Name Meanings & Significance
I also watched this video from Perry Stone’s Manna-Fest telecast when I was pregnanct. It is titled “Creating a Firstfruit Family Blessing.” Watch it. It’s definitely worth the 20 minutes.
Perry quotes the following scriptures:
- Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and best; it is Mine. Exodus 13:2 (NKJV)
- You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices, The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. Exodus 22:29
This really struck me. When I watched the telecast we didn’t know if we were having a girl or boy, but after sharing this video with my husband we decided that either way our firstborn child would be consecrated (dedicated, sanctified) to God.
As you may know name meanings are significant in the Bible.
I find it interesting that God changed people’s names when major events happened in their lives. For example, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. In Genesis 32:22-32 Jacob wrestled with an angel (talk about a major life event!). Jacob demanded I will not let go until you bless me. At this point, God changed Jacob’s name. What do you think that means? Why is that significant? It may be because God was prophesying over his life or God was calling Jacob to something higher, something greater. His new name, Israel, means One who prevails or one who rules with God. Wow!
When we found out it was a girl, we started looking at girl names. We came across Isabella, which means consecrated to God. We both knew this was the name for our firstborn girl! We call her Izzy for short. We can’t wait to explain to her what her name means when she is older and we pray that God would use her life for his purposes and glory.
Have you thought about name meanings?
What does your name mean?
Our oldest is Elizabeth, now shortened to Elie!
Beautiful name! Did you call her Elie growing up or did she shorten her name?
I loved this. I too was always interested in the meanings…there were babies names I liked and then the meaning would be like … brown haired rabbit…lol….ummm no thanks. 🙂
Good name pick…my oldest daughters name is also Elisabeth…with an “s” not a “z” fairly certain she will dislike that as she gets older lol….but all my kiddos names came from songs… 🙂
I agree! My husband liked Cameron for a boy, but it means crooked nose, which is sad because it’s a beautiful name! Was it specific singers you liked or names in songs you liked?
Elisabeth is such a classic and cute name.
It has a lovely meaning too.
Blessings 🙂
Thank you Kath. God bless!
I love the name Elisabeth!. I Like the name Audrey, (big Audrey Hepburn fan) but when I found out it meant elfin leader I was so sad and never named either of my girls that.
I also love Audrey, but ruler of the elves not so much.
Elizabeth is a wonderful name and I love its meaning. My daughter is Katherine which means ‘pure or clean.”
Mary-andering Creatively
Mary-andering Among the Pages
I love the name Katherine. My grandmother and sister have the name Kathleen (which is similar to Katherine) and I believe they have the same meaning.
I really enjoyed this post. Learning how you and your husband came to the name Isabella is really quite cool. I remember being a young girl and finding my parents’ book on baby names and origins. I would read through that thing all the time, imagining my future kids running around the yard and what names I’d be calling out. Always a dreamer 🙂
After reading your post, I went and looked my name up (Katharine) and discovered some interesting stuff. I remember reading a long time ago how it meant “pure.” I really liked that. But today when I looked it up, I found something different.
It could be from the Greek name Αικατερινη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from the earlier Greek name ‘Εκατερινη (Hekaterine), which came from ‘εκατερος (hekateros) “each of the two”; it could derive from the name of the goddess HECATE; it could be related to Greek αικια (aikia) “torture”; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning “my consecration of your name”. In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek καθαρος (katharos) “pure”, and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this.
Torture? No. Haha But the others are cool. Anyway, thank you for this post and the prompting to dive back into the world of names!
I’m glad you enjoyed it Katie! Thanks for sharing the different meanings of Katharine. It is always interesting to find out where things came from.
Love love love this. How beautiful that you prayed about her name and picked one with a meaning important to you guys. I’ve been praying about a name for our little one too- we’ll pick one not so much based on the meaning (although I like taking that into account) but based on a saint. We want to name our kids for people that have lived a life of faith and that will always be good role models for them 🙂
I am so excited for your Katie and I can’t wait to hear the name you picked!
It’s funny, because I did not care for my name when I was younger. I remember writing “Elizabeth” on the top of my papers in school in the third grade and eventually asking my mom why she didn’t name me something cool like Elizabeth, instead of Lisa. It was then that she told me of the history of my name. My sisters and I were all named after our godmothers, in one form or another. My godmother is Elizabeth Ann.
Over the years, I have come to know the women saints from whom these names stem: the two women closest to our Lord’s mother, Mary. It is a joy and a privilege (and very humbling) to look to these women in prayer and as models of faith and virtue.
My husband and I prayed over the names that God wanted us to gift our children with as well. We wanted them to know that they had strong faith models for their lives each time that they heard their names. We looked to the church calendar and the lives of the Saints for inspiration. The kids’ first names are from the Saint whose feast day it was on the day of their Baptism and their second name is from a saint on the day on which they were born.
It has been wonderful to share the lives of these holy people with our children. I pray these Saints continue to be a wonderful part of our childrens’ lives: that they will always look to them for strength and guidance as they journey closer to our Lord each and every day.
Thank you so much for sharing this story! It’s funny how as a kid you may not like something, but as you grow older and have a better understanding of the meaning and/or significance it can be inspiring. Also what a unique way to pick children’s names!
My husband & I have two healthy beautiful miracles here on earth and 7 more playing at the feet of Jesus. Our firstborn (a son) we named after family members and his name means strong leader. After so many heartbreaks, when we found out we were going to have a second earthly child I immediately knew, boy or girl, the name had to be Chance, because we were getting a second chance at this-life parenting. When we found out we were having a girl, I started researching names to use as a middle name and found Amaris, which in Hebrew means “the one God promised you”. My miracles are amazing!
God bless you Stacey! Thank you so much for sharing this personal story. I love how you came to name your second child. I’ve never heard Amaris, but it is beautiful and the name meaning is perfect. God is faithful!!
Congratulations! So happy for you! We have a tradition in the Greek Orthodox Church of naming our children for Saints (whether in the Bible or from Christian history). This way the child has someone to look up to & relate to – and someone to pray for them. St. Elizabeth is a wonderful Saint! : )
This is so refreshing. It’s so important to THINK before you name your baby. It saddens me when people make up names to try and be “different” or pick names that are cutesy or clever. Myndi…Brace….Tealah….Sure those names are cute when baby is a baby. But someday they will be an adult that needs a job and deserves respect.
What kind of job can a woman get if her name is Mistybelle? Whoo could take a man seriously if his name is ESPN (yes, people name their kids after the sports station!).
We named our first after two of our grandfathers and plan on giving #2 a family name as well to honor even more relatives. You can’t go wrong naming a baby after people that have proven themselves to be men or women of good character.
Thank you so much for your sweet words. I agree that naming a child is a powerful thing and you have to think before you rashly decide on a name. I also love the idea of family names.
We named our daughter Emmanuelle which means “God is with us.” Perfect. I am Ethiopian and she was born on Ethiopian Christmas Eve. She is also the first born grandchild on both sides and named after her paternal Grandfather (and maternal great-grandfather and several uncles) who are all named Emmanuel. They just never used it for a girl. We call her Emmy. God DEFINITELY picked her name. We had another name in mind that didn’t work out for a number of reasons. When this one came up, we knew it was meant for her. 🙂 Love this post and your blog!