Meaningful Names for Our Children

[CalicoKat]

hmmm. . . . we have the opportunity to give our soon to be adopted foster kids another name. They have just one given name--which we love. But for security reasons we've been encouraged to give them another first name even if we continue to call them by their middle name.

 

Soooo . . . I hadn't planned on this and although we've been kicking names around we still haven't arrived at that perfect combination. Generally we use these guidelines for giving our kids names.

 

1. A family name.

 

Family names that remain might be OK as a middle name, but we're talking about these new names for their first name. We're working with the following: Vera, Doris, Ethel, Louise, Carol, and Elaine. I do have a very distant relative whose name was Etta.

 

And for our foster son we've got: Chester, Lester, Ellsworth, and Lawrence. Not very cool names IMO.

 

Our kids's names are Trinity and Titus. I love those names.

 

2. A meaningful name.

I'd love to find a name for dd that speaks to the fact that she's a beautiful blessing. I'm just not sure where to find a baby name generator that searches in the reverse--meaning to name.

 

They're both beautiful people and I just want the perfect name for them.

 

Our other children are Mina Kathryn, Anna Janae, and Micah Paul Philip.

[Needleroozer]

Of the names you have listed, I would vote for Elaine and Chester.

[Josie]

You can do reverse name generations from this site:

 

http://behindthename.com

 

I did a search on "beautiful blessing: and several came up. I hope the link works!

[chiguirre]

Dora means gift in Greek. That's close to Doris and, IMHO, sounds a lot better. Of course, she might get a lot of "the Explorer".

 

To be brutally honest, I don't think any of the boy's names works well with Titus. Would you consider something like John that can be combined with it?

 

Congratulations!

[Tap]

For instance Carol could become Carolina or Louise could become Louisa.

 

Maybe a baby name book would come up with a beautiful variation of the names you have to work with. Have you also looked at the last names in your family? A trend for the past 10-15 years is to use a family last name instead of a first name. Bailey, Riley, Connor are all common examples.

 

What about people in your life who have become family to you? A good friends middle name or a favorite teacher who made a lifelong impact on you. A definition of a family only needs to be as tight as you allow. I am named after a favorite babysitter of my mother's. It has always been a way to keep her memory alive long after conversations about her would have passed.

[Diana in OR]

I have a girl name suggestion! I love the name Eliana. It is Hebrew and it means "The Lord Answers". I think Eliana Trinity would be a beautiful name. It was the girl name I had picked out for my youngest, who turned out to be a boy.

[Storm Bay]

hmmm. . . . we have the opportunity to give our soon to be adopted foster 1. A family name.

 

Family names that remain might be OK as a middle name, but we're talking about these new names for their first name. We're working with the following: Vera, Doris, Ethel, Louise, Carol, and Elaine. I do have a very distant relative whose name was Etta.

 

And for our foster son we've got: Chester, Lester, Ellsworth, and Lawrence. Not very cool names IMO.

 

Our kids's names are Trinity and Titus. I love those names.

 

2. A meaningful name.

I'd love to find a name for dd that speaks to the fact that she's a beautiful blessing. I'm just not sure where to find a baby name generator that searches in the reverse--meaning to name.

 

They're both beautiful people and I just want the perfect name for them.

 

Our other children are Mina Kathryn, Anna Janae, and Micah Paul Philip.

 

 

Well, I do like the name Chester, and have since I met the cutest 2 yo with that name when I was 14. However, I think a meaningful name is wonderful (we didn't do any family names except to give ds his dad's first name as a middle name as that's dh's family tradition.) I don't know a name for blessing, but the name Agatha means good. I wanted to name my second that, but dh said everyone would think of Agatha Christie (my family is good friends with a beautiful, lively, wonderful woman named Agatha, so I like it). Mostly, we went with names we could agree on:). The only time we had the same names on our suggestion lists were when I was pregnant with my ds, and then we had 5 the same, but had to narrow it down.

[CalicoKat]

I have a girl name suggestion! I love the name Eliana. It is Hebrew and it means "The Lord Answers". I think Eliana Trinity would be a beautiful name. It was the girl name I had picked out for my youngest, who turned out to be a boy.

