DadTalk

What’s in a name?

So this week has seen the long awaited arrive of Harper Seven Beckham. With so many theories behind the reasons for the names it got me wondering why we call our kids what we do.

When we discovered we were going to have our first baby we spent hours talking about names and loving or hating each other’s suggesting.  Just before our 22 week scan we came up with 1 name we agreed on. Lottie Mai was the agreed title and so the discovery that our bump had a todger was a major blow and the whole process started again. I liked Seth, she liked Dominic, I like Hector and she really didn’t!!

In the end I got to choose.  Jasper has always been a name I have loved.  It’s derived either from the Persian name Caspar, meaning "treasurer," or the Persian word "yashp," meaning "spotted stone", which is of course a semi-precious form of quartz. However to me it does have a more personal story and I think it was this that sold it to my wife! There is a story of a King who sits on a throne made of Jasper and in the story the throne is said to reflect the goodness and kindness of the King’s majesty to those who see him. My dream, my hope for Jasper is that he will be a person who reflects goodness and kindness to others just as the throne reflects the goodness and kindness of the King.

When only 17 months later we got pregnant again it was Philbe who got to choose. We waited until we knew that bump was a boy and then started to think and discuss! We were sitting around one evening with some friends who were doing the obligatory name-throwing-around-game when someone shouted Harvey. It totally caught Philbe’s attention. When we looked it up we discovered that Harvey means Battle Worthy which some think is a rather harsh and negative meaning but for us it made the name even more perfect.  We like the aspect of the word worth as it speaks of worth or excellence; possessing merit; valuable; deserving; estimable; excellent; virtuous. The period when Harvey was born was a really tough time for us on lots of levels but Harvey’s birth forged something deep and meaningful in our little family. We overcame a battle and were found virtuous enough to have a son, Harvey. 

From time to time our boys will ask us to make their bedtime story the story of why we picked their names. I love being able to snuggle down with them and tell them about why we chose to call them Jasper and Harvey. As they listen I get to fill their minds with the dreams we have for them and how they can always remember these dreams hidden in their names. I can sow into their DNA the characteristics that their names conjure up. They always seem to wake up 10 feet taller after they hear these stories.

So, what’s in a name?