What's in a Name

Samuel Brian

Samuel

We knew we wanted to use a Biblical name.  We loved "Samuel" for both the character of Samuel and also the meaning behind his name.  For anyone unfamiliar, here's a snapshot.

Hannah was barren.  She prayed,

“Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life.” 1 Samuel 1:11

Then,

"In the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, 'Because I asked the Lord for him.'"  1 Samuel 1:20  [Samuel means "heard by God."]

Hannah dedicated Samuel, saying,

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the Lord.  For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”  1 Samuel 1:27

The story of Hannah holds a lot of meaning for us, for obvious reasons, and I love the meaning of the name Samuel.  Throughout his life, Samuel showed strong allegiance and obedience to God.

So there you have it:  Samuel.

Brian

My dad is the namesake for the middle name we chose for Samuel.  He has the biggest and purest heart of anyone I know.  He's a man of fewer words than many, genuine to his core, generous, humble, and doesn't have a bad word to say about anyone.  He seeks the Lord, and trusts in Him.  He cares very deeply for the people in his life, and cares well for them too.  He values family, helps anyone in any way, and goes out of his way to make others feel like the most important person in the room.  As we raise Samuel (and Beckett too), these are certainly characteristics we hope to instill.   

An added bonus of using "Brian" is that Beckett carries his paternal grandfather's middle name (Miller) and Samuel carries his maternal grandfather's middle name (my dad's first name is Roy but he goes by his middle name).  So there's a cool symmetry there.