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Monday, May 31, 2010

Name Meanings

We love picking names based on meanings.  We also love names that are less popular, classic, etc.  Though, many people must feel the same way, because Sophia has been one of the most popular names I've ever heard since she was born (though we'd never heard it anywhere before she was born...seriously).  And now we're seeing Norah pop up everywhere, which I thought was surely a safe and little-used name.  Oh well.

Back to meanings. 

Sophia Belle means Wisdom and Beauty.

Josselyn Rose means Full of Joy and Rose is a family name, but I think it's the most beautiful flower.

Norah Eve means Honor and Life.

I'm having a hard time with names this time around.  A lot of the cute boy names, just don't have meanings, other than things like "Of the field." or whatever.  And I think their names are so significant.  As Joe often says, it's like we get to be a part of putting the final brush stroke on part of God's creation when He allows us the opportunity to name our sweet babies.  In history and in the Bible, names were very carefully selected according to what the parents wanted to see in their children, or other reasons as well.  Point being, names were important...the meanings were important.

The last two days I've been cracking up about something.  See, whenever people comment on my unusual name, I just say, "Oh my parents hadn't come up with a name for 3 days after I was born.  They had to name me to leave the hospital, so they opened the T.V. guide and there was this actress named Anjanette Comer listed in there, and they thought that was a lovely name, and voila! I have a name."  And that's basically the story I was told.  Most people haven't heard of my name, but I have actually met close to 10 different Anjanette's.  They're always spelled the same way, and we're always about the same age.

But, when looking for names on-line for the last 7 years, I've often been shocked at the crazy and sometimes ridiculous names that are recognized on these sights.  A few years ago, there was seriously the name: Humvee listed on there.  It won't be shocking that it was American in origin, I'm sure.  And there have been several other equally indulgent names I've seen on there as well.  

And, I've always been frustrated that my name, which isn't that crazy sounding (after all, it is a combination of Ann and Jeanette) is never even seen as a "real" name on these websites.  

Until Now!

I was searching on BabyNames.com and typed my name in, just out of curiosity.  And, it popped up!  Not only that, but it had a real meaning: God is Gracious.  That was Saturday night.  I was so happy.  Not only was it not a never-heard of name, they actually knew it was most popular in 1971 (by the time she was in the tv guide, must have been 1975!).  And they had a real meaning for my name.  I suddenly felt like my accidental name had meaning, even if my parents hadn't realized it at the time.  And to be a person who knows without a doubt that God is Gracious, and actually have my name mean that...wow!

Then, tonight, I found this other website called Unique Baby Names.  I wasn't searching for my name anymore, but was just typing in meanings that I like, to see what names come up.  So, I had typed in a few different meanings, then typed in Gift of God. Guess what the first name was that popped up on the list?  Anjanette!!  It had it listed as the meaning: Gift of God's Favor.  

Sweet.  

Seriously, I feel special.  

I like it so much, I might name my daughter: Anjanette, Jr.  

OK, I wouldn't really do that.

3 comments:

Kate said...

That's neat Anj! I love names too...really, like it's a bit of an obsession :) We're not even close to our next one, and we were talking about names just this weekend.

We're pretty into the idea of the body of christ working the way it was intended...our first son's name (Levi Christian) means joined together in unity and follower of christ. Max is a family name and it means "the greatest." We wanted him to have a humble middle name (like servant or gift) rather than "Champion" or "Ruler of the home." Theodore means divine gift, or adored by God. I hope they don't hate their names when they get older :)

Your girls have beautiful names and I think you'll do a great job picking out this one too. Make sure it looks good on a resume and that it sounds fitting when shouting it at the park. That's all i know :)

Gayla said...

Your name meaning totally fits you!

I love name meanings too. And like your Sophia, I honestly thought Jack was an original name at the time... geesh... ;-) And same with Benjamin! Now its popping up everywhere!!!

I love that you found a meaning for your name. I totally get that it is special.

I got my name b/c my parents brought me home from the hospital w/o a name. They say they thought I was gonna be a boy. An older woman in their church (whose name was BIRDIE, by the way!) came up to my young mom and kinda chastised her for not naming me yet. My mom explained that they didn't have a girl name picked out, and Birdie said, "Well, I just don't think there's any prettier name in the world than Gayla Dawn." ...and my mom just said, "Okay!"

But I love that Gayla means "festive, full of joy". So I guess it all worked out!!! :-)

Good luck w/ the name! I know you will find the perfect one. I always think it's kinda like figuring out what God already calls us or our kids (the meanings) and we get to chose a name that matches that meaning!

Kipplyn said...

I'm looking for "peaceful" and "obedient". That leaves me with Rida Fredrick. What do you think? LOL! I love names too!