BRC - name you child - feb09

Naming Your Child Speak life into your child with the name.

What’s in a name??

For years now I have been fascinated by names and their meanings.

When my son was born I choose to give him a biblical name. I did so because at that time it was the accepted thing to do. I believe this was the case in most parts of the world. However in more recent times I have noticed that people are naming their children after famous persons, most notably celebrities and, in addition to that many are making up names from both parts of the parents names; Marjon for instance would be a mixture of Mary and John. I note also that there are more names that are unisex, meaning they are used for either a male of female child, [a very dangerous pattern].

You may well ask where I’m going with this? My main concern is for the spiritual nature of the child and/or children. In the bible when a child was named it meant, “to be called" and was the same as "to be" due to the close association between a name[s] and the person[s].

Think for a moment on the names attributed to God by the Hebrews.

When He is referred to for His supremacy and might, He was called “Elohim” [Psalm 19:1]. He is also called “Jehovah-Rapha” which means “the Lord our healer” [Exodus 16:26]. There is a popular worship song that speaks about ”Jehovah-Jireh” and means, “the Lord will provide”. It is not my intention to go through the whole list of names for God, but to help you to understand the significance of naming a child.

The naming of a child therefore is a way of speaking into the life of the child, or prophesying over him or her. As I mentioned I gave my son a biblical name and so he is called Matthew. I can’t tell you how much it helped me to pray for and over him as he grew up into adulthood. I still pray that he would be “called” as was Matthew from the “receipt of customs” [Matthew 9:9]. I think also of the religious and more recently the new pontiff who decided to take the name ‘Benedict’. They all take names that will mean who they are and what we can expect from them based on that name.

I hope therefore to encourage parents to be careful what they name or call their children. Listed are some names for both male and females that would speak to the character that you want the child to exhibit. The list is not complete, but serves as a guide and motivation to think careful what it is you want your child to be, to do and to become.

Not all are found in the bible but based on their source have a special meaning. You will recognise that some of the venerated saints carry these names.

Names and Meaning Name: Abner – Hebrew in origin and means ‘Father of Light’ [1 Sam. 20:25] Name: Abraham – ‘Father of multitudes’ [Gen. 12:1] Name: Albert means ‘admirable and noble’.

Name: Baldwin – German in origin and means ‘bold friend’.

Name: Basil – Greek in origin and means ‘royal personage’ Name: Bruno - German in origin and means ‘brown’.

Name: Benedict – Latin in origin and means ‘blessed by God’.

Name: Charles - German in origin and it means 'free man'.

Name: Christopher - Originates from Greek and means 'the person that hold Christ's faith'.

Name: Clement – Latin in origin and means ‘merciful’ Name: Cornelius – This name can be found in Acts 10 and is the Roman centurion that Peter converted.

Name: Edward - It means 'successful leader' and comes from the ‘old English’.

Name: Eric – It means ‘strong leader’ and is northern Scandinavian.

[Name of a former King of Sweden] I will stop here and give a few names for females.

Name: Agnes – Comes from the Greek ‘Hagne’ and means ‘pure’ Study: Exodus 30:11-16; 1 Pet. 1:13-21; Matt. 27:1-5 Name: Agatha – From the Greek ‘Agathe’ and means good.

Name: Cecilia – Latin in origin and the actual meaning is not known.

However, in the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches, she is the “patron saint for music”.

Name: Celeste - Latin in origin and means ‘heavenly’.

Name: Chloe – Greek in origin and means ‘fresh flower’. The name is found in 1 Corinthians 1:11 I will stop here, as I believe you now have an idea what I’m trying to promote. You can visit many sites on the Internet or alternatively purchase books that give names and their meanings.

About the Author For a little more than three decades, Mrs. Cecilia Askew worked in the Financial and Investment services industry. She received training in Office Administration and remains a member of the Institute of Commercial Management of the United Kingdom.

After receiving a call from the Lord, she pursued Pastoral Counselling and religious training and currently holds a Certificate of Higher Education in Christian Studies from Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.

Her completed studies in Pastoral Counselling with the Wayne Oates Institute accredited by the Association of Professional Chaplains. She is currently has Certificates in Spiritual Care, Coaching, Mentoring and a Diploma in Coaching and Mentoring all received from the Institute of Counselling in Scotland.

She is a Pastoral Counsellor, Spiritual Director and Certified Chaplain.

She is involved in various ministries and is a member of the International Order of St. Luke [Healing Ministry], and holds Pastoral Care membership with the Association of Christian Counsellors [UK].

While she serves the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas as the Pastoral Care Ministries Coordinator, she also is a Bible Study Facilitator and Mentor with TruthMedia International Ministry [formerly Campus Crusade for Christ, Canada]. However, first and foremost she is a “child of the KING and servant of the Lord through whom and in whom she has her being.

Visit her web pages: Prayer: The Contemplative Way http://www.geocities.com/ceciaskew/index.html Personal Edification through Prayer http://www.geocities.com/ceciaskew/prayerlife.html Author: Mrs. R Cecilia Askew copyright@2005: Revised – 2009