I was never meant to be called Ann. My mother had chosen the name Rachel but changed her mind when a friend insisted that she could not possibly call her newborn 'Rachel' - it was 'far too Welsh!' So she opted for Ann without an e, a very English name. I used to consider it rather old fashioned but I liked the meaning - 'graceful'. I used to think this meant 'elegant' but in another baby names book, I found it was better translated as 'full of grace' or 'God has favoured me'.
Perhaps it was this story that made me adamant to have definite names picked out for each of my children, well in advance and not to be swayed by the opinions of others. My husband and I always came to a swift agreement, found names we both liked and never had to debate names - until now! With four weeks to go until the arrival of our seventh baby, we have two names chosen - one is conventional and it was one I had suggested - it is a Biblical name and has family connections. It is a name I have always liked and was always on my list of desirable names.
And as for the other name - my husband heard a name, a most unusual name and declared that he liked it and guess what? I liked it too, in fact I loved it. I looked it up in my baby names book which has 75,000 choices for names - it wasn't there. Looked in my other book - no, there was no mention of this name. I had to google it and I did find it and it had a lovely meaning. I had been ready to reject it if the meaning was not to our liking.
Perhaps it was this story that made me adamant to have definite names picked out for each of my children, well in advance and not to be swayed by the opinions of others. My husband and I always came to a swift agreement, found names we both liked and never had to debate names - until now! With four weeks to go until the arrival of our seventh baby, we have two names chosen - one is conventional and it was one I had suggested - it is a Biblical name and has family connections. It is a name I have always liked and was always on my list of desirable names.
And as for the other name - my husband heard a name, a most unusual name and declared that he liked it and guess what? I liked it too, in fact I loved it. I looked it up in my baby names book which has 75,000 choices for names - it wasn't there. Looked in my other book - no, there was no mention of this name. I had to google it and I did find it and it had a lovely meaning. I had been ready to reject it if the meaning was not to our liking.
And I quite like that - there are so many lovely names and as a Christian family we do like to choose names that have a Biblical connection or are derived from the Hebrew or Greek but as is the case with so many Bible characters, it is highly likely that there will be many Joshuas, Calebs, Daniels, lots of Sarahs and even quite a few Noahs around these days ! I like all of these names by the way - some are classics that have been popular for many years and will continue to be used for future generations, others fall out of favour and you can sometimes guess the decade a person was born in, simply by their name!
I love the names of my children - they were carefully chosen. I not only look up the meaning but if they are a Bible character I use a concordance and look up all the references to that person. I was particularly impressed with the attributes of the men of God that my boys are named after and this influenced our decision to give our boys their names.
My girls have names that I find beautiful and many people comment on their names, especially the names we chose for our twins which are a little more unusual.
Another factor which influences me is popularity and association. There are certain names which become associated with personalities, celebrities, cartoon characters or trademarks. For example, say the name Calvin and most people would think of a certain fashion designer. It also means 'bald one'! Apologies to any one reading this who chose this name for their son - it is actually quite a nice name! I also once considered Brittany for one of my daughters - I think it is such a pretty name and close to my husbands name of Brett but I could not help but think of Brittany Spears and so it was crossed off the list - I wonder if names lose their popularity as a result of poor celebrity behaviour? Did you cross 'Paris' off your list of girl's names even though you liked it?
So here I am, still torn between two names but leaning towards the more unusual one especially when I heard our conventional name on 'RSPCA Animal Rescue' the other night ( no, it was not Rover!) but as I remarked to my husband 'People call their dogs by this name, another reason to go with the unsual name.' But opting for the unusual name presents a second dilemma, we now have to find a second name that goes well with this first name and sounds right with our surname! Surnames can sometimes pose a problem. My headmaster at school was a 'Mr Duckworth' - guess what his first name was? Yes, it was 'Donald' - the kids used to have a field day and made quacking noises as he passed by! Poor man!
My mother chose just one name for me - I am Ann, plain and simple - I have no middle name and sometimes that causes problems when filling in forms which ask for 'full' name. I saw these gorgeous vintage style, paper dress up dolls in a gift shop the other day with old fashioned names - if you wanted to buy one for your son or daughter you would have been disappointed, the name choices were limited but there on display in the window was 'Ann'. I could not resist - I had to buy 'Ann'. Funnily enough, I used to have blond curls just like these as a child!
She also came with a selection of outfits, specifically designed for her! And she was Ann without an e! Yes, that's me, without an 'e'!
I know we should not be concerned with what others think about the names we choose for our children, after all we are the parents and is our privilege to do this - to name the children that God blesses us with and so we will prayerfully consider the names that are on our hearts, state with confidence the name we decide upon when our baby enters the world and the midwife declares 'It's a boy/girl and then asks 'Name?' her pen poised to write it on the little ankle band. Can't you tell I'm now more than a little excited about welcoming our new baby. Just one question regarding the name - conventional or unusual?
With Love and Joy,
Ann
With Love and Joy,
Ann