What's in a Name?
I don't really agree with Shakespeare on this actually. Names are very important. They give a person something to live up to. At least I think they should.
I have 4 children with unusual names. I know that. Whenever we meet people for the first time and they ask what my children's names are I list them off and then count 1...2...3...in my head because I know it's coming....
"So how did you come up with those names?"
Right on cue.
Then I launch into an abbreviated version of what I'm about to tell you. Because the other day Beya wanted me to "craft" with her, (which basically means get the paints, markers, stickers, glue, etc. out and just MAKE something), I felt like making a little poster with a visual representation of the kids' names on it. It turned out pretty neat and it gave me a chance to appreciate their names all over again.
Novan: This is a "normalized" version of Nova which is a star of course or the explosion of a star. Brad had originally said, "How about "Nova du Soleil"?
I replied, "No way. But Nova might work."
So to make it more name-like sounding we added an 'n' on the end and voila! Novan!
While we really had no idea how parenthood would change us, I love that Novan's name was inspired because now when I think of his name I think of how our quiet easy "single" lives went super nova when Novan was born. Everything changes when you have a child. Your life is altered in a way that can never be undone. It's just like a Super Nova actually. Novan exploded into our lives altering our reality, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, and our purpose.
Beya: I LOVE Beya's name. I just love how it sounds. It's a beautiful name. And wouldn't you know, her name actually MEANS 'beautiful'? Because "Beya" is the phonetic spelling of the Spanish pronunciation of 'Bella.' We spelled it that way because I loved the Spanish pronunciation and didn't want anyone calling her 'Bella.'
We lived in California at the time so not only was the choice of her name influenced by our cultural surroundings, (Brad actually heard his Spanish-speaking employees say 'beya' from time to time so he was really the one who conceived the name), but it was also influenced by a time in our lives that was quite beautiful.
From the time we started having children, (ie I stopped working), until rather recently, we struggled to pay our bills. Except for 2007. The year Beya was born. We made so much money that year we paid off our credit card debt from previous years and managed to save a ton of money which we were able to use later for a down payment on a house in NC. It was a lovely time to live in CA and Brad was finally "arriving" in his career of selling investments. The stock market was at an all-time high and for us, life was quite beautiful.
Beya's birth was beautiful. After Novan's somewhat traumatic premature birth, Beya's birth was a welcome change. It was, by far, my easiest labor and Beya was the easiest baby. She knew how to nurse perfectly right from the start thus inflicting minimal pain on me. She slept through the night on her own at 6 weeks old. And she has turned into a beautiful little girl both inside and out. She IS her name physically but most notably, spiritually. She remains a very bright and beautiful spot in our lives.
Iyov: Hebrew for 'Job.'
I became pregnant with Iyov shortly after the stock market crashed into what is known as "The Great Recession" along with the housing bubble bursting. This was a tumultuous time in our lives. There was much sleep lost. My father was diagnosed with cancer. In 2008 he passed away. My grandmother followed shortly after I became pregnant with Iyov. We moved to NC that winter, a huge moving expense. Our vehicle was nearly totaled in an accident, Beya aspirated on a crayon and had to have a bronchoscopy which costed us our $3000 insurance deductible, and our home was flooded by a burst water pipe (another huge deductible).
Iyov was born before our house was even completed with pretty much the worst labor I had ever experienced. He was a terrible baby who screamed and screamed. I cried over him many nights begging Heavenly Father to please just put this child to sleep so I don't harm him myself. While some tough love eventually got him sleeping, he was still pretty nightmarish during the day, screaming about anything that wasn't to his liking at the drop of a hat.
So not only does Iyov's name represent a period in our lives that seemed very dark and full of trial, it also represents the person he is. He was never a colicky baby. Even now I look back and realize that being at odds with his circumstances and seeking after something better was in him from the very beginning. He is laser-focused on what he expects from life. He's not willing to settle for less. He is fierce and steadfast in his choices just like Job. He is not willing to let life thwart him. His name is perfect for him and for that reason, I love it.
Keshet: Hebrew and literally translates as 'arc' although the context is almost exclusively limited to the 'arc in the cloud' also known as 'rainbow.' You'll recall that the rainbow was God's sign of his covenant with man to never again flood the earth. And while this is fitting seeing as our house was flooded and Keshet was like our "covenant child' after the flood, I think of this idea of an arc or covenant more broadly relating to our lives.
