What's in a Name? A Whole Lot!

"Shakespeare once asked, 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet'...But consider this: would a rose be a popular symbol of love it were called 'stink-weed' or 'death-thorn'? Of course not! A man wouldn't give a death-thorn to a woman whose heart he was trying to win."--Mary Kassian

I read this quote yesterday and it harkened me back to when I discussed this weekend with some parents how they chose the names of their children.  Every couple has their own way of coming up with the perfect name.  Some considerations are the sound of the name, the meaning of the name, honoring a family or friend's name and the initials a child will end up with.  For Hollywood, it sometimes seems the goal is to be as weird as possible: Blue Ivy Carter?  Apple?  Moon Unit and Dweezil?  (I'm starting to think of death-thorn here).

My mom tells this funny story of when she was working at a hospital and a woman was trying to decide between two names for her baby boy.  Mom asked her what the names were: Scott Anthony or Axel Andres.  My mom suggested they go with Scott Anthony :-)

Really, there is a lot in a name.  It is the name that you will be tied to for at least eighteen years, more if you decide not to change it.  A name encompasses hopes and possibilities for a child.  Studies have been done that show a correlation between a person's name and how likely that person is to get a job (in other words, how likely an interviewer will respond positively to a name--like it or not, people are often judged on their names).  Names also reflect the personality of the parent and I guess that can be good or bad depending on the name that is chosen (don't forget the parents that weren't allowed to name their child Hitler by a judge).

I thought it would be fun to tell you how we chose Alexis' name.  For Roger, the sound was important.  For me, the meaning was a priority.  For this reason, I went through a baby book and picked all the girl names that I liked the meaning of.  We found early on that we both liked Alexis--Roger liked the sound, I liked the meaning.  We finally came down to Alexis or Michaela.  When she was born, we just knew right away she should be Alexis.

Why do I like the name Alexis?  First, it's a Greek name like mine.  You'll notice that our last two choices reflect the main languages the Bible was written in: Michaela is Hebrew and Alexis is Greek.  My name is Carissa, a variant on the Greek charis, which means grace.  Alexis comes from alexo, which means "help/defend."  Second, I love the meaning of Alexis.  For a name, it means "helper or defender of mankind."  What a wonderful future idea for a child--to become someone who will help and defend others!  Third, Alexis' middle name is her Grandma's name.  I love my mom so much and I wanted to honor her through Alexis' middle name--Marilyn.

So, why did you choose the name you did for your child?  Honoring a parent?  Sound?  Meaning?  Or I just liked it?