What’s in a name?

In the Bible, a name has a special meaning.

Abram means “exalted father” – problem was he didn’t have any kids.   Then God changed his name to Abraham “father of a multitude”.   God had a plan for him.   A grand plan…

Sarai got her name changed to Sarah but both names means princess.

Isaac’s name means “laughter”.

Theophilus means lover of God.

And I could go on like this throughout the Bible.  Even places had their special names.

Beersheba means well of the oath.

Jerusalem means city of peace.

Gethsemane means oil press.

God himself has many names (as well of Jesus) and each of them represent a special aspect of Him.

El-Olam is the Eternal God.

El-Elyon is God Most High.

El-Shaddai is Gold Almighty, the All-Sufficient One.

You might wonder where I am going today.  For my post on NaBloPoMo, I thought of sharing the meaning of my kids’ names.

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From the name book written by Dorothy Astoria

Alexandre Emanuel – age: 9 years old

ALEXANDRE
Language/Cultural Origin: Greek
Inherent Meaning: Defender of Mankind
Spiritual Connotation: Brave Protector
Scripture: Jeremiah 22:3  TLB

“The Lord says: Be fair-minded.  Do what is right! Help those in need of justice!”

EMANUEL
Language/Cultural Origin: Hebrew
Inherent Meaning: God With Us
Spiritual Connotation: Gift of God
Scripture: John 3:16 NKJV

“ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Dominic Matthias – age: 6 years old.

DOMINIC
Language/Cultural Origin: Latin
Inherent Meaning: Belonging to the Lord
Spiritual Connotation: Faithful Disciple
Scripture: John 6:39  NLT

“And this is the will of God, that I should not lose every one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day.”

MATTHIAS
Language/Cultural Origin: Hebrew
Inherent Meaning: Gift of God
Spiritual Connotation: Honor to God
Scripture: Psalm 104:1 KJV

“Bless the Lord, O my soul.  O Lord my God, thou art very neat; thou are clothed with honour and majesty.”

Jérémy Jonathan – age: almost 5 years old.

JÉRÉMY
Language/Cultural Origin: English
Inherent Meaning: God is Exalted
Spiritual Connotation: Humble
Scripture: James 4:10 NKJV

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

JONATHAN
Language/Cultural Origin: Hebrew
Inherent Meaning: Gift of the Lord
Spiritual Connotation: God’s Precious Gift
Scripture: Psalm 92:4 NKJV

“For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your works; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.”

Jasmine May – age: almost 3 years old.

JASMINE
Language/Cultural Origin: Persian
Inherent Meaning: Jasmine Flower
Spiritual Connotation: Messenger of Love
Scripture: Isaiah 55:11 NKJV

“ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void.”

MAY
Language/Cultural Origin: Hebrew
Inherent Meaning: Gift of God
Spiritual Connotation: Blessed
Scripture: Psalm 92:4 KJV

“For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.”

As you can see, the middle names of each of our kids have the Gift of God in either the inherent meaning or the spiritual connotation.   It was important for us that this was reflected in their names because they are indeed gifts from God to us.  

And this week-end, we saw that Alexandre was carrying his name very well.   We were invited to a birthday party and he was the oldest child there.   Nevertheless, he helped a lot with the younger kids during games with his brother Dominic and was overshadowing his little sister at times.    Result:  People around us were impressed by the two older kids and kept telling us about it.   This was so nice to hear and to “digest” as well.    As a mom, hearing these kind of comments is important as it confirms that what I am doing as a parent is good. 

Thank you Lord for our four kids.  They are indeed precious.   May your hand be upon them throughout their lives.