What's in a Name?

 

 It is such an honor for us as parents to be able to name our children.  We have given each of our children a name from the Bible, as our Christian heritage is very important to us.  We have also given them each a family name because we have been so blessed on both sides with wonderful parents and grandparents.

LUCAS

LUCAS was named after Lucas/Luke from the Bible.

Lucas was a friend and companion of Paul during his imprisonment at Rome (Philemon 1:24); Luke, the beloved physician (Col.4:14).

"Luke" is Loukas in Greek, which is written "Lucas" in English.

Luke - was a physician and traveling companion of Paul. Luke is mentioned in three of Paul's books as "Luke the beloved physician." Luke wrote the third Gospel, The Book of Luke. He also wrote the book of Acts.

Luke joined Paul on his second missionary journey in Troas. During Paul's third journey, Luke joined him in Philippi (Acts 20:6) and went with him to Jerusalem (Acts 20:16). Luke had a good education and was skillful at writing.

Luke depicts Jesus as the perfect God-Man whose genealogy can be traced back to Adam (3:23-38).

His book of Acts is a continuation of the Gospel where Luke intends to show what Jesus began on earth and what He continues to do in the life of the church.

Lucas's middle name is CLAY after his maternal Grandpa, Marvin Clayton:

We only wish Lucas had the opportunity to know his Grandpa here on earth...

SAMUEL

SAMUEL was named after the Prophet Samuel from the Bible:

"But Samuel ministered before the LORD, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod: Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the LORD: And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the LORD and men." (I Samuel 2:18,21,26)

The prophet Samuel was the first of his kind among the nation of Israel. Samuel was a spiritually minded man with unwavering absolutes. He listened to and obeyed the voice of God alone, providing a godly example for the nation of Israel to follow. 

However, Samuel did not start out as a bold prophet of God, but rather a servant. Samuel was born to Elkanah and Hannah, from the tribe of Ephraim. Hannah, who was barren, pleaded with the Lord to give her a son, vowing she would give the child back to God as a lifelong servant. The Lord answered her prayer, and she named her son Samuel.
Samuel's days in service to the Lord taught him God's laws and regulations in worship, along with a connection to God's heart and desire to bless his people. But Samuel knew that blessing would only come with obedience. So, in his youth, Samuel resolved to follow closely the ways of God. He grew to be an honored, powerful prophet of God.
 

  
Samuel's middle name LLOYD is his maternal Grandma's maiden name:

AND also honors her parents (Mommy's beloved Grandparents who have been in Heaven for many years now):

"Grandma & Grandpa Lloyd"

  
EMMA

"Emma" was our favorite girl name.  We considered other names, but kept coming back to "Emma".  After we decided on it we found out that there was an Emma in my family line.  She was my maternal Grandpa's (Grandpa Lloyd shown above) maternal Grandma.  Emma Alice was born in 1861.  We were lucky enough to find a picture of her in a large old family photo album.

Emma Alice

Our Emma at age 3, pointing to Emma Alice in an old family photo album

Her middle name, RUTH, is in honor of her paternal Grandmother (Eileen Ruth B):

 This is where she gets her curly hair from too!

RUTH is also of importance to us because of this is the part of Emma's name that is from the Bible.

Ruth has always been one of my favorite women in the Bible. She’s one of two women after whom a book is named and she is the only woman in the Bible specifically said to be virtuous. Not only that, but she isn’t even a Jew. She’s a Moabitess. She married a Jewish man and then watched while her father-in-law, her brother-in-law and her husband died. Then, she followed her mother-in-law back to Israel. To a country she had never been to before. She left her family, her gods and her nationality. And she traveled to a land she had never seen where she knew no one. She was a foreigner and an outsider determined to find the God of Israel. Ruth is a picture of God’s grace in offering salvation to Gentiles. What did she see in her husband and his family that drew her to God? God blessed her devotion to her mother-in-law, Naomi. She married and had a little boy who became the grandfather of David. David’s great-grandmother was Ruth. Did he know her? We aren’t told, but I’m sure at the very least he heard stories about this godly woman. By the way, did I mention that she’s the first woman on record who proposed to her husband?  Source

NATHAN 

NATHAN was a PROPHET in the Bible:

Nathan was a prophet of God who served King David and his son and successor King Solomon. He was a wise and steadfast servant of God, and of the Israelite monarchy, who was often consulted by the kings. He was also fearless..

It was through Nathan that The Lord decreed to David to make the preparations for the building of the original Temple in Jerusalem.  It was Nathan who The Lord sent to rebuke King David after his adultery with Bathsheba.  When David's son Adonijah attempted to succeed David as king in place of Solomon, it was Nathan who revealed the plot to the king and had it stopped.  Source

Nathan's middle name RAY is in honor of his paternal Great-Grandfather, Raymond M: