My husband and I have long been in agreement that the name of our first son will be [name]Zion[/name]. The name came to me in a dream when I was a teenager, and it was a very spiritual experience. I’ve always had it paired with [name]Anthony[/name] or [name]Nathaniel[/name], and it’s only in the past two years or so that I’ve built up the rest of my list and really discovered my naming style. Now with potential siblings [name]Alice[/name] [name]Willow[/name], [name]Ophelia[/name] [name]Fawn[/name], and [name]Solomon[/name] [name]Fable[/name], as well as [name]Caspian[/name] and [name]Lucy[/name], my [name]Zion[/name] combos just don’t seem to fit in. They’re too solemn, too flat, and too traditional.
I love word names especially in the middle slot. In this particular case, I’m also drawn to names with spiritual meanings, pertaining to enlightenment, connection, truth, etc.
I’d love to capture the imagery and feelings from my original dream: Impossibly tall, rugged, craggy mountains cloaked in brilliant white snow, crisp air as cold and clear as water, and a sort of deep breathless silence, a sense of presence, of the divine. I’m not sure if that can all be summed up into one name, but I’d like to try.
Sleep on it…LOL. I was told since I was 19 that I’d never have kids…she’s now 18 months. She 1/4 american indian so’s named after [name]Jesus[/name] (who gave me my miracle) plus it fits her heritage - [name]Reign[/name] [name]Grace[/name]. Everybody hated it until my dad and step mom who happened to be at church heard the song God Reigns - then it became “a sign.” If I told you her last name you’d think her name even funnier…lets just say it has cloud in it. A for [name]Zion[/name] I’d want something meaning unmoveable, solid, dependable, firm. Or simply [name]Rock[/name]…
ottilie – Westfall is lovely Thank you, my dear. The image of you in elvish name-hunting garb with your bow and arrow is made all the cuter by how very pregnant you are!
blade – Numinous is a good word for it! [name]Zen[/name] is another, although how something can be rugged and zen at the same time is hard to fathom. Numitor is awesome, but Hubs will think I’m crazy for sure.
mclola – Athos is interesting! I Googled it and the pictures of the mountain are gorgeous!
judyariel – I like [name]Malachi[/name], [name]Gabriel[/name], [name]Sage[/name], and [name]Frost[/name], but not necessarily with [name]Zion[/name], if that makes sense. I love Kestrel, but it shares too many sounds with our last name which is a lot like Kellar-Strong. I’ve never heard [name]Adriel[/name] before, I’ll have to look it up. By far my most favorite of your list is [name]Zion[/name] Atreyu. Swoon!! On of my most favorite names ever. I’ve been working on Atreyu for a long long time…maybe one day Hubby will cave…
leona – I don’t even know what Zionist means. I associate [name]Zion[/name] with the mountain of God, the “pure heart/spirit” meaning, and the symbolism of an earthly reflection of a spiritual reality. My personal connections with the name are rather esoteric in nature…it has deep meaning to me.
thuja – does it make me a horrible horrible person that I won’t use [name]Uriel[/name] because it sounds too close to urine? :-/
leeloo (how i went from otter to sci-fi is the question) - Athos is very interesting, I’m mulling it over. You’re right, Hubs will probably nix [name]Olympus[/name] right off.
sally - [name]Reign[/name] is a lovely name I do want something solid and rugged, but [name]Rock[/name] is perhaps a bit literal for me
otter - [name]Ever[/name] since Mister Sessha agreed to [name]Willow[/name], I’ve been giving him a break from my name obsession…I don’t want to jinx anything! This afternoon was actually the first time I’ve asked his opinion on any combos…finally tried out [name]Caspian[/name] [name]North[/name] and [name]Caspian[/name] [name]Frost[/name] (my top two [name]Caspian[/name] middles) to see what he thinks. No response yet, he’s mulling them over. I think I’ll wait awhile before I mention that I’m thinking of altering the [name]Zion[/name] combo.
flokoflo - Thanks for the awesome suggestions! I love [name]Cassiel[/name], but [name]Caspian[/name] is in our top three boy names, and I think they’re far too similar. [name]Ezekiel[/name] (this spelling) and [name]Titus[/name] are lovely but I think they make the combo a little heavily Biblical compared to our other combos. I’m on the fence about [name]Dashiell[/name]…same with Zachariel, I love the uniqueness but I’m not sure about the alliteration. I have mad love for [name]Lucius[/name], but Hubby is not a fan. [name]Mitchell[/name] is actually my husband’s middle name!
I’m still on the hunt, so if anyone has more suggestions they will be greatly appreciated!
[name]Zion[/name] [name]Ransom[/name] comes to mind. You may be able to find names you like from the 1700s or possibly the 1800s if you can find some lists online, via graveyard sites, genealogy sites, or other historical-type sites. There were some really creative spiritual word names floating around back then. You could also find a list of mountains listed in the Bible; perhaps you’re not going for a “Biblical” tone, but some of those ancient names might appeal to you. I also like Jerusalem and Chapel, but both look feminine to me and again, I don’t know if you’re going specifically for [name]Christian[/name]-sounding names like that. Good luck!
Thank you, my dear. The image of you in elvish name-hunting garb with your bow and arrow is made all the cuter by how very pregnant you are!