Acrostic Name Blessings

Frances, Francine, Franciso, Frank, Freddie

2009-09-01T09:44:00.002-04:00

We just uploaded designs for Acrostic Name Blessings for the names Frances, Francine, Franciso, Frank, and Freddie.

Check out our store at www.cafepress.com/chalfonthouse !!

There are thousand and thousands of names out there in the world, so we create Acrostic Name Blessing Poems for them when they are ordered instead of trying to guess which names we should do first.

Frances, Francine, Franciso, and Frank all mean "Free". The most recent Social Security Administration data for the U.S. says that Frances is the 796th most popular name for babies born; Francine and Franciso are not in the top 1000 for the past 9 years; and Frank is rank #278.

"Freddie" means "Peaceful Ruler". The most recent Social Security Administration data for the U.S. puts "Freddie" at #977 in terms of popular names for babies born.

New acrostic names: Jason, Jayson, and Ginger

2009-08-27T11:20:00.002-04:00

We just uploaded designs for Acrostic Name Blessings for the names Jason, Jayson, and Ginger. Check out our store at www.cafepress.com/chalfonthouse !!

There are thousand and thousands of names out there in the world, so we create Acrostic Name Blessing Poems for them when they are ordered instead of trying to guess which names we should do first. Today we had an order for the names "Amie", "Jayson" and "Ginger".

"Amie" means "Beloved" and is a spelling variation of "Amy". The most recent Social Security Administration data for the U.S. says that Amie is not in the top 1000 most popular names for the last 9 years!

"Jason" means "Healer". The most recent Social Security Administration data for the U.S. puts "Jason" at #60 in terms of popular names for babies born.

"Jayson" is a spelling variation of "Jason" and means "Healer". The most recent Social Security Administration data for the U.S. puts "Jayson" at #341 in terms of popular names for babies born.

"Ginger" means "Pure". The most recent Social Security Administration data for the U.S. says that Ginger is not in the top 1000 most popular names for the last 9 years!

2008's most popular baby names

2009-05-09T10:23:00.002-04:00

CNN summarized the report on the most popular baby names for 2008.

"The most popular 10 names for baby daughters, in order, are: Emma, Isabella, Emily, Madison, Ava, Olivia, Sophia, Abigail, Elizabeth and Chloe."

Boy names in order: Jacob, Michael, Ethan, Joshua, Daniel, Alexander, Anthony, William, Christopher and Matthew.

A Rose By Any Other Name

2008-06-19T09:40:00.003-04:00

This post is copied with permission from the original author:

Shakespeare contended that it would smell just as sweet. Anne of Green Gables and I disagree. Names, and the meaning of names, are important.

The bulk of fantasy literature has keyed in on the fact that knowing someone, or something's, name gives you power. That can be the power to no longer be afraid of it, or the power to control it, for good or for ill. Other literature uses the meaning of names to describe and cement the personality of certain characters. For example, Ichabod means "Thy glory has departed" - how fitting, then, is the name of Ichabod Crane. Would the story be nearly as rich without that extra insight?

Outside of literature, we (as humans) have used names to not only identify who we are, but whose we are and what we do (and often even where we live). Surnames, in particular, started out as descriptive identifiers - do you make barrels for a living? You're likely a Cooper. Sew clothes? Tailor (or Taylor). Blacksmith? Smith. Or perhaps you're Duncan McCloud, of the clan McCloud (etc.) Even today, in the Middle East, names are long and encompass not only your identifying name, but your father's name, your grandfather's name, your village, and so forth. Other cultures also incorporate family history into a long line of names. This identification - and the meaning behind the identification - stretches far beyond the simple answer to the question of "what do I call you?"

Beyond that, and more importantly even, names in the Bible are often given specifically for their meanings. And it's this, more than anything else, that convinces me that names are critical and naming someone should never be taken lightly.

We can start at the very beginning and see that Adam and Eve's first task in the garden was to name the animals. Not only did this help them distinguish between them during their conversations (you know it had to be easier than trying to find one and point to it) but I think it helped to solidify their dominion over the animals as given by God.

