What's In A Name?

Originally Posted by William on our old site for the benefit of those following the arrival of our first daughter and now reposted since we have once again expanded the female wing of our family tree.

We thought we would give a little insight into the names we have chosen for our children, especially since I didn't go into much detail when we shared the good news of adding a little female presence (Now two little girlies) to our boy house! The names we chose for our children have been mostly inspired by men of the faith who have impacted our lives greatly either by their writing or by their testimony of faith, but most especially their exposition of Scripture.





Silas Haddon - Silas is the name of the missionary partner of the apostle Paul, with whom he was stranded in prison. Also the amanuensis of Peter for the book of 1 Peter. Haddon is named for Charles Haddon Spurgeon who was quite possibly one of the most influential Christian preachers in history. This man has truly been an inspiration to me as a man called into pastoral ministry and a lover of good preaching.





Kace Renwick - Kace was to be named Cornelius after the centurion in Acts whom Peter witnesses to, but after some issues we decided to nix the name and only call him Kace, as that was to be the nic-name. It was taken from a theologian and famous apologist Cornelius Van Til whose family called him Kees (pronounced Kace). Renwick is taken from a covenanter named James Renwick (pronounced Rennik) who was martyred for the faith. His life and testimony can be read in Fair Sunshine, it is a wonderful story of God's glory going forth in the lives of His people.





Gresham Jeremiah - Gresham is named for J. Gresham Machen (rhymes with kitchen) who carried the mantle of reformed theology to Westminster after the death of Warfield and old Princeton. He founded the OPC denomination and was a great proponent of conservative and biblical theology. Jeremiah is obviously taken from the great prophet whose ministry could never be measured in worldly standards as a success although he was so faithful to the Lord in all he did. Jeremiah and the New Covenant made in Jeremiah 31 have truly been a great encouragement to Larissa and I throughout the years.





Petra Anastasia - Petra is a Greek word that means foundational rock(It is also a historical location that was said to be unconquerable and therefore named petra) and is found in Luke when Jesus explains the importance of building your house on the solid rock (there are also other places in the Greek New Testament that the word is found all of which refer to Christ and the nature of salvation and His gospel). As a Greek student I liked the connotation of the word, but also the female of Peter. Anastasia is from the Greek word anastasis which means resurrection or a new beginning. She will have a name that reflects the truths of the Gospel of grace in Christ.

Libi Shiloh - Our Second Daughter gets the distinction of being the only child lucky enough to have my (Larissa) amazing naming skills. When we named the last four children, my awesome husband always had some great ideas and apart from Silas (which was our second name choice) I am just not as creative as Will!Turns out I am the WORST baby namer out there! I cannot decide on a name to save my life, I have to try out bunches to see if they "fit" my idea of this baby. But finally, I was able to narrow our names list. I began calling our littlest girl by this name and it really seemed to fit. So we decided to name her Libi, which in Hebrew means "my heart". We hope that Our daughter will have the Heart of Him who is the author of Love, Mercy, Grace, Compassion, Liberty, Redemption and most especially Life! Shiloh is a name we have enjoyed for years.  Shiloh means "peace" in Hebrew or place of peace. This is where the Israelites built the tabernacle and also a name used of the Messiah. We hope that is peace will reign in her heart and that she would not sacrifice truth for the sake of worldly peace, but always pursue peace that is rooted in the Gospel alone!

I hope that all of you enjoy this very intimate look into the history and legacy of the names we have chosen for these boys and girls. We continue to pray that they will be as faithful to the truths of the gospel.