 

Eliana is a great suggestion. Love, love love it.

[CalicoKat]

You can do reverse name generations from this site:

 

http://behindthename.com

 

I did a search on "beautiful blessing: and several came up. I hope the link works!

 

Thanks! I'm checking it out now.

[CalicoKat]

Eliana is a great suggestion. Love, love love it.

DH loves it also. Thank you! Eliana Trinity it will be. :) I prayed so hard for her before her birth--I was told about her 6 months before her birth--and I prayed that God would protect her in utero. Her latest dr. appointment was amazing. She's doing soo well. The Lord has indeed answered!

[Ravin]

My mom in stepdad are in the process of adopting their foster son. They plan on changing his middle name and of course his last name. They call him by his first name so that will be kept the same--by coincidence it's a family name. For his middle they'll likely name him after stepdad's father.

 

Another thing you could consider, if you currently call them by their middle names, is to change their middle names to their first names and give them new middles.

[CalicoKat]

nice to hear of someone else doing the same thing.

They both just have one name--a first name. We're moving that to the middle and giving them new first names. We'll still use their first name daily. Just on all legal documents etc. their first name will be used.

 

We're doing that because birthmom is trying to figure out where we live but the case worker doesn't think she'll realize we've changed their names. Having a new first name means another layer of security. If she goes looking for them she'll have a harder time finding them because most just abbreviate the middle name.

 

I love the names she gave them. But I'm excited about giving them another meaningful name

[CalicoKat]

Literally Eliana means: My G-d has answered (the first two letters(alef and lamed) are a name of G-d the i ending (hiriq yud) the possessive pronoun 'mine' ) the ayin nun hey shoresh means answer. I once heard it translated as my G-d is (the - implied, it is not actually definite) answer, but the first is the most common translation.

 

...great name suggestion ;)

 

:iagree: I love your name.

[CalicoKat]

Of the names you have listed, I would vote for Elaine and Chester.

 

Elaine and Eliana are very close so we could also say that it's a nod to MIL. :) I do like Elaine. But I love Eliana.

[Storm Bay]

DH loves it also. Thank you! Eliana Trinity it will be. :) I prayed so hard for her before her birth--I was told about her 6 months before her birth--and I prayed that God would protect her in utero. Her latest dr. appointment was amazing. She's doing soo well. The Lord has indeed answered!

 

It's lovely!

[Diana in OR]

Literally Eliana means: My G-d has answered (the first two letters(alef and lamed) are a name of G-d the i ending (hiriq yud) the possessive pronoun 'mine' ) the ayin nun hey shoresh means answer. I once heard it translated as my G-d is (the - implied, it is not actually definite) answer, but the first is the most common translation.

 

 

...great name suggestion ;)

 

I do love your name--I mean to post that every time I see a post of yours. Thanks for clarifying the meaning.:)

[Diana in OR]

DH loves it also. Thank you! Eliana Trinity it will be. :) I prayed so hard for her before her birth--I was told about her 6 months before her birth--and I prayed that God would protect her in utero. Her latest dr. appointment was amazing. She's doing soo well. The Lord has indeed answered!

 

 

Oh, I am so glad you like the name. You just made my day!:thumbup:

 

(This is more exciting to me than shaking hands with Barack Obama last week! ;) )

[PariSarah]

Matthew and Theodore both mean "gift of God." Jonathan means "God has given," which is more or less the same thing. Kenneth and Kevin both mean "handsome," although those two seem to go less with Titus than the others. David means "beloved." Samuel means "God has heard" (as in, God has heard your prayers). Martin of Tours is my favorite saint, and his story is wonderfully ironic, given that his name refers to the god of war.

[Lisa in Jax]

We had a similar dilemma in 2003 when we adopted our two kids. They each had given names but nothing else. Their Indian names are Muslim, and they're hard to pronounce (for Americans).

 

Without "getting rid of" their birth names, we wanted to give them another name to go along with their Indian names. Our dd, who was 8, got to help in the choice of her name. We went through the baby name books together (over a period of weeks), and finally found one that we all liked. Her name is Maya Shabnam (Ourlastname).

