What's In A Name ... ?

Words have meaning and names have power.  ~Author Unknown

I believe that naming your child is a beautiful expression of your love towards him or her.  I believe there is great significance and responsibility in naming a child.  I’m sure not everyone holds this same belief … something I firmly believe when I hear names like Tommy Thompson, David Davis, Peter Peterson, … North West (ahem) …

While each of my children might not completely appreciate the long names that they have, I don’t think they have a problem with any of the actual names.  Each of them have three names and each name is significant or named with a purpose.

In naming our two Chinese sons, their names came quickly but not without meaning.

XXXX, XXX Bei will be Jonah Lee Bei.

               

                Jonah – quite a few years ago I took a class from Moody Bible Institute and I had to do a complete study of the book of Jonah. In my study I grew deeply aware of the provision and compassion of God.  After that study, I said to myself, "If I ever have another son, I think I'd like to name him Jonah."  The name Jonah is derived from Hebrew and means “Dove”.  A dove is symbolic of peace and gentleness, which is very much what I see when I look into this special boy's eyes.

                Lee – my mother’s name is Leanna, but she goes by Lee.  Lee is a Celtic name meaning “Healer”.

                  Bei – we will keep this portion of his given Chinese name.  The character for Bei literally means “shellfish” – oh well, it is what it is.

XX, Huang will be Rees Solomon Huang.

                Rees - In 2004, my life was forever altered when I went on a mission trip to Frodsham, England.  My husband and I were graciously and lovingly hosted by a sweet couple who quickly became another set of parents, ... Dennis and Maureen Rees.  In July, 2014, my life was forcibly altered again when Dennis passed away.  My sweet boy, Rees, will be an honorary tribute to a beautiful and treasured chapter of my life.  The name Rees is Welsh and means "ardent or fiery", which means intense feeling; passionate.

                      Solomon - Dennis suggested to me a couple years ago to read the book of Ecclesiastes.  I did and I found it both depressing and enlightening ... which I told him.  I have since then read it again.  I don't know for sure what was behind his suggestion; hopefully, one day, I will.  Originally, we were going to choose the name "Oliver" for Rees' second name but I felt it needed to change.  So, I told Brian "we need to come up with a different name and I think it should be biblical."  After a few moments, he suggested "Solomon".  Ooo ... I really like it!!  What I find very interesting is that Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes and it was the Bible verse Ecclesiastes 11:4 that propelled this adoption into action.  The name Solomon is Hebrew and it means "peace".

                  Huang - we will keep this portion of his Chinese name.  The character for Huang literally means "yellow" - again, it is what it is.