Middleton's First Lamb of 2013 Named Leon

As the second generation of first spring lambs at Middleton Place it was fitting that the name chosen for this year's lamb is a tribute to his grandmother.

Middleton's first born lamb of 2013 is now known as Leon. The name was one of three picked by Middleton staff from more than 400 submitted through the Middleton Place Blog, and emerged as the favorite among the historic plantation's Facebook fans during a 54-hour voting process for the Name the Lamb contest.

Middleton asked for wintry, masculine-sounding names to match the lamb's mother's name, Winter, and his grandmother's name, Noel. Winter was the first lamb born in 2012.

Along with Leon, Middleton staff also chose Blitzen and Winterfell as finalists before turning voting over to Facebook fans.

Suggested names that didn't make the cut ran the gamut from secular suggestions like Easton, Izard and Ramses to religious like Nicholas, Gabriel and Tomasso to weather-related like Frosty, Snowball and Blizzard to humorous like Hunychild, Rambo and Rama Lamba Ding Dong.

The Name the Lamb Contest took place in two parts. Lisa Stadtmueller of Wisconsin won the first round by a random drawing from name submissions to win two passes for free admission to Middleton Place. Brian Haas of Summerville was picked at random from the pool of people voting to also win two passes for free admission to Middleton Place.

“We had great participation in this week-long contest, and are very thankful for all the submissions received,” said Warren Cobb, Middleton Place Director of Marketing. “We look forward to continuing this contest each year.”