What’s in a Name?
We are studying the scientific classification system right now. Last week I read something in our text that I’d never really considered before, but it makes a lot of sense.
It stated, “Whoever names someone has the authority or dominion over the one that is named. Adam named the animals and Eve; God named or changed the names of several people. Jesus gave new names to some of His disciples.”
On any given day, I feel more like my children have dominion over me rather than my husband and I having dominion or authority over them! But there is still power in the process of naming our children.
At the time we began having children, knowing name meanings was a rather new idea. And we took it seriously. It is something that we have found to have a lasting effect on our children. For instance, our first daughter is named Erin. Erin means peace. Now, Erin, being a first born daughter is not naturally given to peace. But we have found, over the years, that she has worked hard to live up to the meaning of her name. One time, she was visiting the bedside of the mother of one of her best friends whose health was failing. She told her that her name meant “peace” and that she had come to bring her peace.
Sometimes, we had to be a little more creative in deciding the meaning for a name. Kody means cushion. So we decided “comfort” was a good choice for his name meaning. And Jacob actually means “surplanter”, so we chose “overcomer” for his name. We have a "pure princess" , a "gracious joy", a "strong and manly" and a "truthful oath of God".
We have experienced many instances when knowing the meanings of our children's names was a helpful tool in encouraging them to live up to that particular character quality. Do your children know the meaning of their name?
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