 

For our son (who was only 4), we chose the name for him. We chose Daniel, which is dh's father's first name. So, Ds's name is Daniel Yasin (Ourlastname). Both kids chose to go by their "American" names, but we'd be fine with it if they chose to be called by their Indian names.

 

After Daniel had been home for two years, we received documents that showed that his orphanage-provided birth date was incorrect. The correct date was March 24th -- Dh's dad's birthday. So, dh's dad and Daniel share both their first names and their birthdays!

 

Lisa

 

Here's a "baby name meaning" search link:

http://www.babynamesworld.com/meaning-search.html

[CalicoKat]

We had a similar dilemma in 2003 when we adopted our two kids. They each had given names but nothing else. Their Indian names are Muslim, and they're hard to pronounce (for Americans).

 

Without "getting rid of" their birth names, we wanted to give them another name to go along with their Indian names. Our dd, who was 8, got to help in the choice of her name. We went through the baby name books together (over a period of weeks), and finally found one that we all liked. Her name is Maya Shabnam (Ourlastname).

 

For our son (who was only 4), we chose the name for him. We chose Daniel, which is dh's father's first name. So, Ds's name is Daniel Yasin (Ourlastname). Both kids chose to go by their "American" names, but we'd be fine with it if they chose to be called by their Indian names.

 

After Daniel had been home for two years, we received documents that showed that his orphanage-provided birth date was incorrect. The correct date was March 24th -- Dh's dad's birthday. So, dh's dad and Daniel share both their first names and their birthdays!

 

Lisa

 

Here's a "baby name meaning" search link:

http://www.babynamesworld.com/meaning-search.html

 

Interestingly we are considering the name Daniel. He's been "through the lion's Den" and Daniel means "God is my judge." We're still undecided. But if we had to make a decision this instant that's what it's be.

[CalicoKat]

Matthew and Theodore both mean "gift of God." Jonathan means "God has given," which is more or less the same thing. Kenneth and Kevin both mean "handsome," although those two seem to go less with Titus than the others. David means "beloved." Samuel means "God has heard" (as in, God has heard your prayers). Martin of Tours is my favorite saint, and his story is wonderfully ironic, given that his name refers to the god of war.

 

 

ooo,I do like Samuel. I'll have to run that by dh tonight when he gets home. We had also considered Daniel, "God is my Judge." for him. And I like Theodore. We have an adopted Uncle who's name is Theo--but he's supplementing his marriage right now and I'm not sure I want that associated with my son.

[PariSarah]

Well, don't tell us, actually, but you could look up his birthday and see what saints are honored on that day and see if any of them has a story that's meaningful to you.

 

Isaac's b'day fell on the feast day of the theologian after whom my g'father was named, so his middle name is both a family name and a "meaningful" name.

[CalicoKat]

Well, don't tell us, actually, but you could look up his birthday and see what saints are honored on that day and see if any of them has a story that's meaningful to you.

 

Isaac's b'day fell on the feast day of the theologian after whom my g'father was named, so his middle name is both a family name and a "meaningful" name.

 

His birthday is actually the same as my grandma's. She passed away just before he arrived. It would have been her 90th birthday.

 

How would I find that information?

[Scarlett]

Eliana is a great suggestion. Love, love love it.

 

:iagree: Love it!!!

[Kate CA]

1. A family name.

 

Family names that remain might be OK as a middle name, but we're talking about these new names for their first name. We're working with the following: Vera, Doris, Ethel, Louise, Carol, and Elaine. I do have a very distant relative whose name was Etta.

 

And for our foster son we've got: Chester, Lester, Ellsworth, and Lawrence. Not very cool names IMO.

 

Our kids's names are Trinity and Titus. I love those names.

 

2. A meaningful name.

I'd love to find a name for dd that speaks to the fact that she's a beautiful blessing. I'm just not sure where to find a baby name generator that searches in the reverse--meaning to name.

 

They're both beautiful people and I just want the perfect name for them.

