Why Did You Name Her Louisa? (And Other Fun Facts About Her Adoption)

When it comes to naming little people, the hubs and I take it seriously (as I am sure all parents do). It's  one thing to daydream about what you'll name your six kids one day (maybe girls only do this), but it's another thing when those cuties are a reality. (No, we are not having six children. When I was 16, I had six names I liked so I decided I must parent six children so that these fantastic names could be used. Ah, my teenage self . . . .)

Every letter of our first born's name has significance; so it is no surprise that our second daughter's name carries the same weight.

Louisa (pronounced Lou-ee-sah; we've been asked multiple times, which is fine; just thought I'd clear it up; geez, I'm using a lot of parenthesis in this post): My great, great grandmother on my father's maternal side (did you follow that?) was named Louisa. Since Anna is named after my mother, Lou is a nod to my dad. Bryan also has a great aunt Louise.

Louisa means "renowned warrior."And I love that. For whatever reason, this little one needed that name. It fit.

And last, and probably of most revealing of all, the name Louisa means something to me. It represents a lot of what I hold important. There is the familial connection. There is the obvious (if you know me) literary association (yes, I was part of the Louisa May Alcott society in college). There is also the meaning of the name. To me, Louisa means a fighter who champions noble causes, a fighter who is successful in her endeavors, a fighter for good . . . but Louisa is also a feminine name, depicting grace and gentleness . . . Louisa, thanks to Ms. Alcott, also represents a love of the arts and everything this female writer accomplished (especially for women) through her work . . . . Louisa hints at redemption. During my early twenties, God worked to turn ashes into beauty in my life. The name Louisa reminds me of the faithfulness and hope God showed me during those LMA days.

Bryn: This is a variation of her daddy's name: Bryan. (He says he gave his A to Anna.) Bryn means "a hill" and has association to Bryan, of course, which means "force, strength." Some will combine the two indicating that the hill is steep and strong, like a stronghold in battle. Every time I think about the strength of her all her names and how hill is incorporated, Psalm 121: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."

Caroline: This is in honor of her birth name. She was named after her maternal birth grandmother. In keeping with the theme, Caroline is a version of Charles . . . and means "strong, famous bearer." The French use the name as a derivative of Carol, which means joyous song. We like both. :-)

"Coincidentally enough" we realized after we included Caroline in her name that Bryan's grandmother, Zane Snellgroves, (who our Anna Zane is named after), was married to Pop Snellgroves whose name is Buster Carroll. Alas, Zane and Carol-ine are back together again!

On the Fort Worth Moms Blog, where I am the managing editor, I posted a piece today about our adoption story with Louisa. This describes what we encountered during the 14-month wait for our littlest love. Enjoy!