Sunday, March 23, 2008

A Rose by any other Name - for you, "Miss Massi"

As you may know, I recently because reacquainted with my former English teacher. After learning my daughter's name, Madeline, she asked if I named her after the children's book character of the same name. (The official answer is no, but we have collected A LOT of paraphernalia over the years.) I am always interested in how people choose their children's names, so please bear with me as I share our story.

Our first child is Madeline Kay. Although I adore the Madeline books, we chose the name for a different reason. We (I) just liked it. In the dark ages, meaning before the internet, my mother in law used to collect interesting articles and mail them to us. One such article was about a teacher in a very small town who had three sets of twins in her class. One of the twins was named Madeline, and I liked it, mentioned it to the Big Man, and kept it in my mind for several years. When we finally became pregnant, I never considered another girl's name. Her middle name was easy too. My mother, the Big Man's mother, AND my father, all have the middle name Kay, and I really liked the idea of naming her after them. In the hospital room, after she had been born, and it was time to fill out the birth certificate, the Big Man asked me if I was sure that her name would be Madeline. I remember eyeing him with a look that said, have you not been listening to me for all this time? He did not question me, and Madeline Kay it was.

T. Willy, Ty William, was our surprise baby. We had undergone some fertility treatments while trying to become parents. After we had MK, we were so happy and content with her and did not even discuss trying fertility treatments again. Of course, the desire for another child was always present, but it was not a priority. Forward nine years later, and surprise, we're going to have a baby! We had a girl's name picked out (Lauren Elizabeth) but were stuck for a boy's name. We finally agreed on Ty, once again, just because we liked it, and, no, not because we were Trading Spaces fans. His middle name came from the Big Man's dad, so all four grandparents were covered.

And we have two. As much as the desire was there for a second child, as soon as we had him, the realization was just as strong that our family was complete. And it is. So please, share with me the stories of how you chose your children's names!!!

A

3 comments:

Chellie said...

That was so fun to read! Such great, classic names. I love them!

Chellie said...

oh yes, and that is great you had all 4 grandparents covered and 2 kids. That's perfect! It's a great feeling to know your family is complete, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

My eldest, James, was named by me, for the book of James, in the New Testament. Having been of a different faith,growing up,I found great clarity in the book of James, and it helped me to understand the simplicity of salvation. His middle name, Wendell, is for a friend of ours.
Andrew, our next, was also named by me--though if we ever sit down over a long lunch, I will regale you with the hilarious O.R. scenario, in which I "won" getting the name I wanted!--because when the Lord called Andrew, (New Testament again!), the first thing Andrew had to do was tell his brother. I wanted my second son to know we had named him for a godly man, who also loved his brother. His middle name, David, is for my late husband.
Julia Kate Elizabeth Bush is named for three great-grandmothers, one of whom (my maternal) I never knew, but the other two of whom (my paternal, late husband's maternal)were very dear to me.