 

Our other children are Mina Kathryn, Anna Janae, and Micah Paul Philip.

 

 

After reading the whole thread I really like Daniel or Samuel. Daniel especially because of what you wrote about him. :) I have to say that I strongly encourage you not to use Chester or Lester. I think they will grow up to seriously dislike them and they both rhyme with awful things.

 

I love the girl names discussed down below. Just lovely! :)

[astrid]

Hi there,

Leslie is scheduled to go home tomorrow! She's very weak and has a horrible spinal headache, but liver and kidneys are on the mend with no real permanent damage done.

 

Baby Laila is still in NICU but getting stronger every day. Her lungs are working well and she's just trying to get porked up! :001_smile:

 

Leslie's dh says, emphatically, "THIS IS THE END! NO MORE KIDDOES! I CANNOT HANDLE THIS AGAIN!" :001_smile:

 

Thanks so much for your well wishes, healing energies and prayers. They worked wonders!

[PariSarah]

You can try here for copious lists of Catholic saints, and here for lists from all the churches who have an organized calendar of saints.

[blessed2fosteradopt]

As an foster/adoptive mom myself, I just wanted to say Congratulations! and tell you that I LOVE Eliana Trinity. I actually love it so much that I think I am going to use Eliana for my soon to be adopted 20 month old daughter's middle name. I just need to run it by my DH first but he is so deliriously in love, I don't think he cares what we call her. I am sure you can relate. God bless you and your beautiful family and thank you Dawn and Eliana for the suggestion and the detailed meaning!

[CalicoKat]

As an foster/adoptive mom myself, I just wanted to say Congratulations! and tell you that I LOVE Eliana Trinity. I actually love it so much that I think I am going to use Eliana for my soon to be adopted 20 month old daughter's middle name. I just need to run it by my DH first but he is so deliriously in love, I don't think he cares what we call her. I am sure you can relate. God bless you and your beautiful family and thank you Dawn and Eliana for the suggestion and the detailed meaning!

Congratulations to you too! My dh dearly loves our kiddos too. It's amazing to see him bonded so emphatically to them so quickly.

[CalicoKat]

we can't decide between Samuel & Daniel. We have a bit more time before the paperwork has to be filed so we'll try them out. :)

 

Thanks for all your help. DH loves Eliana Trinity and he actually started calling her by her new name last night.

 

Samuel Titus or Daniel Titus--just can't decide.

 

Maybe baby #6 will be a boy . . . . :) (Birthmom is expecting again)

[Lisawa]

hmmm. . . . we have the opportunity to give our soon to be adopted foster kids another name. They have just one given name--which we love. But for security reasons we've been encouraged to give them another first name even if we continue to call them by their middle name.

 

Soooo . . . I hadn't planned on this and although we've been kicking names around we still haven't arrived at that perfect combination. Generally we use these guidelines for giving our kids names.

 

1. A family name.

 

Family names that remain might be OK as a middle name, but we're talking about these new names for their first name. We're working with the following: Vera, Doris, Ethel, Louise, Carol, and Elaine. I do have a very distant relative whose name was Etta.

 

And for our foster son we've got: Chester, Lester, Ellsworth, and Lawrence. Not very cool names IMO.

 

Our kids's names are Trinity and Titus. I love those names.

 

2. A meaningful name.

I'd love to find a name for dd that speaks to the fact that she's a beautiful blessing. I'm just not sure where to find a baby name generator that searches in the reverse--meaning to name.

 

They're both beautiful people and I just want the perfect name for them.

 

Our other children are Mina Kathryn, Anna Janae, and Micah Paul Philip.

 

 

The name book. :D Is that original or what?

 

Chester means Courageous defender, Valiant in Spirit.

