Why does Ryan go by "Taswell"?

When Ryan was born, we wanted to include a family name in his middle name. I adored my grandfather, he was a good man with many traits I could only pray Ryan would inherit. Everyone called him CT, so somehow I got it in my head that the "T" was for Thomas. So, we named him Ryan Thomas Davis. At some point after Ryan was home, I proudly told my mother that Ryan's middle name was after her father. She laughed and proceeded to inform me that grandpa's middle name was Taswell. Too late to change it, so, it stayed the same.

When Ryan was growing up, I told him the story of how I fucked up and named him Thomas when I meant to name him Taswell, after my grandfather. He really thought this was great. At one point he wanted me to legally make the change from Thomas to Taswell. That wasn't going to happen.

He liked Taswell so much that when games and internet aliases came along, Ryan used Taswell.

In later years, he came to know more about his great grandfaather and I think he was honoring him in his own way. Great Grandfather was Clarence Taswell

That was a great story, Mr. Davis. I'm sorry for your loss.

Thanks for the story!

Thank you for sharing this, Mr. Davis.

That's such a good story. Thank you Mr Davis, I'm sorry for everything that's happened.

Taswell is so badass. I love old names like that.

This was actually something I was wondering about recently, i appreciate the story Mr.Davis.

Thanks for sharing the story, Mr. Davis. I heard Jeff's explanation yesterday, but this is even more thorough. Taswell is a fantastic name that Ryan clearly presented with pride.

Thank you for sharing this story. I always liked how Ryan had this boyish glee whenever he proudly claimed his initials stood for Rough, Tough and Dangerous. Something he must have come up with in his teens, and he never lost that delight. My sincere condolences Mr. Davis.

I've never heard of Taswell as a name until I saw Ryan using it for his game profile on Xbox(?) and I think he shall remain the only Taswell I will know. Thank you for sharing this story.

I was always curious about the name, thanks for telling us about it. I'm truly sorry for your loss.

Thank you Mr. Davis for sharing this story.

Thank you for sharing this, Taswell is a pretty great, unusual name. I did always wonder where it came from. The guys did speak on it briefly on the podcast yesterday but this was a lot more detailed. I am really sorry for your loss, he will be deeply missed.

Thank you so much for coming here to share that with us.

Thank you for sharing the story, sir, and thank you for helping to bring Ryan into this world. My prayers go out to you and to all who have been affected by his passing.

Thank you for sharing, Mr. Davis.

Thank you for sharing the story with us, I feel like I've gotten to know Ryan a little better after reading that. You have nothing but my respect, my sympathies, and my utter appreciation for giving us all the chance to come to know and love your awesome son, Mr. Davis.

Ryan would probably laugh at all of us calling his dad Mr. Davis!

@doejonathan: I worked most of my life in the transit industry. RTD is a common acronym in transit, Rapid Transit District. There are several in the US that use this. I gave Ryan several RTD decals. Ryan could move amazingly fast and nimble for a guy his size.

Thanks for sharing all of these details over the last few days, Mr. Davis. We all love to hear about Ryan, makes us remember him better.

That's a really awesome story, and totally does sound like Ryan.

If it's alright - would you mind, or anyone else that knows, expand on the story behind his "mom" in binary tattoo?

@zero_: Simple, Ryan loved his Mom, he was a creative geek and a nerd. Alcohol may have been involved.

Both of these stories are great :) thanks for sharing

Great story. Big thanks for sharing!!

Thank you very much for the story, Mr. Davis. Always wondered why Taswell was used so often by Ryan.

Thank you for sharing, sir.

Thanks for sharing all of this stuff about Ryan Mr. Davis. Many of us here at Giant Bomb never got the chance to meet Ryan, but his always cheerful nature, sense of humor and incredible skill for writing and presenting left an impression on so many people, myself included.

He really was an inspiration, a one of a kind duder and I will miss his presence greatly. I am so sorry for your loss, my thoughts are with you and everyone else that was close to Ryan.

Thank you, sir.

@mauleace1: To log on to a website of strangers who loved your son and share stories is truly kind of you. Thank you.

Thank you for the story Mr. Davis. Your son will be fondly remembered.

This.

Cool to hear from you and Jeff on where the "Taswell" name came from. I had always wondered about that.

Taswell is a pretty awesome, antique name. Thanks for sharing that story.

That's actually a really funny situation, that probably just added to the charm of the name for Ryan.

I was actually wondering this myself - cool to hear the story behind it! Taswell is a pretty awesome name.

What a great story. You're a great father with an equally great son. He was loved by many. I'm sorry for what your family has gone through.

Great story and I appreciate you sharing it with us all.

I am truly sorry for your loss. My condolences and best wishes to yourself and your loved ones - Ryan will be missed by us all.

What a great story, thank you Mr. Davis.

Clarence Taswell is a pretty great name.

That is indeed a great story to a great name. Your son made a lot of people happy, sir.

Thank you sir.