So... before my wife and I had any kids, I told her that I wanted to name our first-born son after my father and her father, as that was how I was named (after my two grandfathers). Thus, if we had a son, his first and middle names would be William James.
Fast forward a few years... we have two kids, both girls. I'm happy to have them, not disappointed at all at not having a son. But the story of our "son's" name does get told to the girls at some point.
Fast forward many more years, and my now-adult daughters tell me that back in middle school and high school they had an imaginary big brother, of course named William James. They even told their friends and classmates about him - how my wife and I were somehow upset that he joined the military (which also explained his absence from our home), and that we didn't have any pictures on display of him because we were so worried about him and didn't want constant reminders.