 

Lester means lustrous one, shining spirit

 

Ellsworth means noble one, divinly perceptive

 

Lawrence means laurel crowned one, honored one

 

for girls

 

Vera, truth strong virtue

 

Doris, bountiful, loving, generous

 

Ethel, one of high regard, noble one

 

Louise, protectress, watchful one

 

Carol, perceptive, discerning spirit

 

Elaine, brilliant one, admirable one

 

Etta, (aka Henrietta) ever rich, mighty, prosperous protector

 

These each have scripture to go with it... im not sure you want that... If you have other names, let me know and I will see if the book has it! I wrote out these on cards I made for my kids and my husband for Easter. Its an older book, but I love it. Although my name is not in it. :(

[Storm Bay]

we can't decide between Samuel & Daniel. We have a bit more time before the paperwork has to be filed so we'll try them out. :)

 

Thanks for all your help. DH loves Eliana Trinity and he actually started calling her by her new name last night.

 

Samuel Titus or Daniel Titus--just can't decide.

 

Maybe baby #6 will be a boy . . . . :) (Birthmom is expecting again)

 

Just one tip. If your last name starts with a D, better to go with Daniel. Consider the initials. I think about these things, which most of the time is silly, but sometimes not. And I hadn't thought of what Chester rhymes with. I like these names better.

[Cathy in IL]

My daughters names were chosen by their meaning. I also chose an African name for each of them since they are African-American. Anaya is and African name that means "look to God". Nidra is an African name that means, "rare and cherished."

 

I kept their birth names as their middle names so they have a link to their history and a link to their forever family.

[cin]

Just one tip. If your last name starts with a D, better to go with Daniel. Consider the initials. I think about these things, which most of the time is silly, but sometimes not. And I hadn't thought of what Chester rhymes with. I like these names better.

 

I think of these things too. I could NEVER name a boy Peter, and I had a friend in High School whose name was Leslie, adn that got twisted into Lester the Molester....:glare: Teenagers are SO weird!!!!!!!!!!!

[CalicoKat]

Just one tip. If your last name starts with a D, better to go with Daniel. Consider the initials. I think about these things, which most of the time is silly, but sometimes not. And I hadn't thought of what Chester rhymes with. I like these names better.

That's for reminding me of this too. Their initials would be D.T.G. and E.T.G. Do you see any problems with those initials?

[CalicoKat]

My daughters names were chosen by their meaning. I also chose an African name for each of them since they are African-American. Anaya is and African name that means "look to God". Nidra is an African name that means, "rare and cherished."

 

I kept their birth names as their middle names so they have a link to their history and a link to their forever family.

 

Beautiful names Cathy. Thank you for sharing. How are your foster dd's doing?

[Copswife]

I adore the name Samuel. Sam is a cute, cute nickname. Also, the account of Samuel's life in the Bible ties into adoption. His mother gave him up for a time. (side note, I was amazed how many people were "adopted" in the Bible)

 

As the girl, I like Eliana Trinity. :001_smile:

 

As a foster/adoptive parent, I can relate about the name changing thing. When we brought up changing our foster daughters name, some of our friends and family were almost upset about it. They didn't understand until we explained the whys.

 

Safety is important, but if someone were to adopt a newborn, that adoptive parent should be able to name their baby whatever they choose.

The same goes to an adoptive parent of a 6 month old or a 5 year old. I've had some much older and wiser foster parents who have done this for a lifetime explain that sometimes a name change is a very good thing for an older child, as it leaves the pain and hurts of the past behind.

 

It's already been mentioned that some foster parents move the first name to the middle name spot and choose a new first name. Each family is different.

 

Don't forget to change the SS # for your kids. The gov't does allow this and most agencies encourage it. They WILL give them a new number. Your adoption needs to be final. You may have already done this. :tongue_smilie:

 

Anyway, we went with a different first, middle and (obviously) last name for our fd. After TPR around 15 months old, we started calling her by her new name. But at about a year or so, we called her a combo of her given name and the new one. For example if she was Lola and we were changing it to Molly, we would call her LoLo Molly Girl, then after a few weeks, Molly Lo, then just Molly.

 

She adjusted wonderfully and now everyone is so used to her name that has a wonderful meaning, they can't imagine calling her the old one.

 

 

 

ooo,I do like Samuel. I'll have to run that by dh tonight when he gets home. We had also considered Daniel, "God is my Judge." for him. And I like Theodore. We have an adopted Uncle who's name is Theo--but he's supplementing his marriage right now and I'm not sure I want that associated with my son.

