Does anyone else find it a tad bit stressful that as parents we choose the name our son or daughter will grow up being called? That our decision can make or break their social life with wonderful nicknames or possible ridicule? I overthink things, yes, but to me it is a big deal that I determine my child's future in a sense through the mere utterance of a few words at birth. For this reason, I have been thinking of my children's names since elementary school. I have names that are a definite no, names that could never be because I knew someone by that name who was awful, possible names that I cannot decide on, and definite names that I really do love. Yet, that list has a few flaws, mainly it still needs to take into consideration what my husband thinks. That is important, right? Seriously though, that is definitely important! Then there is the issue of if you want a Biblical name and/or a family name. Lastly, there is the meaning of the name that many people take into consideration. All of which are equally important to discuss with your significant other.
For my husband, he really likes the idea of using family names. He was not against the names I liked, thank goodness, but he did want to tweak them a bit to mirror more of those family members he wanted to honor. So we found a middle ground and compromised. Our daughter's name, Emmalyn Irene, is a perfect example of compromise, a name honoring four members of the family and a gift for two other family members, both his family and my family included in the end result. So bear with me as I break down the importance and the overall meaning of our daughter's name. (And forgive me if I tell a story wrong. I am just telling what I recall.)
The story starts when I was a child. I remember my mother always saying how she loved the first name "Emma." Her dad's mom, my great grandmother, was Emma. My mom talks of how this woman was a strong, God fearing woman, a go-getter of sorts. I remember the story of how even in her old age one could find Emma on the roof patching up a thing here or there or cleaning out the gutters. I was actually supposed to be an Emma, but my mom's married last name would cause a tongue twister for those trying to say my name, a potential humiliating thing for a child. So she gave up her dream and her sister said she would name her daughter Emma. My Aunt had three boys. I felt it my duty at this point to name my daughter Emma to honor my great grandmother and make my mom's dream come true.
Then I read a book in school, saw the name Emmaline, fell in love with it, and Emma became Emmaline. Fast forward to years later this past July when Ben and I were discussing the name of Emmaline for our daughter and he mentioned how the name sounded a bit harsh to him. I asked him what he was thinking of instead. He said he liked the name Emmalyn. At first I was not a fan, but I realized it did sound much prettier. Plus, "-lyn" honored my dad's mom, my grandmother Evelyn and my sister Rebekah Lynn. We decided we preferred "n" over "nn" since there were already two "mm" in "Emma." Now as I look at her name, I love it! We honored 3 family members and fulfilled another's dream. "Emmalyn" means hard worker, which is not the worst meaning you could have. Our daughter has a very strong first name if I do say so myself.
Then there was the matter of her middle name. Should we use my middle name, "Marie"? I also have always loved the name "Emma Rose." Should that be her middle name? But then Ben spoke up and said, "what about 'Irene?'" I asked him why "Irene." He said it was his grandmother's name. Now, I only met this lady once, unfortunately, before she passed on, but she was an awesome lady. She made me feel part of her family instantly by her warm smiles and her welcoming demeanor. She too was a God-fearing woman. I only wish I had more chances to get to know her. To be perfectly honest, at first I was not a fan of the name. Then I read in a devotion one morning that marriage is a life of compromise, both big and small things. This matter was not the end of the world, but it was an issue that mattered a lot to Ben. It would be highly selfish of me to not consider his opinion. So I spent the next day thinking about it and realized it was the right thing to do. Needless to say, he was excited when I told him it would be a beautiful middle name for our daughter. With our daughter's middle name we honored a wonderful woman and at the same time honored Ben's father, who always spoke highly and loved his mother very much. I only wish our daughter had the opportunity to meet her. I looked up the meaning of Irene and it means "peace."
That is how we came up with the name for our daughter. A strong family name that honors both sides of the family. Also, when you put her first and middle name together it means "worker of/for peace." How cool is that!? In the end, her name was meant to be. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for our daughter, a worker of peace for His kingdom, our Emmalyn Irene.
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