Name Game

After seeing Mel’s great post with information on baby Hilly’s namesake, I was inspired to let my kids know why we chose their names:

Hunter– I babysat a cute little boy named Hunter, and loved reading the biography of Howard W. Hunter. He was a great man and I would love for my son to look to him for direction.

Robert – Chosen for his dad (obviously), and Pappy, and both of Rob’s grandfathers. The tradition lives on without having the title of “the third” in his name.

Joseph – This was my grandfather’s first name and is also for Joseph Smith the prophet. Both were men of integrity with strong convictions and personality.

In Rob’s family it was tradition to give everyone two middle names. We decided to do two middle names for the boys and one for the girls since they will gain an additional name when they marry.

Emma– We loved this name and agreed on it before we knew Hunter was a boy- In large part because we loved the story of “Emma” by Jane Austen. When Hunter was about a year old I was driving down the road when the thought came to me almost as if someone was talking to me, “Emma is waiting and ready to come.” I came home that day and told Rob that I knew we had a daughter named Emma coming to our family.

Elisabeth- This is the name my parents originally meant for my middle name. My great-great-grandmother in Germany on my mom’s side was named Elisabeth. Because I was born by emergency cesarean and my mom was still groggy from medication when the nurse pressed her for a name, I became Amy Lisa. Only afterward did my Nana tell my Mom that Elisabeth was called Lisa by her friends and family.

Hannah– We were getting very close to delivery and could not find the right name for our baby girl. At the time Keira and Brooklyn were at the top of the list, but we both were still not sure. I asked Rob to ponder it on the last fast Sunday before I was due and let me know of any revelations. He heard someone in the ward talking about their daughter Hannah and it just seemed right. I had always liked the name, but never brought it up because I thought it sounded so similar to Emma.  In the end, we followed Rob’s inspiration and chose Hannah.

Brooklyn- Both of my mom’s parents (who passed away before our children were born) were born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.

Sabrina– The day before my scheduled cesarean, Rob and I were putting names on pieces of paper and drawing them to determine the winner. But since neither of us could leave things completely up to chance, this helped only to narrow things down to either Gina or Sabrina. Rob favored Gina because of it’s Italian connection, and I favored Sabrina because it sounded sophisticated and was also the name of one of my best friends in junior and high school. Rob told me I could make the decision because I had a difficult pregnancy with her; and well, he felt sorry for me. After she was born I was leaning toward using Gina and told Rob. He asked, “Are you sure?” and I answered, “…I don’t know.” Then shortly after I decided that Sabrina was a better fit for her, and we never looked back.

Isobel- Chosen for Rob’s grandmother who was born in Scotland and raised in Ireland.

Every name fits each child perfectly, and we love our kiddies all so much.  Each one came to our family with special talents and gifts that are unique to them and it is a great blessing to be their mother.