[CalicoKat]

I adore the name Samuel. Sam is a cute, cute nickname. Also, the account of Samuel's life in the Bible ties into adoption. His mother gave him up for a time. (side note, I was amazed how many people were "adopted" in the Bible)

 

As the girl, I like Eliana Trinity. :001_smile:

 

As a foster/adoptive parent, I can relate about the name changing thing. When we brought up changing our foster daughters name, some of our friends and family were almost upset about it. They didn't understand until we explained the whys.

 

Safety is important, but if someone were to adopt a newborn, that adoptive parent should be able to name their baby whatever they choose.

The same goes to an adoptive parent of a 6 month old or a 5 year old. I've had some much older and wiser foster parents who have done this for a lifetime explain that sometimes a name change is a very good thing for an older child, as it leaves the pain and hurts of the past behind.

 

It's already been mentioned that some foster parents move the first name to the middle name spot and choose a new first name. Each family is different.

 

Don't forget to change the SS # for your kids. The gov't does allow this and most agencies encourage it. They WILL give them a new number. Your adoption needs to be final. You may have already done this. :tongue_smilie:

 

Anyway, we went with a different first, middle and (obviously) last name for our fd. After TPR around 15 months old, we started calling her by her new name. But at about a year or so, we called her a combo of her given name and the new one. For example if she was Lola and we were changing it to Molly, we would call her LoLo Molly Girl, then after a few weeks, Molly Lo, then just Molly.

 

She adjusted wonderfully and now everyone is so used to her name that has a wonderful meaning, they can't imagine calling her the old one.

I had not thought about changing the SSN. But you're right. That is important too. I'll mention it to dh. Birthdad has had his rights terminated and Birthmom will be TPRd May 7th. It was scheduled earlier in February but she came to court and wanted to change it from a hearing to a trial. But she never followed through with meeting her new lawyer so last week they had another hearing which she didn't show up for so they vacated her request for a trial and they scheduled the TPR.

 

The two kids are being done separately since dd was born after ds was placed with us. Her goal change has passed through legal review and her ACR is in May.

[Copswife]

Changing their SSN is very important. Where I live, all the foster parents that have adopted have changed their adoptive children's SSN.

 

Think about it, if any family members had access to it, they could try and get benifits from the number and create a huge headache for you.

 

Change it and no one knows it. The man that works at the SS office said that if anyone tries to use the old numbers, they will go after them with charges. And let's face it, most of our kids were removed from families that routinely break the law.

 

That is why they did this for kids adopted through foster care. I believe you need the new birth cert. with the new name and the adoption decree. There might be something else.

 

http://fost-adopt.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/children-social-security-numbers-and-ide

 

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=362&p_created=960993064&p_sid=WtxEFW_i&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MTYsMTYmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PWZvc3RlciBhZG9wdGlvbg**&p_li=&p_topview=1

 

(I was told to disregard the part about knowing about adoption.. that doesn't matter)

 

 

I had not thought about changing the SSN. But you're right. That is important too. I'll mention it to dh. Birthdad has had his rights terminated and Birthmom will be TPRd May 7th. It was scheduled earlier in February but she came to court and wanted to change it from a hearing to a trial. But she never followed through with meeting her new lawyer so last week they had another hearing which she didn't show up for so they vacated her request for a trial and they scheduled the TPR.

 

The two kids are being done separately since dd was born after ds was placed with us. Her goal change has passed through legal review and her ACR is in May.

[Storm Bay]

That's for reminding me of this too. Their initials would be D.T.G. and E.T.G. Do you see any problems with those initials?

 

:) No! And good point you already discussed with someone about SSNs. I'm guessing the birth mother doesn't know where you live. I'm happy for your children because they get to stay in a loving home. I can't tell you how much difference that made for one of my brothers, but out of 4 kids from his birth family and a half brother, he ended up having it the best. Not that we were perfect, but one stable home with parents and siblings who loved him. He looked up his birth siblings and it was quite an eye opener. I think he keeps in touch with one or two of them, but we don't really discuss it.