What's in a Name?

I don't know about you, but, for me, when I found out I was pregnant for the first time, my immediate thought was -- What will we name him or her? That seemed to be the most exciting and monumental task that we would have.

Of course, I browsed through all of the name books and websites, but when we found out our first baby would be a boy, I knew my role in this task was no more. My husband is a Junior and he was adamant about having a Third. So our firstborn son would unquestionably be named Robert Emmet the Third. I was not opposed to this. I think that's a great heritage and wonderful way to create a legacy. But, I will admit, it took the wind out of my sails. You see, in my family, we have a blue million Roberts. This includes my father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, three cousins, and two uncles. And that is just on my side.

So, I decided to focus my energy on what we would call him. Some options were Trey or Tripp (due to his "Third" status) and Bo. My great aunt insisted that we call him Bert. (If you know our last name, you would understand why I immediately vetoed this suggestion.)

We decided on Robbie and, of course, it was perfect.

Then, we found out we were pregnant with child #2. Once we discovered we were having a girl, I declared myself the sole name chooser since I had a very minor role in choosing Robbie's name.

For me, I want my children to have significant names -- names with a purpose. I knew I wanted to name my first daughter after my grandmothers. They are both saints -- beautiful, godly women with the most amazing spirits. My maternal grandmother had no namesakes. This could be due to the fact that she is known as "Footy"! But her given name is Evelyn (Footy was born out of her older sister's inability to pronounce her name). I heard the name Eveley and decided on that.

A few weeks after Robbie went to Heaven, we were driving in the car and I was contemplating what Eveley's middle name should be. It had to be meaningful and capture some of the circumstances surrounding her birth. The name Joy came to me, and I knew that was perfect. A song we had been listening to for many months before included the line from the Bible verse: Though sorrow may last for the night, Joy comes in the morning. And Eveley Joy has been the perfect choice.

Here we are again -- trying to decide on a name for our third child and second son that will encompass our prayers for his life, the timing of his birth, and our thankfulness to God for His wonderful blessing. We have chosen a name, and we both agreed right from the start. So, number three has been a definite joint effort.

We can't wait to meet the little guy, and we will tell you his name after we've told him!