Our Names: Ezra

Long before I was pregnant, let alone dating/married to Seth, some of my friends teased me about naming my children after local historical figures. I thought it was a great idea, but children weren't on the horizon, so it remained just a joke.

One of the names suggested, however, was Ezra (after Ezra Meeker) and this suggestion stayed with me, somewhere in the far recesses of my brain.

When we found out we were pregnant, and when we found out we were having a boy, the name Ezra immediately came to mind and just wouldn't go away. I tried so hard to find another name I loved, but nothing compared.

My biggest "problem" with the name Ezra was that my best friend's nephew went by the name Ezra (one of his two middle names). Though "Ezra" has been gaining in popularity throughout the last decade (see the below chart), it was still uncommon enough that I was willing to use it - except that someone we knew had just used it! How could we? What if these two boys went to school together someday (say, to the high school that their parents had all attended)? They'd only be a year or two apart. What if my friend had children? Her children would have a cousin named Ezra and a BFF named Ezra. I was determined to reject the name and find something else.

But it fit our criteria/our criteria fit it. I couldn't keep myself from thinking of it as our baby's name, especially as I read through the Book of Ezra.

As I explained, the original reason we thought of the name Ezra was because of Ezra Meeker. Ezra Meeker was hugely influential in early Puget Sound history and in my historical research for my thesis, I grew to admire him greatly. (Also, one of my favorite dates was at Meeker Mansion... Seth knew I wanted to go, because I'd never gone before and had mentioned that fact numerous times, and completely surprised me one day - actually, June 25, 2009, according to meticulous Gmail records - by taking me, and spending hours there, reading everything along with me...)

But as we talked about the name Ezra, I spent a good deal of time reading the Book of Ezra and about the Biblical Ezra (who wrote Ezra and Nehemiah). I quickly grew to admire him as well and appreciated that he was a historian as well as priest.

Ezra 7:6 "…this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him."

I appreciated that there was something about the fact that, as I was (reluctantly) taking a break from my historical research to give birth to and raise this baby, I could still give him a name that reflected my interest in history and my desire that he too be interested in both local and Biblical history someday.

As I read the Book of Ezra, about Ezra's leadership in shepherding Jewish exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem and guiding them in a renewed dedication to following God's law, I was encouraged and convicted by the testimony of God's sovereignty in the lives of His people. That is, after all, the thing that I kept being reminded of all throughout my pregnancy.

In his commentary on the Book of Ezra, Matthew Henry says that the book primarily teaches "that God will make His cause to prevail, notwithstanding all obstacles and adversaries" [link]. Ezra preached this to the Jews faithfully, despite their unbelief and stubborn attraction to the world. This is what God was teaching me, throughout my pregnancy, because of my pregnancy. I wanted my son to know that God is sovereign, and that He is faithful. I wanted his name to reflect the fact that I believed God to be sovereign and faithful, to remind both he and I of that fact on a daily basis.

So when I read Ezra 7:10, I found a verse that I wanted to be true of my son as well:

Ezra 7:10 "For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel." 

As much as I appreciated what I was reading in the Book of Ezra, I was also studying the Book of Isaiah with BSF and reading every text I could find on pregnancy and children in the Bible. Like the story of Isaac. I just loved the way that Abraham and Sarah talked about their hope for a child (even though, at the time, I couldn't quite relate) and more importantly, the way God spoke to them about the child He would give them. So Isaiah and Isaac were pretty high on our list of contenders as well. Isaac had the edge on Isaiah (and we if we chose one of those names, the other would be permanently crossed off the list, because I didn't want repeating initials... that's why Elijah and Ezekiel and, actually briefly Ebenezer, were all rejected if/when we chose Ezra).

As I researched names, I found/was reminded of these prominent Ezras:

Ezra (c. 459 BC), an Old Testament major prophet and scribe
Ezra Abbot (1819–1884), American biblical scholar
Ezra Ames (1768–1836), American portrait painter
Ezra Booth (born 1792), American religious leader
Ezra Jack Keats (1916–1983), American author
Ezra Meeker (1830–1928), American pioneer
Ezra Pound (1885–1972), American poet 

Better Than Ezra, American alternative rock band

None of them made us more inclined toward the name Ezra (well, besides the two Ezras already referenced), but none of them soured us on the name either.

