Benjamin Rhys Gets His Name

Naming babies is hard work. We really struggled to find the right name for each of our kids and I always second guess myself after the name is chosen and it takes me several weeks to settle into their names. It was no different with Benjamin.

When I first got pregnant with Zara five years ago, David and I were convinced she was a boy. Part of that conviction was due to the fact that we each came up with the same boy name separately...but we had no girl names we liked. The name, of course, was Benjamin. Even though we didn't get to use it for Zara, it was always at the top of my list of possible names if we ever had a boy.

When we found out baby #3 would be a boy, I knew Benjamin would be a top contender for a name. But I didn't want to declare our search over without considering other options and before he was actually born. I firmly believe you need to meet your kid before you name them.

We poured over baby names and discussed other possibilities. I knew I didn't want anything super modern. I like traditional names. David wanted something Irish or that would at least point to our heritages.

Our list included many names, but the top contenders were Benjamin, Patrick, Declan, Peter, Jack, Liam, and Alexander. Benjamin was still my top pick but David was less sure. But during the last week or so of my pregnancy, I did start thinking of him as Benjamin in my head. I was 99% sure that was his name. Luckily, after he was born David agreed with me. He was a Benjamin.

There are several reasons why I liked Benjamin. It means son of the right hand or son of the south and since he was born in Georgia, I thought it was especially fitting. I also liked that it was the name of several great men like Benjamin Franklin or King Benjamin from the Book of Mormon. He was a wise leader who emphasized service, compassion, and love. I hope my son finds value in their examples.

The middle name was much harder to agree on. I liked Patrick or Lee for a middle name. Patrick is David's dad's middle name and Lee is my dad's. But we didn't want to honor one grandfather over the other and Benjamin Patrick Lee seemed a little excessive.

I had put Rhys (pronounced Reese) on our list of names but knew it'd be a middle name, not a first name. I'd heard the name, of course, but I discovered it again on a list of Irish/Gaelic names. David really wanted something that pointed to our heritages and both of us have many ancestors who hailed from the British Isles--Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England.

Rhys is originally a Welsh name which means ardor or enthusiastic. We thought that was a fitting companion to Hope and Grace, Zara and Adelaide's middle names. I think we did a good job...I only hope Benjamin agrees.