What's in a name?

After much thought, Luke and I have chosen to name our third daughter Eleanor Grace. This name is very special to us for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is always important to us that our daughters have names with significant meanings.

Anna Kate comes from a Hebrew word meaning "grace" and a Greek word meaning "pure," so her name means "Pure Grace." This reminds us of the doctrine of salvation through grace alone, from Ephesians 2:8-9.

^"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; 

it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." 

  

Caroline means "joyous song," so her full name means "Joyous Song of Hope." It is our prayer that her life would always be a joyous song unto the Lord.

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!"

Psalm 98:4

Which brings us to Eleanor. Eleanor comes from a Greek word meaning "shining light" or "bright, shining one." Eleanor Grace means "the shining light of grace." II Corinthians 4:6 says,

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

The grace of Jesus Christ is the light in the darkness, and we pray that baby Eleanor Grace will come to walk in his light at a very young age and in turn be a light to all those around her.

Eleanor is also a significant name to us because it contains within it my own middle name, Ellen. I am named after my dad's sister (also Patricia Ellen) who is a very special person in all of our lives. Our middle names are both after my great-grandmother Ellen Randall, so the name Ellen goes back multiple generations!

Finally, when I was in college, I became very close with a family who took me in as an adopted daughter as I taught their little girl violin and babysat both of their children. Their daughter's name is Grace Eleanor and she was the flower girl in our wedding. She carries the name beautifully and we hope our daughter will do the same!

  

And, although, we hope that she waits a little closer to her due date of January 26th, we are ready for baby Eleanor since her Christmas stocking arrived in the mail today!