And of course, I looked up Ezra's historical popularity in the United States and decided it was tolerably unpopular enough:

Popularity of the male name Ezra Year of birth Rank 2011 204 2010 242 2009 257 2008 291 2007 340 2006 340 2005 348 2004 379 2003 399 2002 438 2001 428 2000 432 1999 486 1998 488 1997 552 1996 555 1995 650 1994 695 1993 700 1992 790 1991 753 1990 763 1989 720 1988 668 1987 649 1986 709 1985 676 1984 712 1983 717 1982 650 1981 625 1980 670 1979 681 1978 690 1977 673 1976 674 1975 685 1974 733 1973 729 1972 783 1971 825 1970 957 1969 895 1968 996 1967 a 1966 962 1965 957 1964 a 1963 913 1962 a 1961 993 1960 967 1959 997 1958 981 1957 901 1956 888 1955 878 1954 991 1953 821 1952 946 1951 798 1950 792 1949 837 1948 911 1947 909 1946 927 1945 902 1944 791 1943 871 1942 854 1941 919 1940 802 1939 895 1938 863 1937 706 1936 584 1935 671 1934 577 1933 618 1932 675 1931 649 1930 573 1929 581 1928 569 1927 578 1926 514 1925 533 1924 527 1923 474 1922 507 1921 480 1920 512 1919 496 1918 501 1917 486 1916 456 1915 477 1914 467 1913 472 1912 412 1911 428 1910 416 1909 462 1908 504 1907 409 1906 389 1905 366 1904 345 1903 333 1902 395 1901 427 1900 331 1899 367 1898 291 1897 274 1896 272 1895 266 1894 262 1893 283 1892 271 1891 261 1890 263 1889 297 1888 316 1887 291 1886 272 1885 358 1884 262 1883 311 1882 267 1881 230 1880 270 a Not in top 1,000 names for indicated year of birth Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth. Data are not shown for some of the years you specified because the name Ezra was not in the top 1000 names for those years or because the number of years specified was too large. Name data are from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.

Our Boys' Names: Intro

Naming our children has been a difficult process. I take most of the blame for that: I'm actually really picky about what names I do/do not like, and was determined to have a name selection "schema"... I really wanted to have a guiding principle for our names, but deciding on it before hand was really difficult! With our first pregnancy, it felt like we weren't just naming one baby but all hypothetical future babies too. As limiting as that was, it was worth it to me because I really wanted our child(ren?)'s names to be be similar in style/sound/significance, etc.

Since we found out the gender for both pregnancies, that narrowed down our selection significantly (and, thankfully, postponed hard decisions about girls names... will we ever agree on a girl's name?).

For our boys' names, Seth wanted Biblical names, but even that wasn't a hard and fast demand. I demanded different first name initials. For boys, I was fine with Biblical names, but for girls I absolutely refused Biblical names. (There just aren't as many girls names in the Bible to begin with, and it seems everyone has used them already.) I really liked the idea of referencing historical (PNW or African American?) figures, but that seemed a little silly to insist on. We weren't opposed to naming our children after family members, but how/who do you choose?

Decisions, decisions.

Friday Update #8 (2/22/13)

I'm carrying this baby differently now.  I'm certainly getting more uncomfortable and exhausted! But there's still a month to go. Still, that doesn't sound so far away as it used to.

I've been working at getting the house cleaned and organized. I purged books from my history and politics and fiction and literary criticism sections and got rid of four (albeit small) boxes of books! There were a number of duplicates as well as some books that I'll never read again or even recommend, etc. And I made sure everything was alphabetized and dusted off the shelves. (Now we just have to do the same for the shelves in our room - theology/Christian living.) And Seth went through lots of useless electrical cords and old CDs from old computers, etc., and we threw those away. I filled up another box of stuff for Goodwill/whatever of random clutter. I cleaned out two file drawers. I went through all of the stuff that had been in our desk (files, office supplies, etc.) and purged a bunch of it and then organized and labeled it all in a bunch of small boxes that are now up on the shelf. Of course, there are millions of things I still want to do before this baby comes, but days like this are so productive, despite the physical toll. I love having stuff cleaned and organized.

Friday Update #7 (2/15/13)

I'm 35 weeks pregnant now. Isn't that crazy? Another month and a half or so to go. My Babycenter.com email on Tuesday said that "Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. " Yeah right. This baby is RIDICULOUSLY active. And it scares me because Ezra wasn't that active in utero... and he's crazy now. So will this baby be even more crazy?

Ezra is so much work and it exhausts me, physically and emotionally and mentally. So when Seth came home finally I burst into tears. That may or may not have been his motivation in giving me a break tonight... I feel so guilty making Seth and my family help with Ezra so much but I simply cannot do it myself. I'm finally realizing that this week... And yet he is so sweet and smart and I love him more than I thought was possible. I just need to get this baby out so I can regain some energy.

