Baby Names

When you are a new parent...or expecting to be a new parent, that's probably when you first realize how important a name is. A former student of mine just had a baby girl and is still debating, after over a week, how to spell her name. The name has been decided, but not the spelling. Evidence to the importance of a name.

Joshua was my first baby. I knew his name before I was even pregnant. Once I became pregnant, everyone would ask me, "How's Joshua?" That's all he was called...not 'the baby', just Joshua. I had no proof he was even a boy...but I knew. Joshua was a name I picked from the Bible. He would be strong, he would be a leader, people would follow him. Now, Joshua is a United States Marine. He's definitely strong, he's definitely a leader, and people follow him. He's more than that though.

Gabrial was my second. We mulled over his name, just KNOWING, although we didn't really know, that he was a boy. I planned on spelling his name Gabriel, the usual spelling. Well, Ron didn't know that and he put Gabrial on the birth certificate. My first thought when I saw it was that Ron had spelled it wrong! We left that spelling and now I'm so glad we did. It's a special spelling for a special guy. He was going to be the angel. Well, something happened when he hit about two years old and sometimes his personality certainly didn't fit the angel description. That didn't last that long, thank goodness. We weathered that stage...and I said NO MORE KIDS!


No more? Never say never. Here came Lindsey. She wasn't expected, but oh, what a gift! I remember feeling that this baby was a girl...but because I so wanted a daughter, I didn't want to be disappointed if she was a he! Plus, Ron is one of three boys, so I thought we may have the same. We had trouble deciding a boy or a girl's name through this pregnancy. More girls names came to mind, but Ron and I weren't agreeing. I wanted Rebekah...he said she'll be Becky and we already have a Becky. I wanted Bonnie Jo, after our mothers, he didn't like it. Then one night I woke up in the middle of the night from a dream about a LINDSEY. I woke Ron up and told him I had thought of the perfect name...Lindsey. In his groggy state, he said he liked it, went back to sleep, and that was that. However, as history repeats itself, I had planned on Lindsay, which I think is the more common spelling. Ron wrote Lindsey on the birth certificate...I don't remember my reaction when I saw it, but we left it and we love it.

Joshua, Gabrial, and Lindsey... the three most precious names for three of the most precious people in my life.