“Mom, who did you name me after?” asked our barely six-year old son.
Caden isn’t a family name, but it was chosen with due diligence. His name means Companion and Best Friend – and while we were pregnant with him, the choosing of his name was a really big deal.
When I was growing up, I was told stories about how my father picked my name out of the Bible (Rachel), and how after he died, my aunt called from Germany requesting that my middle name be Allison so I would have the same initials as my deceased father. My family always made a big deal about my name – who picked it, how it was chosen – and most importantly, the significance of it. It made me feel really important and I wanted to live up to their expectations.
My family, my parents, were so excited about me joining this world, they deliberately and intentionally picked a strong name for me – one with meaning and purpose – because they knew I would have meaning and purpose.
A name defines a person’s character, I believe. A strong, positive name enhances self image and provides shoes to be filled, even subconsciously. In literature, names are chosen to convey personality, will, and capability, and to help the reader mentally depict the strength of an imaginary figure.
For our first born son, we thought about family names, Biblical names, cultural names and looked at all their meanings. We heard the name Caden and immediately thought of cadence – musical and harmonic – and when we learned Caden means Companion and Best Friend, we knew that’s what we wanted for our son. It aligns perfectly with our view of the world and how paradise isn’t a place or belongings, but a feeling of being part of something, belonging and having strong connections with other people.
When we were pregnant with our daughter, again, we wanted a strong name for her – one that would set her up to be an independent and strong person, not a weaker gender, but a leader in this world! Kate means Pure, Strong, and Determined. We named her, before birth, to be a female CEO, to lead her friends and family and be able to do anything she sets out to do.
We were so excited about our children joining this world, we deliberately and intentionally picked strong names for them – because we knew they would have meaning and purpose!
I created these custom photo flags for our children – to hang in their bedrooms so we can remind them everyday who they are, how important they are and that we believe in them!
