What's In a Name?

Jon and I are somewhat picky about names. I don't want anything that is too trendy. He doesn't want anything that is too strange. Many people have asked questions about Brynna's name, which makes me wonder if it's stranger than we realized. Well, since you asked...here are some answers....

1. How do you pronounce it? I didn't realize this would be an issue. It's pronounced like it's spelled. Think Lynn, only Brynn. Not Bren, not Brine. Now, I apparently have issues with my "i"s sounding like "e"s, so if I pronounce it wrong, it's just my unsophisticated tongue.

2. Where did you find the name Brynna? We liked the name Brynn when we were going through name books. When we looked back on the short list of names we liked when Laurel was born, Brynn was on that list, although neither of us remembered it being there. The name stuck with us, but I am drawn to names with more than one syllable, so we kept playing around with variations of Brynn. One day Jon suggested Brynna, and we both really liked it.

3. What does it mean? Well, like most names, I've seen a few different interpretations. One I've seen is "raven or dark haired," which definitely fits at this point in her life. The one I like the best, though, is this one: One who is strong, virtuous, honorable and exalted. The feminine form of Brian. A name which has existing since the 1500s.

4. Why Martha? No one has actually asked us this because most people know that Martha is Jon's mom's name, and we were delighted to honor her by giving Brynna the middle name Martha.

5. Now that you've explained Brynna, can you explain Laurel's name...in an abridged version? We stumbled upon the name Laurel a few weeks before she was born...as I was reading a book that had the word laurel in it. Most websites say that it means "laurel" (deep, I know), but I also read that it means to be crowned with wisdom. Her middle name is Katherine, after my grandmother, who was a strong and classy lady.

6. What other names did you consider? That's top secret information at this point.

7. How much sleep did you get last night? Not much. Not much at all.