How we named our converted van, Hermes

In case you missed it… We live in a van now!!

This dream has been years in the making. Sean and I spent so much time thinking through all the details of our conversion build—including what we’d name our home on wheels once we moved in. Here’s how we landed on “Hermes” (and why we cared about naming the van in the first place)

You can also read more about how we designed our van with our dog in mind here.

Why name our converted camper van?

Sean and I have never been the type of people to name our cars or houses or pretty much any inanimate objects we own. (Except for many of Scout’s toys, who have ridiculously simple labels like “Tiny Cow”.)

I felt compelled to give our van an official title, though.

In a way, it feels like our home on wheels is a much greater part of our lives than any past vehicles or residences we’ve had. It will be with us all the time, wherever we are, across the country (and even out of it). It’s effectively part of our little family. And family members need names.

We wanted a literary or mythological name

Once the exterior color (there was never a question that we wanted our van yellow, only if it was actually available ) and general build style of our new home were decided, Sean and I started tossing around name ideas.

We knew right away that we wanted it to be something related to literature, language, or mythology. Ever since I was a kid all of my pets have had book-inspired names—like my childhood cats named Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web and Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet—and I wanted to continue the tradition. (The star of this blog, Scout, is named after the main character in To Kill a Mockingbird.)

On top of that, Sean and I are both avid readers and enjoyed revisiting some of the “classics” shortly after we started dating. It seemed fitting to pull from some story we both liked.

We went through potential name contenders

I was initially interested in a name that directly represented happiness. “Felix” was a top choice. Others from our spreadsheet (yes indeed, we did lay this all out in Google sheets) included:

• Apollo, Greek god of music and poetry (and a bunch of other things)

• Argos, the most loyal dog of all time in Homer’s Odyssey

• Edgar, after Poe (yeah, this one didn’t really fit the “happy” vibe except that much of Poe’s writing does bring me contentment 😂)

What made Hermes feel like the right fit?

When we started reading more about Hermes’ mythology, he felt like the perfect choice.

The not-so-subtle, surface-level reasons

First things first: We both liked how Hermes sounded and that it was easy to say. The coolest named in the world would be useless to us if it couldn’t actually roll of the tongue.

Beyond that, Hermes was the protector of travelers, which felt entirely too fitting (if glaringly obvious). He’s particularly known for his winged sandals that helped him send messages between the gods at unimaginable speeds.

A small added bonus: Hermes starts with my initial. This really doesn’t matter much, I swear, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t quite enjoy the fact that our little family now has two S’s and two H’s. Symmetry!

The finishing connections that sealed the deal

Hermes was also one of the cleverest—and to Sean’s delight, most mischievous—of the Olympian gods. This drew us both in. Who doesn’t want to travel with a smart companion who knows how to pull a prank? The metaphor matched our values (intelligence, thoughtfulness, and not taking ourselves too seriously) well.

Perhaps most specific, and actually most convincing: Hermes also once stole Apollo’s cattle. This was absolutely hilarious to us because whenever Scout has a particularly good or bad day, we joke about her behavior in terms of whether or not she “lost any of her herd”. If she rocks a new experience? Go you, little heeler, you kept all your cattle! If things go haywire? We tell her a few escaped along the way.

Does the name still work now that we live in the van?

Naming something ahead of time (a dog, a car, a business…) always comes with the risk that you’ll wake up and realize your original choice doesn’t fit like you thought it would once you’re really in the weeds.

But we’ve officially had our van for more than three weeks now—Sean picked it up from Colorado on January 9th—and I’m pleased to say he does indeed feel like a Hermes. Every time we return to where we parked, Sean and I get giddy announcing how handsome he is. I know we’re still in the “honeymoon” phase… but I’m confident about our decision so far.