Kale

A cabbage was NOT what my wife and I had in mind when we named our son Kale. We picked the name ‘Kale’ because it sounds similar to a Korean word ‘결’ which means grain, as in wood grain. 결 can stand by itself as its own word, but it is often attached to another word, like a suffix, in usage.

Put together with 물, or water, the compound word 물결 denotes a current. 

Attached to 바람, or wind, the word 바람결 represents the texture of a breeze. 

With 마음 or heart in an intangible sense, 마음결 indicates the grain of one's temperamental disposition. 

With Kale, we wanted to leave the stem open. By leaving it unfilled, we want him to find his own stem and carve his own grain on it. 

Until he does, his name is synonymous with a possibility in purple and green shades—just as in the colors of the cute leafy plant that doesn’t form a head.