Michigan family with 12 children (all boys!)

Last year I blogged about a family with 12 children, all girls. Today I’ve got the opposite: a family with 12 children, all boys.

On August 4, Jay and Kateri “Teri” Schwandt of Michigan welcomed their 12th son in a row.

Here are the names and current ages of all 12 Schwandt boys:

  • Tyler, 21 years old
  • Zach, 17
  • Drew, 16
  • Brandon, 14
  • Tommy, 11
  • Vinny, 10
  • Calvin, 8
  • Gabe, 6
  • Wesley, 5
  • Charlie, 3
  • Luke, 2
  • Tucker, 1 month

According to one source, the Schwandts are “devout Roman Catholics who leave the size of their family to God. Teri’s sister has 10 children, and they, too, are all boys.”

Teri’s birth name, Kateri, was no doubt inspired by Kateri Tekakwitha, who was formally made a Roman Catholic saint just last year. Kateri is derived from Catherine (French pronunciation).

Now it’s your turn! If you had a dozen sons, what would you name them?

Sources: All-boys club: West Michigan couple welcomes 12th son, Couple who had their 12th Son gave up on having a daughter ‘a long time ago’

15 thoughts on “Michigan family with 12 children (all boys!)”

  1. I find it remarkable that a catholic family chooses the names Calvin and Wesley, both strongly conected to some branches of protestantism. All in all, the chosen names don’t look particularly catholic.

  2. Great observation regarding Calvin and Wesley.

    I guess they’re just liberal about names, going with style as much as anything else.

    (One article mentioned that the whole group decided on the name Tucker, and that he was almost named Elmo.)

  3. I have 12 young grandsons:
    Aidan – 12
    Joseph “Joey” – 12
    James – 10
    Andrew (twin of James) – 10
    Ethan – 10
    Christopher – 9
    David – 7
    William “Will” – 7
    Alexander – 6
    Jonathan – 5
    Nicholas – 4
    Henry – 3

    So those are my favorite names for 12 brothers — or cousins! I love every name — and I guess I should because I suggested quite a few of them. :)

  5. Mine would be very adventurous: Reef, Bay, Salem, Everly, Kai, Asa, Ellis, Oakley, Brighton, Indigo, Wynn, Zeke.

  11. I would choose. Julian(my sons name) Vincent, Connor, Patrick, Sal, Sonny, Ezra, Silas, Dominic, Marcus, Anthony, Warren

  14. The fourteenth and final boy Finley Sheboygan was born in April 2018, and the first girl Maggie Jayne was born in November 2020.

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