You'll recall this post a while back in which I describe my feelings about becoming pregnant again. Becoming pregnant with Keshet marked a time of great self-actualization and realization in my life. She was the child I had freely, without worry and as a sign of my faith. My keshet or covenant with God was that I would continue to do my very best to serve Him and break away from the temporal worries that had continually beset us... even if they might continue to do so. And she represented that beautiful phenomenon in the sky, the rainbow after the storm, the beauty that will always follow the darkest of days.
I feel that all of my childrens' names were divinely inspired but I can still vividly remember when I thought of her name. 'Rainbow' just came in my head as I was pondering names and I hadn't even considered the 'coincidence' of how a rainbow is a sign after the storm. I was more curious what the Hebrew translation was because I just think Hebrew is beautiful. 'Keshet' felt right from the moment I saw it. I've never been so immediately sure of a name as I was of her's.
So there you have it. The story of my babes' names. And I love each one intimately and personally. They mean something very special to me and I hope they will mean something to them one day as well.
I have 4 children with unusual names. I know that. Whenever we meet people for the first time and they ask what my children's names are I list them off and then count 1...2...3...in my head because I know it's coming....
"So how did you come up with those names?"
Right on cue.
Then I launch into an abbreviated version of what I'm about to tell you. Because the other day Beya wanted me to "craft" with her, (which basically means get the paints, markers, stickers, glue, etc. out and just MAKE something), I felt like making a little poster with a visual representation of the kids' names on it. It turned out pretty neat and it gave me a chance to appreciate their names all over again.
Novan: This is a "normalized" version of Nova which is a star of course or the explosion of a star. Brad had originally said, "How about "Nova du Soleil"?
I replied, "No way. But Nova might work."
So to make it more name-like sounding we added an 'n' on the end and voila! Novan!
While we really had no idea how parenthood would change us, I love that Novan's name was inspired because now when I think of his name I think of how our quiet easy "single" lives went super nova when Novan was born. Everything changes when you have a child. Your life is altered in a way that can never be undone. It's just like a Super Nova actually. Novan exploded into our lives altering our reality, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, and our purpose.
Beya: I LOVE Beya's name. I just love how it sounds. It's a beautiful name. And wouldn't you know, her name actually MEANS 'beautiful'? Because "Beya" is the phonetic spelling of the Spanish pronunciation of 'Bella.' We spelled it that way because I loved the Spanish pronunciation and didn't want anyone calling her 'Bella.'
We lived in California at the time so not only was the choice of her name influenced by our cultural surroundings, (Brad actually heard his Spanish-speaking employees say 'beya' from time to time so he was really the one who conceived the name), but it was also influenced by a time in our lives that was quite beautiful.
From the time we started having children, (ie I stopped working), until rather recently, we struggled to pay our bills. Except for 2007. The year Beya was born. We made so much money that year we paid off our credit card debt from previous years and managed to save a ton of money which we were able to use later for a down payment on a house in NC. It was a lovely time to live in CA and Brad was finally "arriving" in his career of selling investments. The stock market was at an all-time high and for us, life was quite beautiful.
Beya's birth was beautiful. After Novan's somewhat traumatic premature birth, Beya's birth was a welcome change. It was, by far, my easiest labor and Beya was the easiest baby. She knew how to nurse perfectly right from the start thus inflicting minimal pain on me. She slept through the night on her own at 6 weeks old. And she has turned into a beautiful little girl both inside and out. She IS her name physically but most notably, spiritually. She remains a very bright and beautiful spot in our lives.
Iyov: Hebrew for 'Job.'
I became pregnant with Iyov shortly after the stock market crashed into what is known as "The Great Recession" along with the housing bubble bursting. This was a tumultuous time in our lives. There was much sleep lost. My father was diagnosed with cancer. In 2008 he passed away. My grandmother followed shortly after I became pregnant with Iyov. We moved to NC that winter, a huge moving expense. Our vehicle was nearly totaled in an accident, Beya aspirated on a crayon and had to have a bronchoscopy which costed us our $3000 insurance deductible, and our home was flooded by a burst water pipe (another huge deductible).
