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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Names

Mr. Blandings and I are totally stumped on baby boy names this time around. In the past, a particular name has come to one of us, and we've just known. By the time we say it out loud to the other partner, it's a foregone conclusion. Then the spouse simply nods and says, "Yep. That's it."

Naming? Box checked. Let's move on to clothing the little person ...

But this time around--nothing. Starting to get a little desperate, I requested a bunch of baby name books from our local library and threw them in random spots throughout the house. The living room. The bathroom. The bed side table. "Pick one up occasionally and let me know if you see anything that sounds decent to you," I shrugged. Mr. Blandings agreed. We don't usually operate like this but hey ... we've used most of our favorite names. Give us a little slack, o.k.?

Anyhow, one of the volumes is specifically a "Classic Biblical Names" book. It's been a hoot to look through, primarily because I'm pretty sure that Mephibosheth will never, ever make a comeback in the range of the top, oh ... 5000? Maybe I'm wrong. But something tells me that I'm safe on that one.


Just seeing the names, though, has been fascinating. While I realize that most everyone puts a lot of thought into tacking a label on their child for life, when you realize the depth to which peoples of ancient times strived to truly give their child the right name, well ... it's kind of humbling. I'm pretty sure no one back then was looking for alternate spellings or checking the Social Security lists to make sure that the name they picked was common enough to be recognized without being overdone. No, it pretty much seemed to work like this: You were born after your momma begged God to open her womb. So you're Salathiel, "Whom I asked of God." Period.

Then there are those Biblical names that have unfortunately been sullied somewhat by less-than-savory characters. It would take a pretty bold person to name their son Judas, don't you think? And how about Ananais? Even though there was an Ananais of note in the New Testament who was summoned by God to open the newly-converted Paul's eyes, there's also the big bad priest guy. Guess which one most people think of first?

At any rate, naming is a serious business. When done with prayer and thought, it speaks over our children, encourages them to live up to a blessing bestowed upon them, and gives them a sense of place in the world. When done poorly, it's a jacket that never fits or, worse, a burden to bear.

We'll keep looking for a name for Seven. Our prayer right now is that if we walk into the hospital with no name--or the wrong name--that God will provide the right one. I'm not even opposed to waiting a few days to see what fits. That has never happened before, but hey, I've never been 35 and pregnant, either.

13 comments:

The Beaver Bunch said...

Beaver is a great name.

I'm just sayin'.

Beaver Blandings. Hummmm...has a nice ring to it. Just pray his teeth are good.

Jennifer Jo said...

I always said I wanted to name one of my kids Amadeus Wolfgang, but I never had the guts...

Rachel said...

I have a friend who as a preteen said she was going to have three boys and name them Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago.

Guess what? She has three boys (and now a girl), but their names are Deacon, Roman, Lincoln, and Berean.

robyn L. said...

We were *completely* stumped on baby boy names, too. (And we had a pretty good starting point for a girl's name.) Turns out that was for a reason. Our little one is a girl (as far as the ultrasound tech can tell). I don't think the ultrasound tech was wrong, though, because even before our "big" ultrasound, I knew the little one was a girl. I kept slipping and calling her "she".

Anyway, maybe there's a reason you can't think of boy's names, either. ;)

Anonymous said...

Once again, I am right there with you! We've been calling ours Four and at this point it's not sounding too bad. Better than my husband's suggestion: Rambo Wolverine Frankenstein.

-Stephani

Miss Janet said...

I have a boy name ready just in case we ever have another: Levi. Levi was the third son of his father who was a priest. My DH is a pastor and if we had a boy, he would be our third son.

Have fun pickin!

PS
I am doing a giveaway on my coupon blog. $25 for Amazon.com!
www.thegoodybox.blogspot.com

Blessings,

Janet

EllaJac said...

After four girls, I wonder if we'll ever get to use our boy names... But I think it's so good that you're thoughtfully going through the process. I'm big on the meaning of a name; I do believe it can be a blessing or a curse. I'm sure you'll find the right name at the right time.

Still so happy for you!!

Michelle said...

Seven is the perfect number. If a movie star can name their kid "Apple" why can't you give your child a name like "Seven."
Hey! I think it's cool! :-)

Rosita said...

The name is a really big deal where my husband is from. He can tell his parents' story just by telling telling why each sibling has the name they have. So, you can imagine we have taken a very serious approach to naming our children. For one child, we could not come up with a middle name, but at the birth, we were "given" the right name. And it works perfectly for him. I would say, don't worry, just have faith.

Luke Holzmann said...

I'll admit it: I was totally confused when you mentioned Ananais because, while I couldn't remember the story off the top of my head, I was pretty sure he was a "good guy." [smile] So, I think of the good one first, if that helps at all [laughing].

~Luke

The Reader said...

praying you guys find just the right name. We also put a lot of thought and consideration into it. We've not been stumped yet : )

Dawn Sodini said...

My MIL has heard from the Lord on several occasions for baby names. So when she told us our newest was supposed to be Elisha David, I was willing but not nec. wanting to name our son Elisha. We had about 4 girl names and were surprised as to who popped out (ultrasound techs had been inconclusive). So we named #5 when SHE popped out. It turned out to be a combination of the names we had picked out. As you know it will be right and it won't be late even though it might feel like it.

Traci said...

HeeHee I saw the biblical name book in your bathroom and had a good giggle. When seven arrives I am sure he or she will be given the perfect name (and then you will have to come up with the "blog" name) :)