Saturday, November 15, 2008

And Then There Was Grace...

Meet our newest addition to the family. Isn't she precious? No, she's not mine, although we would love to bring her home with us. She's Hannah's newest cousin (albeit a bit removed), and she is a precious, joyful baby.

Hannah, who has always loved babies and younger children, practically beamed when she reminded me that her own name means grace, and baby Grace is named Grace. She is certain that this name connection is something special... a special bond that will link their two hearts and souls forever.

So as I was getting ready to load the photograph, I decided to explore the origins of a few names.... and this is what I found out.

As I knew, the name "Hannah" is a Hebrew name that does, indeed, mean grace. In the Old Testament, Hannah is the mother of Samuel, her long-yearned for son, who becomes a prophet. The name has been quite popular through the years. When I chose the name, it was the 7th-most popular girl's name in the United States. And although I chose the name without any baby-naming guidebooks, I found out that its popularity grew after I chose it... hitting the second top spot in the country within a few short years.

My name has never been an easy one to locate in the touristy trinkets department while on vacation. As a child growing up, I never had a bike tag with my name on it, nor a keychain, nor anything else for that matter. But I have always known how special my name is because it originated from two very special people, my maternal grandparents Robert and Anne.

Those names gave me more to work with. I first looked up "Robert" and found that it originated in France and means "bright fame." Although I know his ancestors are from Ireland, it seems he might have been named for either a saint or one of three kings of Scotland (which seems unlikely). And "Anne" gave me a surprise. Anne is a Hebrew name meaning... grace! Just like my daughter's name. And I didn't even know it.

While "Hannah" has been the more popular of the two (my "Anne" was never ranked higher than 57), they are connected in origin and meaning, which is a delightful discovery to me.

And now there is baby Grace... and the legacy of grace continues.




9 comments:

Caroline said...

I think the meaning of names are wonderful. I named both my children based on the meaning (Sophia, wisdom and Anabelle, lovable). I love how you are named...double cool meanings :)

Wendelyn DeMoss said...

Names are very important. It is nice for you to find out that your name has even more significance. I am named after my dad. My true name is Wendelyn (sounds like Gwendolyn) and my father's name is Wendell. My mother wanted to call me Wendy because there was a Miss America Contestant named Wendy that year. My dad did not like Wendy because when he was in HS the kids called him Wendy as a nick name. I have never been called by my formal name. Wendy has stuck. I only get to write it at the end of reports. But I like my name.

Have a great weekend!
Wendelyn

miruspeg said...

How interesting and delightful to discover you all have the connection with 'Grace'...it was obviously meant to be.

I also had no idea your name was a combination of Robert and Anne...very special.

Thanks for your supportive words on my latest post, you know the saying "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger", well I have so many things to be grateful for now, it was worth taking that journey.

Peggy

carrhop said...

Loved hearing about the genesis of your name--I had often wondered about the spelling and had meant to ask you!

Funny, I just finished writing Sunday Selah and it's on the word 'grace'--and your 'Grace' is pretty yummy and amazing, as well!

Blessings!

Mommy2Twinkies-Deb said...

I was wondering about your name. It's really nice, and in my head I've always said it "Ro-ban" like it's spelled and I guess the origins, as I know now. That is really cool. I love the name Grace, Hannah, and Anne! Your daughter is gorgeous, and I love those little pudgy legs on Grace!

carrhop said...

Thanks so much for your kind comments over on the Selah today--it always thrills me to know that something I've been dealing with also speaks to someone else.

Blessings!

MrsPeel said...

so beautiful that Hannah is connected to espiritual feelings, that is something I have been fighting to keep alive in Sarita, as the presure from the girls around, the society in general here tends to stir them to the superficial....
How incredible about your name also having a bit of Grace in it :)
I was gonna ask in the beginning if that was your real name.... :)
I too, grew up with no name tags, but even worse: none could pronounce my name, as my mum chose the proper English spelling: they would call me Sylvia, Cida (shortening for Aparecida, from the aparition, the showing of the virgin Mary) or Cidinha... but it was a good thing when I came to England! :)
The pictures are beautiful :)

MrsPeel said...

I just wanted to say, how beautiful the photos of your slide show here are!!!!!
beautiful, trully beautiful!
also: how did you get the background of your blog page?
it is your own template, right? how can I do something like that?

Jen said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog!
I have to meal plan...I have no choice. I'm not one of those people who gets "inspired" around dinner time. I just get hungry! If I didn't have a plan, we'd end up eating cereal. This week went really well - I especially loved the soup on Tuesday.

I love this post on names. My daughter is also very much in love with her new cousin, Baby Grace. I didn't put much thought into the meaning of my first born, but I did on the next two.