Ezra totally knows his numbers, 1-9 and "o" (instead of zero) and he knows at least 10-15 letters and he remembers stuff better than I do. Seriously, I wish he'd forget or not notice some of the stuff he sees and hears. He cracks us up constantly with his expressions and the things he says. And his singing! He knows "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Mr. Sun" and I can't even remember what else. And he never stops talking up. Or wanting my attention.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day? I kinda forgot about it... But we were in Walgreen's the other day (that's our form of a hot date without Ezra: buying Tums at Walgreen's) and Seth led me to the pink and red aisle and said, "look" and asked what I'm getting him. When I rolled my eyes he said, "you know we are a couple, right? That means we're supposed to be romantic."

Oops. Good thing he was just teasing.

I guess we did celebrate though? Seth and I had the evening together without Ezra. We watched The Trouble with The Curve, about a baseball scout (Clint Eastwood, with Amy Adams).

Earlier in the day he took Ezra to the Children's Museum, while I was at Open Arts, and then surprised me by arranging babysitting with David! We dropped Ezra off at my parents' and came home and cleaned the house. Oh yeah, that's how we celebrate. (But seriously, does he know me or what?) and cuddled and ate one of the enchiladas I made with Hilary the other day. (Freezer meals? Best. Thing. Ever.)

Green, Not Purple, Pants

Seth: "My favorite thing that Ezra has done lately is:This morning when you told him he was putting on purple pants (when they were really green) and he said "no, no" shaking his head and scrunching up his nose."

Friday Update #6 (2/8/13)

Ezra helped Daddy shave for church and thought he was so cool. We've been talking a lot this week about boys vs. girls and also the fact that Ezra's not a baby, but a big boy. So to shave like a boy was pretty exciting.

This week we celebrated my sister's 21st birthday a day early, so that everyone (and even her boyfriend's parents) could get together. We watched the Superbowl, Ezra tried on heels and played pool, we ate taco salad and opened presents and had cake and ice cream. Ezra was fascinated with the candles and we lit them and blew them out several times because he got such a kick out of it (and because he's spoiled, apparently?). He very cutely kept saying "happy birthday Foof" too.

Thursday we went on another little family outing. We rode along with Seth to Federal Way and Ezra and I hung out in a sporting goods store while Seth did a few things for a previous customer and then we got "noodles" and teriyaki chicken. Ezra knows his numbers so well now and we spent a lot of our time in the store looking at and saying the numbers on price tags. The only numbers he doesn't consistently say are "6" and "9". And for "10" he says "1"-"o". He's such a smart little kid. We also learned the difference between deer and elk as we looked at all of the taxidermy animals hanging on the walls, which were immensely fascinating.

We've also been cleaning and organizing the house and particularly the green bedroom. We're planning on getting rid of the desk and desktop computer and adding a toddler bed in their stead. Fun, fun, fun!

Happy Birthday, Auntie Ruthie!

Friday Update #5 (2/1/13)

We had a much better week this week. Ezra is on the mend and we've been slowly getting back to some semblance of normal life.

We're still struggling with the aftermath of his teething episode. He got used to fussing and disobeying and watching "shows" and we've been trying really hard to be consistent to hold him accountable to not fussing and obeying... We're also trying so hard to get him on any sort of sleeping schedule/routine/ANYTHING. But you know, we've been trying that for months and it doesn't work. This week especially has been a very nocturnal week. Lots of awake time during the night (while Seth sleeps fitfully) and then sleeping randomly during the day.

But! There is light at the end of the tunnel. We've all had more sleep and Ezra is obeying and in so much less physical pain.

Today we had a fun "family date" that was much needed. Seth didn't have to work very long, so we went adventuring all afternoon/evening. That is, we went to Petsmart and dinner and Walmart.

Ezra LOVES animals and until we ever get our act together and get a Point Defiance Zoo pass we've just gone to Petsmart for animal fixes. They have cats and fish and birds (and dogs in the back in their grooming facility, which doesn't exactly count, but...). He is so fascinated by the fish (and therefore tries to touch the glass of the aquariums, inadvertently scattering the fish) and the birds (because they're so noisy?). The cats are kind of boring, but still, animals! Each section of the store also has huge plastic animals hanging from the ceiling to denote what supplies are where, and Ezra loves to point them out because they're so big.

Then we tried to go to Old Country Buffet (Seth's favorite) but were shocked to see a line almost out the door... And we realized it was a Friday night. And people with "normal" schedules often go out on the weekend. Especially Friday night. Oops. So we tried La Palma (my favorite) and it was busy, sure, but it's such a huge restaurant that we were easily seated and then enjoyed yummy Mexican food.

And we finished off the night by doing a massive shopping trip and stocking up on lots of groceries. I didn't exactly plan out meals for the week ahead of time (not, at least, in great detail or with ingredient lists) so I did a lot of that in the store (ideal, right?) while Seth chased Ezra around. It was so nice to come home and fill the cupboards with lots of food that all goes together and will make actual meals and might force me to actually cook us food.