What's In a Name?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.

That is completely untrue. If a rose was called a dungflower, no one would even dare to smell it. Names have a huge impact, whether we anticipate it or not. That is especially true with naming people. A name is something a person will have with them their whole life, defining them. Their name is who they are.

I've always loved names. I got my first baby name book when I was eleven or twelve. Yes, on purpose. I loved looking through it, pairing first names with middle names and last names, discovering what kind of feel each name had - was it soft? Harsh? Weird? My mom would have her friends come over and they'd see my baby name books all over the place and ask Mom, "Is something happening?" She'd just laugh and say, "Oh, that's just Tori. She likes names." I even go so far as to make up my own families. If I had a daughter, what would I name her? What about a son? Of course, I'll have to become more focused on a name when I actually have kids. As of now, my favorite names change about every week.

My family places huge emphasis on names. We like to stay away from the cultural norm, and have some meaning behind the names we choose.

My full name means "victory from the little King".

Jace was actually named after his dad, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather. A family legacy.

The Levites in the Bible were God's messengers, so you can see the meaning behind Little Man's name.

Names are big for us, which is why we're having a hard time coming up with a middle name for Evan.

It's unclear as of now whether her name is Evangeline or Evangelina (but I like Evangeline better, so I'll just stick with that for now). Either way, we are going to keep her given name. It means "bearer of good news".

My parents want her middle name to mean "princess" or something along those lines, so that she knows that she is just as much a daughter of God as anyone else.

Names are powerful. So for any expectant parents out there, I strongly suggest doing some research on the meanings of the names you're considering. You wouldn't want the meaning of your child's name to be "bitter and sad" (Mary) or "crooked nose" (Cameron).

What's in a name? Everything.