What's in a name?

This being my first post, I thought I'd share something that might give some insight as to how I chose the  name of this blog (Yes, I have a problem with feeling the need to justify what I say and do, and worrying too much about what people think.  I hope you don't mind that I shared that!).  Anyway...



I suppose most of us, at some point, go in search of the meaning of our name.  I think I was  in grade school when I decided to  look up mine in a name book.  I spent the next 30-some years wishing I had not.  What I found was rather discouraging.  Lorraine:  Place of Lothar, site of a famous battle.  So deep, so meaningful!  Just what a young girl wants to identify with.

 In addition, my middle name was one that, for some reason, other kids thought I should be teased about. That name became a deep dark secret revealed, by me, to only my most trusted friends (and by my siblings, to anyone and everyone if I was within earshot).  I vowed that if I ever had children I would make sure their names would have meanings to be proud of, to be inspired by and that they would not be a source of teasing.  You'll have to ask my kids if I was successful.

It wasn't until I was in my forties, with two young children of my own that my first name was "redeemed".  I will be forever grateful to our children's pastor, who shed a different light on it.  She stopped me one Sunday to tell me she thought it was so nice that I had named my daughter Sarah, which means Princess, because my name means Queen.  What a revelation!  I guess I should have done a little more research (or taken French instead of Spanish) instead of taking the first thing I found as the final word.

As for my middle name, I decided to embrace it when I found my great-grandmother's name, which I had always known as Della, written down as O'Della.  There - now you all know what my middle name is.  Well, actually, it's O'Dell but I like adding the "a".  Lorraine O'Della - has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

The Queen and her court.  That's me in the middle.
  Looks like somewhere deep down inside, I knew all along.

I do feel kind of silly, maintaining such a childish hangup for so many years.  But I will encourage any of you that are entrusted with the naming of a child to put at least a little thought into it (that was not intended, in any way, shape or form to be a criticism of my parents.  There was some discussion and believe me, it could have been far worse!).  There are so many references in the Bible to the giving of, changing of, names that I have to believe that the careful choosing of a name is an important thing and a wonderful gift.