What's in a Name

Today I have to send my kids to Sunday School (we call it Primary) with a description of why and how we chose their names.  I figure this is as good of a place as any to record that, so here we go....

Owen Todd
Owen is actually Jed's middle name and was the middle name of his father as well.  From the time we were dating I always thought that if we ever got married and had a son, his name would be Owen.  I love it.  I love that it reminds him of his father, whom I hope he will be like when he grows up...honest, hard working, kind, intelligent, handsome (had to put that in there)...

Todd is my paternal grandmother's maiden name.  My Grandma is a strong women who loves Jesus Christ.  She is a hard worker who does not whine or make excuses.  Yes, we hope Owen will take on these qualities for himself.

Davis Ward
Davis is a family name on my father's side.  We named Davis this as a way of honoring my father and grandfather.  Davis is my paternal grandfather's middle name.  Both Davis' grandpa (Papa) and Great-Grandpa are hard working men.  We hope that Davis will have a desire to work hard and be full of integrity as did the men and women in the Davis family.

Ward is the maiden name of Jed's mother, Nila.  We used the name Ward in honor of her.  She is a woman who has done a lot of hard things in her life thus far.  We hope that Davis will have a love of learning and of the Savior, Jesus Christ, as does his Grandma Nila Ward.

Kate Elisabeth
Kate is the name of one of my ancestors, but truthfully we chose it because we love it.  Not Kathrine or Katie, but Kate...just Kate.

Elisabeth was chosen as a middle name after my Maternal Great-Great Grandmother.  She lived in Germany during the World Wars.  She was a strong woman who stood up for what she knew to be right.  During the second World War she would intentionally shop at stores banned for being owned by Jewish families.  We hope that Kate will have her strength and determination is doing what she knows to be right.



Grace (Gracie) Jeanne
We chose the name Grace for obvious reasons.  We think that it is a beautiful name and it reminds us of our Savior.  Ironically Gracie is extremely graceful in her movements and it always dancing around as if she lives in a ballet.

Jeanne is my middle name and my mother's middle name.  We hope that Gracie will love her family as I love mine and my mom (her Nana) loves hers.  We hope that she will choose to do hard things, even when they are not popular and will be true to what she knows to be right....hopefully these are qualities that I am developing from my mother as well.

So, there you have it...obviously, giving each child a name to live up to was important to us.