Some people use names that are passed down or in some way honor a family member. Other people choose names that are exotic of have a unique spelling. There are websites full of thousands of names to help everyone find what they are looking for.
Luckily for my husband and I we don't agree on a lot of names. We each nix quite a few which helps shorten the list dramatically. The addition of a second child also means steering clear of names that sound similar to our older daughter's name so that cuts a few more out. We toss out ideas and weed through the possibilities.
The trick is we won't really know her personality. We will only have the information of what she looks like at birth and how the the pregnancy and delivery go. Yet with my daughter we seemed to have chosen perfectly as she seems to be a beautiful combination of happy, strong, and ...well lets call it persistence.
Again last night my husband and I edited out list. We have it narrowed back down to four names but now do not have a set middle name either which makes the combinations numerous. I trust that when I see her and hold her in my arms the name will be more obvious. I trust that each of the names we picked will give her space to grow as an individual.
I'm grateful to have the list narrowed back down a little. I'm grateful my husband and I have such different taste in names that helps weed through the choices. I'm grateful for the ease of choosing my daughter's name once I saw her. I'm grateful for the hope it can be that easy again with baby number two. I'm grateful to know that if need be she may change it when she is older. I'm grateful to see how a name can help build an image but also how a person can rewrite the image of a name in their own way.
How important do you think a name is? If you have kids, how did you choose their names? Do you like your name?
May today remind us that nothing can hold us back from reaching our full potential without our consent. May we see the beauty in the name given to us. Have a beautiful day!