Natalie Morales and Josh: Book Buddies

Amy Sussman/Getty

Say cheese! Today show’s Natalie Morales and her son Joseph ‘Josh’ Steven Stockton, 4 ½, offered up a quick smile while attending the 3rd Annual New York Times Great Children’s Read, held at Columbia University on October 4th in New York City.

The event included book readings and signings by a handful of celebrities, plus performances aimed at encouraging reading among children from an early age.

Natalie and her husband of eleven years Joe Rhodes are also parents to Luke Hudson, 13 months.

Comments

I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard the nick name Josh for Joseph…

- april on October 12th, 2009

he is so sooo handsome

- T. on October 12th, 2009

OMG he’s wearing an Adrian Peterson jersey…I love it!!!

- L on October 12th, 2009

april, i was just thinking the same thing. i’ve always heard josh short for joshua.

either way he’s adorable!

- marfmom on October 12th, 2009

His nickname should be Joey or something like that. Josh is short for Joshua.

- Kristy on October 12th, 2009

I said the same thing about him being called Josh! I am assuming that because dad is named Joe, he is actually Joseph Jr. I assume that because Joe is already taken and Joey sounds so similar, they went with Josh which is close, but unique. Maybe there is even a grandpa Joseph so that might have been taken too!

- Meredith on October 12th, 2009

I agree, L!

- Liliana on October 12th, 2009

I think Natalie Morales is the most stylish dresser of all the female newscasters..Josh is very lucky to have her as his MOM!!

- Mary Young on October 12th, 2009

Well…in my family the name Joseph runs rampant. So, for nicknames we’ve got the typical Joseph, Jo, Joe & Joey but we also have Jos (pronouced like oz but with a j in front), Joss, Jossy, Josh, Jop (pronouced like it rhymes with rope), Seph, Seh (pronounced like say). So, I guess, there a need for creativity when the name is popular in the family. Also, one reason it runs in our so much is for two families it runs from like the Great-great grandpa down to the littlest ones.

- Lisa on October 12th, 2009

Kristy, are you seriously telling this woman what nickname she is supposed to use for her son? Wow…

- Claire on October 13th, 2009

He is adorable! I’ve heard people use Chase and Ace for juniors named Jason and Michael. Makes no sense to me but it’s better than Big Michael and Little Michael.

- Jane on October 13th, 2009

i have a friend w/ the exact same scenario… her son is joseph the 4th… she did NOT want to name her kid joseph because there are a BUNCH of joes… so she was like, lets name him joshua, cuz it’s close… baby’s paternal grandmother had a FIT… so she said to appease everyone, she’d name him joe the 4th and EVERYONE calls him josh (except his paternal grandmother)… i think it’s funny and ingenious, because whenever someone calls him joseph (his paternal grandmother) he HATES it… lol…

she had another son and named him josiah… her mother in law kept out of it… lol

- fay on October 13th, 2009

Claire, are you seriously nitpicking Kristy because she prefers Joey over Josh? Wow…

- Lauren on October 13th, 2009

Nicknames aren’t always according to the book, they are quite often result of other factors than “tradition”, like the cild or his/her siblings having problems pronouncing the name, other relatives or close family friends with the same or similar name or nickname, because they look like or remind of another person or character, because they like something special. A friend of mine has been called Bertha since the age of fourteen, when we read a book with a character with whom she shared some character traits. Even her parents call her that now, more than 15 years later. Do you suggest we stop calling her that because Bertha can not be a nickname of Mary? Or do you suggest that my friend Mollie, who can’t even remember when or why she got that nickname should change nickname becausee it dosn’t correspond to her given name Joanna?

- MiB on October 15th, 2009