The Naming

Isaiah: God is Salvation.  Benjamin: Beloved, son of the right hand.

Isaiah Benjamin, 5 days old

Giving Isaiah a name was easy.  From about the time I was 13 weeks pregnant, I started to think it was going to be a boy, because the only name that I liked--and that was stuck in my head--was 'Isaiah Benjamin'. I had never thought about what I would name my kids before, because for some reason I tend to not like many names when looking at them.  When the names belong to people, they're great, but on paper, unattached to a personality and character.....mehhh.  Not many stick out to me.
       I had been reading and pondering the book of Isaiah for about 6 months a couple of years previously, and I learned so much about the character of the Lord and who He is from that time in Isaiah.  It really made an impact in my life, and the name seemed a beautiful reflection/reminder of what the Lord had taught me. The name Benjamin just kind of appeared, and fit so well with Isaiah.
      As we named our first child, and now are working on a name for our second child, I have discovered that the meaning of the name(s) is very important to me. I feel like it's a declaration of my hope for them and their future--a prayer bestowed on them from birth.  And so....this criteria immediately narrows down the vast possibility of names for our children.
       We do not  yet have a name for our second son.  It is tricky this time around! The other quirks we have about choosing a name is that: 1) We don't want to it be a very common name. 2) We don't want it to be too weird or unusual though either. 3) We (ok, mostly I), am not fond of nicknames - so we want our child to be called what we name it. That means it's harder to pick a name which is sometimes automatically shortened by the general population. I.E. Matthew - Matt, Nathan - Nate, William - Will etc.  This is also why I liked 'Benjamin' for Isaiah's middle name - I liked the name alot, but if it was his first, he would undoubtedly end up as 'Ben'.
      Add in the desire for a strong, Biblical meaning, and Voila!--we have greatly limited ourselves. :)  There have already been several names discarded (though very much liked by both of us) due to its meaning or strong leaning towards being shortened.
     And so, the quest for the 'right' name continues, and with it our prayer that the name we choose would be a gift to our son, a statement of God's faithfulness, promises, and hand over his life--just as I pray now that Isaiah would know God as his salvation, and that the Lord would be his beloved, as he is the Lord's.