Saturday, March 29, 2008

what's in a name?

mer-it (n). - claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth;
precious baby girl


When we found out we were having a baby, and even before, we could think of several girl names we liked, but we had trouble coming up with very many boy names. On November 5th, when we discovered that our baby was indeed a girl, she pretty much immediately became "Merit"--it was a name that both of us really loved, so we went with it. 


I had thought of it a year or two before. Kev brought home a CD of the artist Tift Merritt, and I thought her last name would be a good first name. I then thought about the word merit, and thought about what it meant to have good merit, and to merit, or be deserving of, blessings and good things in life. 

I had a college professor say once that the meanings of names are important, because people grow into their names. That professor shared that her name meant "bitter", and she felt that had influenced her demeanor and often, her outlook on life. I felt sad for her and told myself I would never give one of my children a name that didn't have a purposeful meaning, or at least a great story behind it. After only knowing my baby girl for a week, I can tell that she is already growing into her name. We cannot possibly give her all the love that she deserves. She has already blessed our lives so immensely...and that merits all the love we have to give.


Her middle name is a special name to both of us. I had a sweet grandmother named Fay, "Fay Fay" to me, who passed away when I was 6, but to whom I still feel very connected. Kevan has a precious grandmother named Faye, "Grandmother" to him, who lives in Plainview and is very special to both of us. We wanted to honor both of them, but since each of their names are spelled differently, we decided to go with Fey...3 letters like my Fay Fay, and including an e like Kev's Grandmother. 


So, there ya have it...Merit Fey. After keeping it a secret for so long, I love to hear other people say her name and seeing it written makes me smile. Shakespeare wrote that even if a rose had another name, it would still smell just as sweet. I could say the same for Merit, but to me, a name is an important part of who we are, where we come from, who we'll be... so I wouldn't change it. I guess the name we chose is, in a way, our prayer for her.

13 comments:

erin f. said...

Sharon, that is the sweestest baby I've ever seen. I love it when names have meaning and her's is perfect. You and Kevan did a wonderful job picking a name, it combines uniqueness and honoring family members both, which I think are the two most important parts of a name!

Jennifer Nieland said...

I love all of the meaning behind Miss Merit's name! She is beautiful!

Anonymous said...

I love Merit so much already. Sharon, you are such an incredible writer. You are able to display your heart so clearly and sincerely. I love my granddaughter's name. She is such a sweet and beautiful little angel. God has blessed Dad and I with another wonderful and beautiful child. He never ceases to amaze me with his wonderful love and grace. Thank you for letting me share this first week of little Merit's life with you. I have been blessed every moment. I love you and your family beyond description. Love, Mama

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful baby....and a great name to go with her! I've been begging to see more pics of her. Thank you for sharing the meaning of her name. She truly is beautiful in every sense of her name!!! Love you.

Angela said...

What a sweet story. Merit is lucky because when she's in elementary school and has an assignment to in regard to why she has her name, she'll have all the details! So happy for you guys!

annalee said...

precious precious merit... i love you already! i love your name, your adorable face, and the wonderful heritage you have!

Kat said...

Sharon, I've been reading your blog for sometime now...I love her name and love the meaning behind it. Congrats on a beautiful baby girl.

MDM said...

That is a very cool name!!! When we were naming our girls I remember throwing "Marin" out to my husband....we ultimately chose a family name and a name representing a death we faced before our baby was born. So much meaning and I love it. Your daughter is beautiful and her name is perfect. Sorry to stalk your blog...don't know how I found it, but I went to ACU too, so I will say no more!!

Sarah P said...

Beautiful. I love that you have a sweet story and a meaning behind her name. Has anyone else said that she kind of looks like Kevan?...

Chels said...

i love her, i love her, i LOVE her!

Kaylane said...

Thanks for sharing the name story! You need to print that entry out for her baby book!

Also, we have the same car seat and you will LOVE it! It is so easy to use!

Hope you guys are doing great!

Kara said...

ok, i want to know how you can write so elequently while having a one week old. i don't think my mind worked that gracefully until...well...it still isn't back to normal!

she is just so darn cute, and her name is full of meaning. beautiful!

Biddy said...

love it! she is so precious!

i'm glad you told the Fay/Faye/Fey story, because i kept thinking Tina Fey, even though I knew that probably most likely wasn't the case!