Our sons names are Hanz Trystan and Larz Garrett

Some baby name sites have very strange ideas about the origin and meanings of names! Lars (and certainly Larz) is NOT a common English name and never has been. It is common in Germanic countries, however, especially in Scandinavia. It appears to be derived from the Latin Laurentius (which means 'crowned with laurel') from which the fairly common English names Laurence or Lawrence are also derived. The laurel wreath (the same plant as the bay, which we use in cooking) was traditionally bestowed, in Ancient Greece, on athletic victors and outstanding poets, and, in Rome, on successful military commanders. Garrett, on the other hand, WAS used as a first name in Anglo-Saxon times, and so can be said to be English, though its origin appears to be from the Germanic meaning 'spear-strong'. There are many variants and Gerard is probably more common now in England as a first name than Garrett. The German version of the name is Gerhard (with the second element '-hard' reminding us of the 'strength' or 'durability' meaning). Garrett is mostly found today as an English surname. It probably dropped out of use as a given name because the word now commonly means 'an attic' (a small room under the roof of a house), which is not really a meaning one would choose for one's son! There is also the very similar Welsh name, Gareth, which is more popular than Gerard or Garrett. The meaning of Gareth is uncertain but it may be derived from 'gwaredd', meaning 'gentleness' or it may be a variant of Geraint which is the Welsh version of the Latin name Gerontius. Trystan is simply a variant of the Celtic name Tristan, made famous from the Arthurian legend of 'Tristan and Isolde', a tale of star-crossed lovers. It has nothing to do with the word "tryst", meaning an 'arrangement to meet' but may be much more connected with the French word 'triste' (from the Latin, 'tristis') meaning 'sad', although it seems to have been a Celtic/Pictish name long before the close association between the Celts and the French. Of course, by spelling the name Trystan with a 'y', you are, no doubt, consciously associating it with the word "tryst" which is probably more or less the same thing that happened when people associated the Celtic name with the French word. "Tryst" was originally used to mean an agreement of any kind and is cognate with the word 'trust', which we still use to describe a body set up to manage finances for someone. In Scotland it seems to have been used to describe a set hunting lodge (a small hut used to shelter hunters and, therefore, usually in a lonely place quite suitable for secret lovers' meetings). My own children's names were not chosen for their original meanings but because they have family associations - they are names of grandparents, uncles and aunts. My youngest child's second name is Lucy (meaning "of the light", however, partly because she was born at midday on a particularly sunny spring day with the light streaming through the windows. The other two were born in a rather gloomy room with no windows, so I felt that the name was appropriate for her!

Great meaning for your sons name. I named my daughter Angel Joy- Angel because she's my angel and Joy- because she brings too much gladness the day she was born.