What's In A Name?

 We're on the search for a baby name.  And we are getting nowhere reeeeal fast.

So, I thought this would be a good opportunity to record the stories of how we choose our first three kids' names.

(Since our last one won't have a name, I might as well do it now.)

"Brooklyn" was definitely not one of the names I scribbled on my notepad during the less-than-interesting Young Women's lessons.  In fact, none of my kids names were.  They were all mostly last-minute decisions.

 (If I had birthed a child between 1992 and 2004 they would have been named Dustin or McKenzie.  Ick.)  

I always loved the name Brooke and since my mom and Luke's dad's names are Lyn, we stuck the two together and... whoala.

Brooklyn it was.

 The name Brooklyn comes from the city in New York which is abstractly fitting for her.

She's unique and wild and untamed.

Parts of her are classic and elegant.

And parts of her are bold and gritty.

 She's definitely our Brooklyn.

Aubrey was almost not Aubrey at all.

She was going to be Brielle or Bailey or Katelyn.

We had thrown "Aubrey" around a little bit, but it never really stuck for me.

Then on the way to the hospital on a snowy and slick morning between a few nasty contractions, I looked at Luke and told him her name was Aubrey.  And that was that.

 "Aubrey" literally means "ruler of the Elfish people."

I am not making this up.

Ruler. of. the. Elves.

At first I was appalled by this, but again, it kind of fits.

She is a ruler.  And elves or humans or bunnies or aliens or first-grade boys, she is loved by her people.  

Her name also means "noble" and "bright."

If I had only 2 words to describe her, those might be my picks.

Noble.

And so exceptionally bright.

 

"Cameron" means "crooked nose."

Yep.

Crooked. Freakin. Nose.

 This one, fortunately, is not as fitting as the others.  

His nose is pretty straight and pretty darn cute actually.

 In Chinese, the symbols used to make up "Cameron" are the symbols for "esteemed, bright, and manly."

So we're gonna go with that.

Cameron was not decided on until the nurses at the hospital told us we couldn't leave unless we decided on something.

We turned on the TV and agreed that the first boy name that we saw or heard would be his name.

And then the first name was Adam.

So we cut our losses and named him Cameron.

And that is what's in a name.