Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Finally, the Names

I worked hard to convince the FP Gal that we're ready to share the names and she finally has allowed it. I hope you like them. We worked on the boys name for ever!



Celeste Elizabeth:





Italian feminine form of Caelestis.
Late Latin name which meant "of the sky, heavenly".



From Ελισαβετ (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name אֱלִישֶׁבַע ('Elisheva') meaning "my God is an oath" or perhaps "my God is abundance". The Hebrew form appears in the Old Testament where Elisheba is the wife of Aaron, while the Greek form appears in the New Testament where Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist.

I'm pretty sure this name came to one of us while reading The Story of Babar, The Little Elephant to Aurelia. Once it was said out loud, it was the name. Just like I did with with Relia, I have moments where I think it sounds too fancy, but we still both love it. Elizabeth is for Aunt Liz. I knew I wanted to honor her because she is one of the more awesome ladies I've ever known.



Leonardo Xavier:



Originates from the Old High German, Leonhard containing the prefix levon ("lion") and the suffix hardu ("brave" or "hardy"). The name has come to mean "lion strength", "lion-strong", or "lion-hearted". It may also be from the Latin Leo ("lion"). Leonard was the name of a Saint in the Middle Ages period, known as the patron saint of prisoners.



Derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552). He was a missionary to India, Japan, China,
and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient
and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in
his honour, chiefly among Catholics.

My goodness we have struggled with a boy name again ths time. Why do we have such trouble in this area?





On Pi Day, March 14th (3.14), my math teacher office mates joked that if baby came that day we'd be obligated to give it a really math-y name. We ladies came up with a few ideas like, Pascal, Fibonacci, and Euclid. After sharing my day with FP and a bit of googling, Leonardo came up, and kept coming up. So it turns out he indeed will have a pretty math-y name. We'll be calling him Leo.



Xavier was settled on after a long list of middle name contenders. It is just a combo we like, and of course, we like the letter X in our boys names.





All this work, and half of it will certainly be for naught. If it is a boy, I'm going to have to run out and purchase this immediately.

4 comments:

Pat said...

The "Elizabeth" tugged at my heart and put lump in my throat. What an honor to Mom. I like Celest. Right away I thought of the celestial skies which I know you are fond of. How appropriate. Leonardo--how different. I like it. I do have to say you guys sure get out of the box when it comes to names. I am eagerly anticipating the birth of this child.

carrster said...

Awesome names! Can't wait to meet little Celeste or Leonardo! :)

Test said...

Love them both!! So looking forward to meeting the new babe :)

DD4 said...

I still miss my Aunt Liz very, very much! As the day approaches of the first anniversary of her death, my mind is on her a lot. For her sake (and because I would love to have another granddaughter), I'm hoping you have a baby girl! What a nice tribute to her this would be. HOWEVER, I will be just as pleased and happy to have another grandson.