I have dabbled in genealogy off an on for several years now. Thanks to the Internet and sites like Ancestry.com, there is a wealth of family history available from the comfort of your own office chair and computer.
Now that my daughter is digging into our ancestors even deeper, I find it interesting to watch the procession of names that run throughout our history; the Philips, Michaels, Nicholas, Susans, and Annes. But there comes some names that are far more unique than the others. One such name is Temperance. I looked it up. It's a virtue name from 17th century Puritans; a stick-up-your-butt puritanical name. Yep, that's the impression I get with that name. I envision a stark woman, hair pulled severely back from her face, unsmiling and sitting ram-rod straight, looking into the camera with a holier than thou judgmental expression. How she would tisk-tisk at our society today. Yet, her name means moderation. Could moderation extend to tolerance? Maybe a moderate point of view from the strict Puritan to allow others their own point of view and faith? There is nothing wrong with being temperate, but I just can't shake the image I see with the name.
I looked up other virtue names and there's a whole bunch of them from every language. Of the English, there are Amity (friendship), Charity, Chastity, Comfort, Constance, Fate, Felicity, Fidelity, Glory, Honesty, Hope, Innocence, Joy, Love, Prudence, Mercy, Patience, Purity, Serenity, Unity; all girl names. There are as many boy names too. All describe a character our society deems good in human nature. So why do I look at these names and consider them stiff and formal? Maybe because they sound preachy and I know I couldn't live up to those names. Besides, does naming your daughter Serenity make her a calm child? Maybe those names are a parent's hope for their baby.
It would be interesting to delve in the minds of parents' motives when naming a child, particularly an unusual name, one that hasn't been passed down from other members of the family. When I named my son Jason, I was looking for a name that wasn't as common as William or Nicholas. As I eventually found out, my effort was a total failure when I took him into Kaiser for his first check-up and as I stood in line to register, at least three other mothers ahead of me with their sons were named Jason. Little did I know there was going to be a run on the name Jason that year.
So is the meaning of a name you give a child important? I believe to most parents it is. Even though I named my daughter after my sister, I liked the meaning of the name; one is a common name for Ireland tied into our ancestry and the other in Greek for peace. It is a name, I think to be proud of. Jason is a Greek name for healer or physician. It would denote compassion and intelligence. My name denotes being steadfast and persistent. Maybe it better denotes my tendency for stubbornness. I think it's important to give a child a name they will like and feel good about as they grow into their adulthood. What was in your mind when you named your children? What makes you like one name over another? It's meaning, the way it sounds, the image it brings to mind? Would you not consider a name that would encourage teasing? Would it grant your child to have his own uniqueness? Would you chose a name that flows elegantly off the tongue when you say the entire name? What are your priorities in a good name?
3 comments:
Oh my...I laughed when I read about your Jason being named and that year was a biggie for the name. I named my last child "Haylie" because I actually thought it wasn't being used. I always loved Hayley Mills and went ahead and gave her the name spelled a little differently. Kind of just 'simple' , flowery, fun, good-hearted nature, and loving. Well...I went to an Art Fair not long before Haylie was just a few months old and I met about 6 other Mothers who had named their daughter's some spelling of "Haylie". There are about 15 ways to spell it. What I didn't know was that there was a Soap Opera on TV that had a popular child character named none other than "Haylie"!!!! So there was a huge run on her name. I was not used to this common use of a child's name; having named my 1st three children very different, ethnic and religious names. Haylie's middle name is "Maxine" after her Paternal Grandmother. I remember when she went into Jr. High she thought about using it but it seems the beautiful "uniquely" spelled name of my "Haylie" suits her just fine... It's character after all for sure! And Haylie has a beautiful character ~
When I was pregnant with Jason, we decided on Hannah Sierra for a girl's name. Hannah being a nice seldom used name with good meaning and Sierra after the mountains Dave considers his home. After finding out we'd have a boy anyway, we started seeing Hannah EVERYWHERE...Hannah Montana must have kicked that one off. Oh well. I haven't seen too many Jasons around but there is one at his preschool.
So with our current two kids, we've used nothing but family names. We'll see what happens with #3. I still like some of our other family names but this one will definitely take some more creativity on our part. I try to take everything into consideration with names...how it sounds, what it means, what others will think, and ease of spelling. I want our kids to like their names and to also feel special for them. I know I always felt special being named after someone else in the family.
Erin, at least you like the person you were named after! It is a special name for a special woman!
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