Here is the story of how my children’s names were chosen:
I always planned to give each of my children their very own first name and then a family name for the middle name, which my husband agreed was a nice idea. (In contrast: [name]BOTH[/name] my first and middle names are family names, and my husband was given NO family name.)
(1) For our first child, [name]Daniel[/name] [name]Glen[/name], my husband and I had a very hard time agreeing on a first name. My husband vetoed all my favorites, and I turned down the numerous suggestions he made. After the discussions stalled out for a while, one day, my husband said, “What about [name]Daniel[/name]?” For the first time, I had no objection. It was a solid, handsome name. I realized that I not only loved the sound of the name, but also the Biblical background and history. I had always just overlooked it before.
For [name]Daniel[/name]‘s middle name, my husband asked to use his father’s middle name [name]Glen[/name]. I liked the name, the family association, and how it sounded with Daniel, so I agreed right away. As it turns out, I call my older son “[name]Daniel Glen[/name]” much of the time. (I liked [name]Glen[/name] more than [name]Bruce[/name], which I had originally expected us to use. My husband is [name]Gregory[/name] [name]Bruce[/name]. As teenagers, my twin sister and I had decided we would both give our firstborn daughters our middle names, and our firstborn sons would get our husbands’ middle names. My sister and her husband ended up doing this.)
(2) For our second son, [name]Timothy[/name] [name]Austin[/name]: For a while, it seemed hopeless that my husband and I would EVER agree on another boy’s name. Again, we kept turning down each others’ suggestions. Finally, my husband asked what I thought of [name]Timothy[/name]. Like before with [name]Daniel[/name] – I realized I really loved the sound and background of the name. The meaning of the name ‘to honor God’ is simply wonderful. As it turns out, the name fits our son perfectly. We don’t come across very many [name]Timothy[/name]s, but – at the post office yesterday – a mother was calling out to her son “[name]Timothy[/name]” – a darling five-year-old boy.
For [name]Timothy[/name]'s middle name: I was determined to use the name [name]August[/name] after my grandfather. When I was 14 years old, I had promised my 87-year-old grandfather, [name]August[/name] [name]Bernhardt[/name], that I would name a son after him someday. When I made this promise, I failed to consider that my future husband would have to agree. Unfortunately, my husband was totally opposed to the name. He said that he would go with [name]Austin[/name] instead. It turns out that [name]Austin[/name] is a medieval short form of [name]Augustine[/name], which is derived from [name]Augustus[/name]… so [name]Austin[/name] and [name]August[/name] have the same origin. It was a compromise name, but it was the closest I could get to keeping my promise to my beloved grandfather. The meaning of the name (‘exalted’) is really nice.
(3) For our daughter, [name]Rebecca[/name] [name]Jane[/name]: Throughout most of my childhood, I always had a top boy’s and girl’s name picked out for my future children. My favorite names changed a few times over the years. A couple of years before I got married, I fell in love with the name [name]Rebecca[/name]. From my perspective, it was an elegant, underused gem. No one in my family had the name, and – in all of my years in school growing up – I had only known of a couple of Beckys and one [name]Becca[/name]. I also loved the name’s ancient origins and Biblical roots. My husband was in full agreement with this name for our daughter. Whew! We were pleased that all our children were given a Biblical name.
I had always planned on using [name]Jane[/name] for my daughter’s middle name. (My mother died when I was seven. Her name was “[name]Mary[/name] [name]Jane[/name]” [name]Ernestine[/name]. [name]Mary[/name] had been her aunt’s name and [name]Ernestine[/name] was her grandmother’s name. [name]Jane[/name] was the one name that was chosen just for her alone. She gave me the middle name [name]Jane[/name], and I wanted to pass [name]Jane[/name] on to my daughter too.
I am not enamored with the name [name]Austin[/name], but otherwise, I really love my children’s names. None of my kids go by any formal nicknames. (However, a few people have been inclined to call my middle son “Tim.”)
Suddenly, [name]Coraline[/name] (which I had dismissed much earlier on due to forming the unfortunate initials of I.C.K.) just popped into my head and screamed “I’M THE [name]ONE[/name]!!” I just looked at DH and said, “Let’s make it [name]Ivy[/name] [name]Coraline[/name] [name]Mae[/name].” Boom, took care of the awkward initial problem and honors both of my deceased grandmothers. He agreed hastily, but then I think he would’ve agreed to anything at that point! He now sometimes says he wishes we would’ve gone with just [name]Coraline[/name], but I have no regrets whatsoever and am so glad to have that little link to two very special women that my daughter will never have a chance to meet. Luckily, her name suits her right down to her toes!
