Why that name??

A blog that I read all the time (http://www.murraycrew.blogspot.com/) has been discussing how she named her children and I thought it was an interesting subject. Names are such an important part of a person...they are your identity. It's nice to know the story behind the name, too. So, here's how we named our boys.

Austin James: Austin's first name was a name that I loved for many years before having children. I really liked Tristan, also (for obvious reasons), but was talked out of it because it would be "too confusing." I sometimes am sad that I didn't still name him that, but he is totally an Austin. Austin means "great," which suits him also. James is after my Godfather and I wanted an "AJ." In case Austin suddenly became popular (which it did!), he could be an AJ. Incidentally, he hates being called AJ. James is in the Bible and means "supplanter."

Aidan Charles: Surprisingly, Aidan was easy to name. It was a name both Steve and I really liked. It is Irish for "Steven," so he could be a junior, without really being a junior. It is also in the Bible, but spelled differently. We should have looked a little more closely at the meaning ("little fire"), because he certainly lives up to it! Charles is after my grandpa.

The triplets were a little more difficult. Every name I loved, Steve hated and every name Steve loved, I didn't care much for. We went through lists upon lists. It was important that their names be biblical. I also didn't want them to rhyme or be super-similar sounding. They are individual little men and I want their names to reflect that. When we finally decided on names and had 2 N's and one E, my other stipulation became that the two identical babies could not both have N names. Middle names were picked based on what sounded best with what first name.

Nathanial Steven: Steve wanted Nathan and I just really don't like Nathan. I do like Nathanial, though, so we compromised. We are both aware that he will more than likely become "Nate" as he gets older and I don't mind that. I don't mind Nate, but for some reason Nathan just grates on me. I hate it when people call Nathanial Nathan...it's not his name. If we had wanted to name him that, we would have. We did want the spelling a little different, so changed the "e" to an "a." Nathanial was one of the twelve disciples and his name means "gift of God," which he truly is! Steven was after Steve.

Ethan Jacob: Ethan was a name that Steve had originally had on his list for Aidan and it came up again with the triplets, so I figured he really liked it. Ethan is also in the bible. He was a very wise man and authored the 89th psalm and is mentioned in 1 Kings. Ethan means "strong," which suits him also. Jacob is after noone. I really wanted one of the boys to be a Jacob, but one of Steve's cousins goes by Jake (not his real name), so that was out as a first name. Jacob means "supplanter." Ethan is the only one who is not named after anyone.

Noah Robert: Noah was the easiest of the three to name. His name had been on our list for three years and we knew our next boy would be Noah. His name means "rest, peace" which Noah certainly needs! (And, obviously, Noah is the dude with the Ark and all the animals in the bible.) Robert is after Steve's brother who passed away and it was important to honor him through one of our children.

As to how we named them. I have heard a lot of people who name multiples in the womb. Baby A is such and such, B is so and so, C is....it goes on. Well, our baby A, B, and C kept changing positions, so who was A one week may not necessarily be A next week. We had a difficult time keeping track of them and they were all over the place while I was pregnant. Nathanial would go from being breech to transverse to vertex, much like his big brother Aidan. He finally settled into transverse around week 30 and stayed there, holding up Ethan and Noah. Ethan and Noah were also breech much of the time, but occasionally, they would go vertex. Because I couldn't tell who was where and who was who, we did not name them in utero. We had their names picked out, but we had no idea who would be who.

When they were finally born, Ethan came in with me right away and Nathanial and Noah went to NICU for a few hours. I was holding Ethan and he just seemed like an Ethan to me. I was debating this with myself when Austin and Aidan arrived to get their first look at their new brothers. Austin looked at me and said, "Did you name him yet, because he looks like Ethan." So, with two of us in agreement, we decided he was Ethan. Ethan was one of the identical babies, also, so that made it easier (and harder) to name the next two. I finally got to see and hold Noah and Nathanial after my mag (oh, glory days) at 3 am. I was holding Noah and he looked peaceful and like a Noah, so he was named. Nathanial got Nathanial by default, I guess you could say, but not really. I truly believe that God ordains our names long before our birth anyway, so that helped me to feel a little less anxious that I was naming them correctly! Because Nathanial and Noah were not named for over a day, Nathanial's nurse insisted on calling him "Baby A" his short stay in the NICU. I kept reminding her he had a name, but she wouldn't listen. Noah's nurse, on the other hand, was thrilled to know that he had a name and quickly crossed out "Baby C" and put in Noah in big letters. For some reason, Ethan also remained "Baby B" for much of his stay, with "Ethan" written in above it. We were only their for six days, though, so it probably doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things!

If this baby is a girl, she has had a name for over seven years and she will be simple to name. If this baby is a boy, we have a battle on our hands. We truly have run out of boy names. Every name I love Steve truly hates. He may have to compromise this time. Either way, we are keeping this baby's name a secret until he/she arrives. (But if it is a girl and you have paid any tiny bit of attention to our names, you will know her name!) And, of course, the name will be biblical.