What's in a Name?

A number of you have asked how we came about Evelyn Sophia as a name for our little girl.  We put a lot of thought into the names we chose for her because we both believe that a name not only identifies someone but it describes them.  As parents we are speaking the meaning of that name over our baby's life at birth.  I first mentioned Evelyn Sophia back in November.  I remember exactly where we were for some odd reason.  We were driving on I-70 in Indianapolis (near the Post Road exit...to be exact!).  We were throwing names back and forth to each other, at that point not knowing if we had a little girl or a little boy.  When I said the name, Dan didn't seem overly excited, but he didn't give it the veto ("Is it me, or is 'Veto' starting to sound really good?").

When we found out that we were having a girl, after the ultrasound we were sitting in my OB's waiting room and Dan said, "I think I know what name I want."  And so she was named.  We chose early on not to tell anyone her name until she was born - which was fun to keep a surprise until she was born!  So here's how we came about the name, Evelyn Sophia...

EVELYN

The Hebrew meaning of Evelyn is "LIFE".  Some etymologies suggest Evelyn to be derived from Eve, which means, "GIVER OF LIFE" or "LIFE GIVING".  We loved the multiple meanings behind such a name.  We want this baby girl to grow into a living, breathing, vessel of the Holy Spirit who truly gives life to others by sharing Christ with them.  We want this little girl to stand for LIFE in all circumstances. And we want this child to understand Who has given her life.

Evelyn is also my grandmother's (my Mom's mother's) name.  So given the meaning of Evelyn and the sweet tribute to my Grammie, I have always loved this name.

SOPHIA

Sophia is another name I have always loved.  In Greek, Sophia means "WISDOM", which many of you know is my maiden name.  Those of you who knew me as Dan and I were getting married know that I struggled a little with 'giving up' my maiden name (I mean, really...who doesn't want to be Dr. Wisdom?!).  I had always hoped that Dan would agree to Sophia as a middle name for a girl as a tribute to my own family roots.

And so Evelyn Sophia became the name of this precious baby girl.  We pray that she will truly grow into her name and bring LIFE and WISDOM to a searching world surrounding her!!