The Name Game: Leah

I love names. In high school biology, instead of actually paying attention to the teacher, I made a list of girls names in the back of my notebook. Alphabetically, I wrote down every girl's name I could think of. Useful, I know. I even wrote down the name I didn't like.

In college, this love of names was reinforced in my literature and theater classes, where it was pointed out that usually authors selected their character names deliberately, not just by plucking them out of the air. I LOVED this concept, and when presented with a new book or play, I'd eagerly head to my favorite baby name sites to see if the meanings corresponded with the characters at all. Usually they did. (I tend to be a bit analytical sometimes...)

So you can bet that when presented with an opportunity to name my very own child, I did not take it lightly. Oh no. I am NOT one of those people who can just choose a name because "it sounds nice." There needs to be plenty of thought and symbolism put into the choice.

OH, and Aaron should probably like it, too. This actually proved to be the first step in the culling process, which helped greatly since I tend to like just about every name under the sun.

And he does not.

We found out about 5 years ago that we would be having a daughter, and the Name Game started. We agreed that her name should be something Biblical, since our faith is very important to both of us. Also, Biblical names tend to be solid, classic names (well, a lot of them anyway) that would generally be thought well of.

OR, her name should be a family name.

Then we eliminated all the names of our nieces, my cousins, and our close friends and their kids. This took care of the majority of Biblical options. However, there was a NON-Biblical , somewhat family name we both liked: Nora. Aaron's grandma's name was Cora (and she was a piece of work, they tell me...I really wish I could have met her.) Nora spelled N-o-r-a-a is Aaron backwards. However. Norah Jones was really big at the time, and our last name is too reminiscent of that songstress to get by.

We also had, of course, the name "Leah" on our short list. A solid Biblical name unclaimed by anyone else we knew, it fit all the requirements. PLUS, it means "weary" (the poor lady had 10 sons, you know, even if she didn't actually give birth to all 10) AND I spent 5 hours pushing while in labor with my lovely daughter - who stubbornly chose her own unique position in the birth canal. Somewhere in that five hours, I decided that "Leah" it was.

Reader Noel mentioned possible literary references, and indeed, there is one. I had recently read The Red Tent, and although I question the accuracy of the relationship between Leah and Jacob in that novel, I loved that Leah was presented as a strong, independent woman, not the unattractive weakling that I had imagined from Sunday School. Also, and probably more to the Biblical facts, if Leah was the lesser loved sister, it would appear that God heard her cries of misery, and gave her that enormous amount of children to provide her with honor, affection, and caregivers.

Leah's middle name, Elizabeth, was already determined. And not because it's MY name, either - but because it is the middle name of my beloved grandma, Gail Elizabeth. I'm not sure how many generations carry it, but this name has some serious roots in my family.

I'm actually completely convinced that "Elizabeth" may be the world's most perfect middle name. Its syllables can help even out any awkward last name, and it is historical AND Biblical without being stodgy or out of fashion, or weird. And, of course, there are the limitless nicknames.

Like Liz. The world's most perfect first name.

(Ha! You knew I had to go there, people.)