Iyov was born before our house was even completed with pretty much the worst labor I had ever experienced. He was a terrible baby who screamed and screamed. I cried over him many nights begging Heavenly Father to please just put this child to sleep so I don't harm him myself. While some tough love eventually got him sleeping, he was still pretty nightmarish during the day, screaming about anything that wasn't to his liking at the drop of a hat.
So not only does Iyov's name represent a period in our lives that seemed very dark and full of trial, it also represents the person he is. He was never a colicky baby. Even now I look back and realize that being at odds with his circumstances and seeking after something better was in him from the very beginning. He is laser-focused on what he expects from life. He's not willing to settle for less. He is fierce and steadfast in his choices just like Job. He is not willing to let life thwart him. His name is perfect for him and for that reason, I love it.
Keshet: Hebrew and literally translates as 'arc' although the context is almost exclusively limited to the 'arc in the cloud' also known as 'rainbow.' You'll recall that the rainbow was God's sign of his covenant with man to never again flood the earth. And while this is fitting seeing as our house was flooded and Keshet was like our "covenant child' after the flood, I think of this idea of an arc or covenant more broadly relating to our lives.
You'll recall this post a while back in which I describe my feelings about becoming pregnant again. Becoming pregnant with Keshet marked a time of great self-actualization and realization in my life. She was the child I had freely, without worry and as a sign of my faith. My keshet or covenant with God was that I would continue to do my very best to serve Him and break away from the temporal worries that had continually beset us... even if they might continue to do so. And she represented that beautiful phenomenon in the sky, the rainbow after the storm, the beauty that will always follow the darkest of days.
I feel that all of my childrens' names were divinely inspired but I can still vividly remember when I thought of her name. 'Rainbow' just came in my head as I was pondering names and I hadn't even considered the 'coincidence' of how a rainbow is a sign after the storm. I was more curious what the Hebrew translation was because I just think Hebrew is beautiful. 'Keshet' felt right from the moment I saw it. I've never been so immediately sure of a name as I was of her's.
So there you have it. The story of my babes' names. And I love each one intimately and personally. They mean something very special to me and I hope they will mean something to them one day as well.
I love this, Rachel! I have always been fascinated by names and their meanings, and I just thought it was fascinating to see how intertwined their names were with your life as a growing family. This will be such a neat thing for your children to read!
ReplyDeleteHello !
ReplyDeleteI'm 18 years old and my name is... Beya ! It might sound a bit odd but I was doing researches about my name when I found your blogspot. I'm glad I did because I didn't know my name meant something in Spanish ! I'm French... Well, not entirely, my mother is Algerian and the meanings I found out are these:
1) Apparently, in Arab or in Islam, I don't remember, it means " the one who opens the gates of happiness"
2) It might be the Indonesian for joy or something.
That is pretty much all I know.
But to tell the truth, it is a very unusual name. Until I've googled it, I was convinced that my name didn't exist and that my father did not spell it correctly. Indeed, in Arab, Beya doesn't exist as such: it is spelt Bahiya, Baya but not Beya.
Well, enough with my story-telling. All I wanted to say is that I am happy to read that somewhere in the United States a lovely little girl shares my name. I might not be partial, but it is a beautiful name indeed. At least it is a rare one and I think rare/uncommon names are a very precious gift which parents give you. A name like Beya which origins and meanings are uncertain is an endless source of imagination, wonder and pride to some extent. Thank you.
Thanks Anon! I'm impressed that the name exists elsewhere and it sounds like all of the linguistic renditions mean similar things and they still very much fit my Beya!
DeleteI know this is old but my daughter's name is Beya also!
ReplyDeleteI keep teasing my mother and telling her that all my research keeps saying my name is a boys name lol. She always says the same thing "I named you after my best friend in the army and she was a female ". Either way, I LOVED your explanation of why you picked the name! It was hard growing up named Novan but I like it now.
ReplyDeleteI keep teasing my mother and telling her that all my research keeps saying my name is a boys name lol. She always says the same thing "I named you after my best friend in the army and she was a female ". Either way, I LOVED your explanation of why you picked the name! It was hard growing up named Novan but I like it now.
ReplyDelete