, the great epic of Iran. It means “celestial light.” A name with grandeur, weight, and myth behind it. As an Iranian, it felt important to root him in that story, to give him a name that was both his and ours — a thread to remind him that his story began long before he was born.

Morrison is Scottish — a family name from my husband. I once read that it means “sea valour,” and whether fact or folklore, it fits. A sailor and competitive swimmer, he grew up surrounded by the ocean in Bermuda, and the sea is woven through him. Carrying that forward felt necessary.

To us, Jamshid and Morrison are complementary: celestial light and sea valour, grandeur and grit. In daily life, though, he’s Jam, or Jammy — playful, sweet, and easy. It’s a name that makes people smile when they meet him, and his bestie, Pretzel, shouts with joyful mischief when they’re together.

We thought carefully about these choices. The weight of lineage, the sound of syllables, the balance between history and intimacy. I often think about how the same care should extend into other parts of his life, even in the small details like clothes. Like a name, clothes are an introduction. They tell the world something about us before we even speak.

That belief is at the heart of Pretzel & Jam. I first met Lauren, the founder and designer, at an NCT course. Over a lacklustre lunch in a fluorescent-lit office, she told me she was naming her boy Theodore — a name borne by saints, scholars, and statesmen — but calling him Pretzel. We bonded over our shared impulse to choose names anchored in history — and the snack aisle.

Lauren has carried that instinct into her designs. The sweaters draw on heritage tones — oxblood, racing green, Wedgwood blue — offset with coral and carmine embroidery, striking a balance of tradition and flair. A paisley bandana anchors the collection, equal parts legacy and frontier. Her signature ruffle collar — glamorous and theatrical, like Lauren herself — is made for Renaissance babies scaling playgrounds and plotting adventures.

The details matter. The names we choose, the clothes we dress our boys in, the games we play with them — all of it shapes their sense of self. It’s about care: you matter enough for me to think this through.