You may have been surprised at our choice of a middle name for our latest addition. Especially with all of the build up in the last few months with Kevin and I not telling what we’ve chosen for baby Joey’s middle name, and being so open about his first name. Well it all has to do with meaning.
Our two older sons have names Kevin and I like, along with middle names after a living family member. Michael Jeffrey was named after Kevin’s cousin Jeff, who has always been a good friend to Kevin. Oh, the stories Kevin has told about spending time with him. Aiden Nathaniel, was named after my brother Nathan or Nate, who I grew pretty close to after I got married and moved away. He was almost always the one to answer the phone when I called back home and we became really good friends.
Joseph, means “The Lords addition (to the Family).” And that is exactly what our newest addition is. We struggled for a long time to try and figure out where our family should be, and when we found out we were expecting our third child it was such a relief and blessing, we just knew that our Lord is watching out for us and had a plan all along.
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the name Joseph also has special meaning to us. It is the name of the prophet of the restoration, Joseph Smith, who we believe was guided by a loving Father in Heaven to restore the gospel of the Lord upon the earth in modern days.
Plus we really like the sound of calling the baby Joey, he just feels like my baby Kangaroo. “Joey” is also easier for the big boys to say than Joseph, Aiden hasn’t even attempted to say Joseph, and Michael often says “Jovuss.” Kevin also has two friends named Joseph who want to take credit for the name. While it’s not directly after them, we are happy to share Joey’s name with them.
Merlin. Yeah, we know this is going to be something that some are going to have to let sink in. No, the choice isn’t about Wizards and Warriors.
Kevin and I LOVE water. We love rain, a river, a raging waterfall, the ocean, a streams soft trickle, a storm, and the gentle pitter patter of a spring shower. From Kevin’s mission in Portland Oregon, there is this paradox they like to call “Liquid Sunshine.” This is when there doesn’t seem to be a cloud in the sky, yet it is very clearly raining. For both of us when we’re not feeling well, the best pain relief is often a warm bath or shower, and we’ve noticed that our boys have enjoyed the same thing. There is just nothing as grounding and calming as water. Water always had a very special place in our hearts, even from our very first conversations after we met.
When, after searching for months for the “perfect name,” we considered “Rain,” but it just didn’t seem to fit, and every other name having much to do with water just didn’t feel right for our little Joseph.
Then we stumbled onto a meaning before seeing the name attached to it. This meaning was “Sea Fortress” PERFECT! The water meaning that we’d been hoping for, and then the very word that means so much to our family, a fortress, what we want to be for each other, and feel our home can be in the storm of this crazy modern world. Not only that, but Kevin and I love architecture, we love old buildings. So these two words together “Sea Fortress” conjure up feelings of safety, nostalgia, beauty, and the very essence we hope to conduct within our family.
Then we saw the name attached, Merlin, we knew it couldn’t be his first name, but it would make a perfect middle name for our son. While no one in our family is named Meriln, we chose it “after” something very near and dear to us as a family.
We know that the name isn’t very traditional and for most it brings thoughts of wizards, King Arthur, and Medieval times. Kevin and I both enjoy these things anyway, but it’s not the primary reason that we chose this name.
We look forward to seeing how Joey Merlin fits into our family.
Link to the name Joseph, and it’s meaning.
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Joseph
Link to the name Merlin, and it’s meaning.
My Grandpa Henry Rawlings has a brother named Merl.
So there you have it.
Dad
I love it!! What a beautiful reason to choose such a name. He’s such a cute little guy, I’m secretly jealous!!
Kaylene, I LOVE his name! Merlin is awesome!!!! It goes great with Joseph!