*[As I Lay Dying](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_I_Lay_Dying)* is one of my favorite Faulkner novels, but I always come back to the thought: "Who on earth names their kid Vardaman?" 

Don't get me wrong, I love the name, and Vardaman is my favorite character in the novel, just wondering where it comes from, or what may have inspired Faulkner to choose it.