When God confirmed His covenant with Abram and Sarai, not only did He institute the ritual of circumcision, He changed their names. Abram became Abraham, changing from "Exalted father"(Abram) to "Father of many" (Abraham). Their son, born in their golden years, was named Isaac, which means "laughter", because that was their response when told that, despite being old and crusty, they would in fact have a child of their flesh.

Continue on and see Joseph (God will increase) and his brothers, including the favorite youngest son, Benjamin (Son of my Right Hand.) Ruth (Friend) chose to stay with her mother-in-law out of friendship and duty. Moses understood the importance of names. When God asked him to go and free the Israelites, he knew that he would need to be able to tell them the name of the God of their fathers, and God responded with part of His name, "I Am Who I Am."

The names of God, in and of themselves, give credence to the idea that names reflect character. As just a smattering, you have these:

Adonai-Jehovah -- The Lord our Sovereign
El-Elyon -- The Lord Most High
El-Olam -- The Everlasting God
El-Shaddai -- The God Who is Sufficient for the Needs of His People
Jehovah-Elohim -- The Eternal Creator
Jehovah-Jireh -- The Lord our Provider
Jehovah-Nissi -- The Lord our Banner
Jehovah-Ropheka -- The Lord our Healer
Jehovah-Shalom -- The Lord our Peace
Jehovah-Tsidkenu -- The Lord our Righteousness
Jehovah-Mekaddishkem -- The Lord our Sanctifier
Jehovah-Sabaoth -- The Lord of Hosts
Jehovah-Shammah -- The Lord is Present
Jehovah-Rohi -- The Lord our Shepherd
Jehovah-Hoseenu -- The Lord our Maker
Jehovah-Eloheenu -- The Lord our God

And that leaves out many.

Turn to the New Testament and you still see the importance of names. Saul became Paul when he stopped persecuting the church. Peter (means "rock") was the rock upon which Christ's church was built. Barnabas ("Son of Consolation, Encourager") was a great encouragement to Paul. And so on, and so forth.

I firmly believe that as a parent, you have an opportunity to shape your child's character through their name. As such, it's important to take that seriously. You can choose to downplay the meaning of a name, but I see that as a missed opportunity to shape your child's heart.

At Chalfont House we definitely agree with these thoughts. In fact, that's why we published the book "Acrostic Name Blessings" which talks about the importance of a name and helps people create a blessing out of the letters of any name.

Popular Names in 2007

2008-05-11T21:14:00.002-04:00

CNN.com posted an article about the current trends in baby names. For the last 12 years, Emily has been the number one name for girls. For the last 9 years, Jacob has been the number one name for boys. Here's the full list of the most popular names, as compiled by the Social Security Administration.

Boys:
1) Jacob
2) Michael
3) Ethan
4) Joshua
5) Daniel
6) Christopher
7) Anthony
8) William
9) Matthew
10) Andrew

Girls:
1) Emily
2) Isabella
3) Emma
4) Ava
5) Madison
6) Sophia
7) Olivia
8) Abigail
9) Hannah
10) Elizabeth

What's New? Preston Acrostic Poem

2008-02-26T11:09:00.002-05:00

There are thousand and thousands of names out there in the world, so we create Acrostic Name Blessing Poems for them when they are ordered instead of trying to guess which names we should do first.

Today we had an order for the name "Preston". Preston means "From the Priest's Town". In general, English names that end with "ton" are going to be "From the ______ Town", because "ton" is the shortened form of "town." So in this case, "Pres" is the shortened form of "Priest". It's pretty obvious once you see the pattern. The most recent Social Security Administration data for the U.S. puts "Preston" at #114 in terms of popular names for babies born.

Picking a good baby name

2008-02-21T09:32:00.003-05:00

The Northwest Harold (a newspaper for a community in Illinois) recently ran an article about picking baby names. Some of the advice given echos what we offer in our book "Acrostic Name Blessings", namely

“You’re not just naming a baby, but the adult the baby will become,” said Linda Rosenkrantz, co-author of eight baby name books.

So choose carefully: do use a name that is meaningful, creative, and yet functional. Avoid clever spelling that is actually just confusing. For more detail, read Chapter One "The Value of a Good Name" and Appendix A "Tips on Choosing a Baby Name".

Welcome

2008-02-17T15:25:00.000-05:00

Welcome! Thank you for stopping by our website and blog!