What's in a Name?

I have been pondering names lately for some reason.  Some people love their names - others go to great lengths not to be called by their birth name - because they despise it for one reason or another.  I have always liked my name but have to admit if someone called me Rebecca or Rebecca Lou - I immediately wondered what I had done wrong.  That is the sad thing about a full name that is only used when you are in trouble.  Lately I have had to be 'Rebecca' more and more and it is just easier to be.  I don't cringe when I hear it now - which is a good thing because it really is a beautiful name.

When we lived in Ephraim, Utah - there was a young man named Joseph.  He refused to be called anything else.  When he was really little  - people shortened his name - even down to just calling him 'J'.  But when he could read - he started reading the scriptures and decided the name Joseph was a wonderful and noble name and refused to be called anything else after that.  Everyone honored that request.

My husband is Clyde Lester Bailey, III.  His father was always called Bill but his grandfather was called Clyde to his family and very close friends.  Our oldest daughter is named Carianne.  She is literally named after almost every woman in the family.  My paternal grandmother's name was Carrie Myrl.  My maternal grandmother's name was Sarah Ann.  My mother's name was Carolyn and Clyde's step-mother's name is Anne.  My sister's name is Marianne.  We decided to combine the name like my sister's and in the meantime we took care of honoring special women in our lives.

Heather has my middle name.  That means she is named after my Aunt Lou (Lula Brugger Carson) and my mother's father LuDeal.

Heidi is name for a place and a time.  She is named Heidi because Clyde and I met in Heidelberg in December and she was born in December.  Also because she is a December birthday her middle name is Noel.  That makes Christmas fun because whenever we find anything with Noel on it - it automatically goes to Heidi.  

Pam was supposed to be Diana and apparently Jenny Rebecca.  The whole pregnancy I thought her name was going to be Diana Eloie.  I knew she was going to born right around a very close friend Eloie Martin's birthday (19 January) and I thought that would be a special name for her.  When I delivered her, I looked at her and realized her name was Pamela.  Clyde said, "Okay," but has since forgotten all of that.  He says I wrote it down on the birth certificate without his knowledge.  Granted when I brought it up was just after I had delivered and he would have given me the moon at that point, so it wasn't completely fair of me not to mention it again.  Pamela means 'all honey or golden' and that fits our Pam on so many levels.  

As I have watched my daughter's  and son-in law's go through the naming process, I have been tickled.  I love my grandchildren and I love their names.  I am glad they have taken the naming of their children seriously and we don't have names like some of the kids my daughter's went to school with.