Over the last few months, Fi and I have been in the name-hunting business. Twelve weeks out from meeting our little girl, we've got pretty much the same shortlist that we had 6 months ago (we jettisoned some boys names at the 13-week mark), but we've done a bit of clarifying along the way.
Names mean things. Through the passage of time they've either been invested with meaning or derived from words with a particular meaning. And words have power.
It turns out I'm a listener, I'm snub-nosed, and curiously, I'm a little hyena. I fare a litle better with Elliott (close to God, the Lord is my God). Monica, a counsellor at Riverview that I work with, translates 'to warn', 'to guide' and 'to counsel'. Bronwyn, who I work with at The Globe, means fair-breasted one. I remind her often.
Names can reflect the relationship with the 'namer' or the visionary intent of the namer for the namee. Moira (longed-for child) tells you more about the 'namer' perhaps. Verity (truth) might be something you want to talk up in your little girl compared to Jezebel (follower of idols) as much as you might think it has a certain ring to it. Misty (clouded and obscure) might be fine for a swimmer, but maybe you're after a little more clarity. If it's a faithful friend you're after, Kylie (boomerang) could be the way to go. Flynn (son of the red-haired man) could be the deal if you're a wranger although Geraint (old man) mightn't be kind to your infant. Gilbert (bright hostage) is probably not a mandate you want to place on a life and Dwayne (dark little one) could be a difficult one to overcome, although Gideon (powerful warrior) or Lorimer (harness maker) could be more up your alley. Horses for courses I guess.
In the story of the People of God, we see names changed to reflect a change in mission or direction. Sarai has a name change to Sarah and has a bunch of kids. Abram, with a simple 'ha' becomes the father of many nations. Jacob is permitted to assign his misdemeanors to different name and, in his struggle, becomes Israel. Simon has a name change to Peter and becomes the foundation for the church. Perhaps it was all this name-changing shenanigans that prompted Eric to write 'would you know my name, even if it was Kevin'?
When you name something, you both ascribe or invest a particular meaning to it. And you declare 'I know you'. This is relevant in Jacob's story, but not right now.
Got a name?
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Name it. Claim it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
21 comments:
I’m not saying nine months of back pain and hours – days, Sherri? – hard labour would be worth it just to get to name someone, but... well, ok, I am. The thing that weirds me out is, given how rare the opportunity, some people still seem to take the Writing For Government approach to naming their kids – ‘What did we do last time this came up? Did it work ok? Well just copy that.’ – et voila, playgrounds awash with Jacks and Madisons.
Confusing really when you discover that Madison is the 'son of Maud' or 'son of Matthew'. Obviously a whole bunch of Miss Mauds got the kid on. Or, a whole lot of them are masquerading in oblivion.
My name Michael John - 2 great Hebrew names.
Michael = He who is like God (not too difficult to live up to really) or Prince of Angels.
John = Beloved of God.
Two ripper names I reckon.
My daughters Grace Alicia and Isabella Jane
Grace = undeserved favour, gift from God. How the heck do we give Grace meaning? That's why the name is so freaking cool.
Alicia - full of hope and valour.
Isabella - conscerated unto God.
Jane - Precious gift of God.
Interesting,(I think)side note here - my name is a direct derivative of Simon and I have to confess to being a fellow little hyena... wonder how many of my family members would like to have known that one... years of teasing moments wasted.
Go the little hyenas!
Well, Mikey, it seems you're not alone with Grace. The middle section of the West today points out that there were 609 baby girls with Grace in their name - 136 up front, 473 in the middle. This pushed the Grace-girls into second place behind Rose (786 - 20 first, 766 middle names).
That was for 2006 though, we did ours in 2005. WE ARE TREND SETTERS, HEADS NOT TAILS, LEADERS NOT FOLLOWERS.
Hehehehe. It's just a cool name and totally full of meaning. She actually represents what her names means, favour from God to us. A true gift.
Mate, you're about to find out about this surreal, unconditional love where your daughter can do no wrong. Grace and I are best friends, she adores me and I dote on her. Sure, it'll cause attachment and hero worship issues down the track as well as a few discipline and manipulation problems but I'll cross that bridge then as she's so cute and gorgeous.
Dad's and daughters.... best thing in the world.
Mikey
she is a very blessed little girl, to have such an adoring dad. i won't be at all surprised to spot a confident girl who believes she's able to tackle anything in the future.
1st name = Sergio (latin) = "servant, attendant".
2nd name = Alejandro (spanish) = "Defender of Men"
interesting
I was reading a Rabbi (heehee, sounds funny) who reckons the change in Abram and Sarai's life was their name change. Reason? God bestowed upon them one of the letters of the Divine name - what we would call the H in YHWH. In doing so, God changed their destiny.
Gotta love those Rabbis.
Check out the chapter in the book Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It will give you a 'different' perspective on the naming of a child.
Meeksee_ Can you give us a hint of what it says??
"Obsessive or not, any parent wants to believe that she is making a big difference in the kind of person her child turns out to be... The belief in parental power is manifest in the first official act a parent commits: giving the baby a name... Many parents seem to believe that a child cannot prosper unless it is hitched to the right name; names are seen to carry great aesthetic or even predictive powers" (Levitt and Dubner, 2005, p. 163).
They then continue to look at names given to children and the social demographics etc. that seem to define what types of names are given and where they seem to end up in the food chain of life.
As one who has named three kids, it certainly made an interesting read.
Thanks Meeksee_ I guess, at the very least, caring about what you name anything (child, business, pet) shows a level of intentionality and concern. So, while it needn't be predictive or prophetic, it communicates at some level that 'you mattered/matter a lot to us'.
I'm concerned about calling my girl Margaret Thatcher Elliott just in case she feels compelled to get into politics....
by looking at a french website for names www.prenoms.com, I have been overwhelmed by the numbers of names available.... question : you guys looking for a christian name because all the great french names I can find... most of the time have no christian meaning behind... result of THE ATHEISM
here's some samples : Donya,Elya, aurea (considered as rare), amelia, flora, alizee... Problem is typical french names are not fashionable anymore , the french tend to choose anglo saxon names, arabic names SHAME
I think Brad & Sherri have cornered the French market with 'Bijou'.
Nah, we're pretty keen on the English language although writing it in Hebrew might be fun.
Having read the above I think I did fairly well the first time around, so maybe you might give careful consideration to my current suggestion.
Your suggestion is valued but we have definitely ruled Margaret Thatcher Elliott out as a name. Thanks anyway.
I suggest it would it would be nice for the child to carry through life an easy to remember alliterative name. Say, Henrietta Elliott. Add a good old traditional such as Gladys and she would be a source of wonder at school.
It seems pretty much every name is alliterative when combined with Elliott so we decided that resistance is useless. We're embracing the pain.
Oh, and Gladys would make a swell middle name...if it's a newt.
Post a Comment