What's In a Name?

Naming babies in the Campbell house is kind of a big deal, and when I say 'kind of', I mean it's HUGE. I like to have names picked out before I'm out of the first trimester, so obviously Nate and I have been discussing names for quite a while.  When Nate told me about how he has had this name on his mind for a bit (about 6 months or so before we found out I was pregnant), I was shocked. Usually we find a name that we both feel meshes well with the others and then we are good. This time, I was kind of scratching my head with the name he gave me but I was totally willing to go with it because of the strong feelings he had about the name. Am I building the suspense enough for ya?  Anyhow, I was really digging the name Harry and, let's be honest, that was never going to happen with baby number four. Coincidentally we agreed if our babe was a girl, her name would have been Harriet Drew. I still love that name so much, I think it's partly because one of the general authorities of our church, Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, speaks so lovely about his sweet wife, also named Harriet. I've always adored that, and, it would have been a great excuse to use the nickname "Harri".

So, now here we are with a name, for our son, that has molded to our hearts deeply. I immediately thought of him being called this name from the moment we found out we were having a boy, which surprised me, because up until that point I was still kind of not sure how I felt about it. Don't get me wrong, the name is great, I just wasn't sure how or if it fit with the Campbells. Now I see it fits perfectly.  Every day, it seems, I find something new that melts my heart even more over the name. 

I guess I should be thanking Winnie at this point for allowing us to share our joy with others. Heck, this, I figure, could also be a super cool missionary opportunity!

Soooo, without further ado, our future missionary will be named.......

Please share in our joy, and remember there is an ultra sensitive pregnant momma who is not too keen on hearing anything negative about her baby,*wink*. Go ahead, paint on your smile and go with it. I promise you will learn to love it, and if not, eh, I'm good with that too. If Ephraim is a new name for you, it's pronounced like this, (click here). Ever heard of Ephraim from the Old Testament? Book of Mormon? Let me tell you more! After all, I'd be living up to his name, that's for sure! You can also click here for some general scriptural guide on the name.

As for the middle name, Bear, Nate and I have been dying to use that name for years and it's probably the coolest middle name ever for the first Campbell son. Made even cooler by a Google discovery we found after we picked the name. Ever heard the legend of Old Ephraim? Apparently, back in the early 1900s, the biggest, baddest and strongest bear around, named Ephraim, roamed near the Northern Utah region. Seeing as how my delicious hubby is from Utah and has probably heard of him growing up, we laughed at the coincidence in our choice of middle name paired with Ephraim. We're awesome like that.

There you have it folks! Sleep well, my friends. Sleep well!