What's in a name?

When you’re expecting a child, there are a lot of big decisions to make, not the least of which is what to name the kid.

After all, he or she will be stuck with this name for the rest of his or her life, so it better be a good one. Something that will fit a child as well as a grown-up. Something that will hopefully not cause your child to become the butt of jokes on the playground. Something that, perhaps, sounds great with “Dr.” or “President” in front of it.

There are dozens of books and websites out there to help parents choose a name. Many of them offer a “meaning” to go with the name.

Hubby and I never really considered the meanings of our boys’ names. I came up with Logan Christopher and he liked it, plus it had his name as Logan’s middle name, which is kind of a tradition in Hubby’s family.

When it came time to name Jordan, I was at a loss. When I found out I was having another boy, I just couldn’t seem to find any names I really liked. Hubby spent some time with the baby name books and one day when I was lamenting the fact that our baby still had no name (mind you, I was probably only four or five months along at this time) he said “I kind of like Jordan Thomas.”

Boom, there it was.

I loved it. I had never even considered Jordan, though I had breezed past it in the baby books many a time. And Thomas is my dad’s name, so I liked that tribute to my father as well. Plus, it rolled nicely off the tongue: Jordan Thomas Johns.

Yeah.

So, Jordan was born, and a little while later, my parents gave us these framed name descriptions for the boys. I’m not sure where my mom picked them up, but they do seem to be quite accurate.

Logan’s says, “Loveable and charming, this child is intelligent and has the ability to make quick decisions. He has an engaging grin and a winning attitude. A capable child, he will develop into a good leader.”

That’s pretty much spot on for my little Logan. He is incredibly smart and often charms people with the things he says. The way his mind works amazes me sometimes. And as for the winning attitude part, we’re working on that!

Jordan’s reads, “A mischievous imp. One who is sometimes labeled a prankster. He is witty and bright, often leading others into trouble while he somehow manages to look innocent. Innovative and imaginative. Able to excel in creative endeavors.”

Well. He’s only 15 months old, so much is yet to be seen about his personality, but the first part is unbelievably accurate. It’s like the phrase “mischievous imp” was written while the author was looking at Jordan as he gets into something he KNOWS he’s not supposed to get into. He gives you that sideways look with that insanely adorable grin that tells you he knows exactly what he’s doing.

Mischievous imp, indeed!

In fact, we’ve taken to calling him an imp, just because of this framed description. It’s perfectly fitting.

Hubby was telling a friend at work about the name descriptions lately, and how well they fit the boys, especially the imp part. His friend suggested we promptly remove the frames from the house so Jordan doesn’t grow up and use it as an excuse to misbehave. I had to giggle when I heard that.

I don’t know if there’s anything to this whole name meaning business, but it’s kind of like a horoscope, I think. You can often make things fit if you try hard enough.

Still, it’s fun to see if people’s names seem to fit their personality.

Now, please excuse me. I have an imp to corral.