Actor Taye Diggs has explained the meaning behind his son Walker Nathaniel Diggs’ name.
“I was reading Alice Walker and just loved the way the last name rang. We had a bunch of other names as well, but that one kind of won out,” the Private Practice star said on Monday.
The name “Walker” is usually a surname but Taye and his wife chose to use it as a first name:
Walker is an occupational surname for a fuller, or one who “walked” on raw, damp cloth in order to thicken it. It is derived from the Middle English walkcere, meaning “a fuller of cloth,” and the Old English wealcan, “to walk or tread.” Walker is the 28th most popular surname in the United States and the 15th most common in England.(Source)
Nathaniel is baby Walker’s middle name:
Nathaniel is pronounced na-THAN-yel and is of Hebrew origin; its meaning is “God has given”. Nathaniel has 15 variant forms: Nat, Natanael, Nataniel, Nate, Nathan, Nathanael, Nathaneal, Nathanial, Nathanyal, Nathanyel, Natty, Nethanel, Nethaniel, Nethanyel and Thaniel.(Source)
