Why did you name them that?

What is up with the name you chose? What is the meaning for that particular name and the child? For us we have a reason for most of their names and why it fits our child.

1. Miriam. There are multiple meanings that we found for her name. When it came down to it we had our own reason and definition for her name.
a. I loved the sound of the name. When I was a child I knew a girl with the name. She was so beautiful, sweet, and kind!
b. We had tried for years to have a baby! When we got pregnant with her I wanted her to have the PERFECT name. Looking at the name Miriam it felt right. However, I did not like most of the definitions out there for that name. So in the end I came up with my own. If you take Miriam apart MIR is the first 3 letters to Miracle - she was a miracle to us. It took 7 years to get her! Then you take the last 3 letters of her name IAM in the bible I Am is another name for God. We both felt that that was it!

Miriam is our Miracle from God. So for us, that is the definition of her name.

2. Jared - We knew if we had a boy we would name him after one of his 2 uncles that past away. When we were having twins we thought maybe it would be 2 boys... so we chose the names Jared and Samuel after Nathan's brother Jared (died in 1994) and my brother Samuel (died in 2000). Jared means One who Rules!

When Jared was born I told Nathan he could choose the name to give... Jared or Samuel. It was his first born son afterall. In my heart I knew it would be Jared, so I was not surprised a bit. Nathan's brother was a very easy going, funloving person! Nathan's choice to Name Jared that was very welcomed. A great person for our son to be named after.

3. Nathanya - Well, her daddy is Nathaniel. I wanted to have her name be similar, but did not like Nicole or Natalie or Natasha... so I played around with his name some until I came up with Nathanya. The funny thing is that when we settled on it, I then came across it in the Hebrew baby names. So it is a name that has been used. The feminine form of Nathaniel. Gift from God.

4. Samuel - Well, we explained why we named Jared Jared... needless to say, I still wanted to honor my brother who had passed on in 2000. He was a very kindhearted, loving person. So when I had Samuel, the name was already waiting for him :) Samuel means Asked of God

5. Edmond - The meaning of Edmond is Prosperous Provider. For a while I had been thinking of names like Edison, Edwin, Edward, Eddie. It would not leave me. Everyone was convinced I would have a little girl this time around, but I knew with all my heart that this was my little boy. I looked at the names over and over. When I came across Edmond it would not leave my mind! I loved it instantly. It also went well with the middle name Nathan had chosen.