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I’ve received quite a few questions about the meaning of the name Hadassah, which is cool because I also like name meanings and I would love to tell you why we chose Hadassah’s name for her.
The first set of pictures in this post are some pictures I took to commemorate the 3 month mark. That tells you about when I started writing this post. Hadassah just celebrated her 6 month “half birthday.”
As many of you probably know, I believe in God and try to follow the path that He has laid out in His Word, the Bible. Since the Bible was originally written to a culture vastly different from the culture we live in today, I find it very helpful to study the original audience and its language and geography and context. That means becoming more familiar with an Eastern way of life and thought, Jewish customs, and the Hebrew language.
In Jewish thought, a person’s name is linked with his or her destiny. How far you want to take this is up for debate and I’m not diving into that here, but I think it’s an interesting concept with some value and I want my children to have names that they can live up to.
Hadassah was Queen Esther’s Hebrew name and means “myrtle tree” (a symbol of righteousness) or “compassion.”
Like her Biblical namesake, we pray that our daughter Hadassah will be ready to be used of God “for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14)
“Does this pose give me a double chin?”
When I think of the past year and the unexpected things it held, I wonder about the future and the magnitude of the as-yet unseen things that my daughter could face. For what have we signed her up by giving life to her…and a name with a destiny like this?
What a clown…
But no, for God gave her life, and her destiny is determined by Him.
All we can do is teach her His truth. Pray for her. Be there for her. Give her an example to follow and all the tools we can bequeath.
We can do no more.
He will do no less.
Queen Hadassah, Jael, Ruth, Rahab, Tamar, Mary…all unlikely but important players in God’s story.
This past Christmas I thought a lot about Mary and the role she played. Now that I have a child of my own I can imagine a little better what she felt when she gave birth to a Son knowing that He was called to fulfill a tremendous destiny. And when He grew older and grappled with the mercenary ideas and dangerously powerful and conniving leaders of the day, I’m sure the worry and dread in her heart grew.
And to see your child tortured on a cross, exposed, falsely accused?
God saw this too. That was His Son. And unlike Mary, He knew even before Jesus’ birth the full extent of the suffering to come.
Yet He loved US as His children so much that He gave His only Son to die for us. (John 3:16)
When I started typing this post, this wasn’t where I thought I would end up, but perhaps it’s the only fitting place TO end. Our children are in the hands of God, and that’s the safest place to be, no matter what the future holds.
Those eyes!
On a lighter note, perhaps I’ll share the process we used to agree on this name.
Ryan and I knew from the beginning that since we are both people of rather strong opinions (ahem…two independent, driven firstborns), we might have trouble coming to an agreement. So we basically avoided discussing baby names. On occasion we each tossed out names that we liked, but we didn’t actually turn these tossing sessions into discussions.
When it became obvious that we were not tossing around the same kinds of names, Ryan asked for a list of the names I liked. You know, so he could weed through it and perhaps find one or two he also liked. 😛 Such a list was easy enough for me to produce, since I am a list person and already had quite a lengthy list of baby names compiled. I remember going through baby name books as a young teen and writing down the ones I liked. One must be prepared, you know.
Since we weren’t finding out whether we were having a boy or a girl, we had to agree on a name for each. Double trouble. At least we knew we weren’t having twins.
The following pictures are some 4 month pictures. I crocheted the afghan while I was pregnant with Hadassah.
Fast forward awhile. We kept tossing out the names we really liked. Rather, I would do the tossing and Ryan would usually wrinkle up his nose. Eventually with enough tossing I weeded my list down to a few names that I thought we could agree on.
One evening we went for a bike ride. I have learned that my husband and I can often have better discussions when we’re doing something together than when we’re just sitting on the couch staring at each other and one of us has ants in his pants. I won’t say who.
While we were biking, I threw out my final name choices that I thought we could agree on.
“Are you OK with Hadassah ____* for a girl?”
(acquiescence)
“What about ____ ____ for a boy?”
He agreed to that too, and that was that.
We didn’t discuss the matter any further. Towards the end of my pregnancy I think I did bring the names up once more just to make sure we were still on the same page so we didn’t end up with any surprises after the birth.
* I won’t be sharing Hadassah’s middle name because she deserves to have some things kept private.
^^”I love you this much!”
I wasn’t expecting the name Hadassah to be so unfamiliar, but I’ve had to repeat and/or explain it to most non-churchgoing people. (Most people who are familiar with the Bible recognize it from the book of Esther.)
For those who are curious, we pronounce the middle syllable with a short a sound. An ah sound may be more correct, but I have heard most Americans pronounce the name with a short a so we decided to stick with that. I have dealt with enough mispronunciation in my life and am loathe to force that upon my daughter. 😛 With that in mind, I’m not picky about the pronunciation of her name. Either way is “correct” in our case.
I shall briefly interrupt the flow of this post to tell you that my name is Bree-AH-nah, not Bree-ANN-nah, in case you were wondering and have not read the “This is not a foreword.” sections in my cookbooks. And it’s only spelled with one ‘n’. Thank you. 🙂 Moving on…
Many people have asked about nicknames, which kind of took me by surprise because we chose this name liking it how it was. We don’t have plans for any nicknames. Nicknames by nature are usually spontaneous, so we’ll see what happens in the future. I often call her “Dassah” – chopping off the first syllable. My little brother started calling her “Haddie” but I’m not a huge fan….
Do you have any neat name stories and/or meanings to share? I’d love to hear them in the comments!
Annie Sandigo says
Just reading this now after getting your baby posts round up email! Her name is beautiful!
My 3 year old is named Augustine (pronounced uh-gust-IN). Most people pronounce it wrong, but mama isn’t afraid to correct people LOL he is named after St. Augustine bishop of Hippo Africa. St. Augustine was known for a fiery personality and temperament, which sums up our Augustine quite well. He was a great sinner that God called and called but finally converted after his mother had prayed for his conversion for many years. He became a doctor of the church and his theological writings are renown to this day. I love unique names for children! Especially hearing the story behind it!
Shady says
Just now I was reading a chapter on lexical rearrangement in the Hebrew bible, in a book about the Kabbalah (which you can find here https://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/moq/index.htm ). That chapter points out how each permutation of a word is significant and connected to all the others. It also quotes a poetic line about God being in his heaven, and all is right with the world. Since I’m not Harold Bloom, I look the verse up the net via the privacy-conscious DuckDuckGo, and Briana’s blog comes up the first result (not sure if Google would have done the same, as their algorithm is not as fuzzy, but more ‘targeted’. Anywise…). I click my way in. A couple minutes later, out of all the posts there, somehow I’m looking at fiendishly lovely shots of young Hadassah, with commentary on how names, indeed, words generally (ever since Elohim simply spoke the world into existence in Genesis 1) are not taken lightly in the Jewish tradition.
If that’s not enough, Briana’s post then straggles into an area she didn’t intend: the crucifixion. Now, I’m reading and responding to this less than a day to Good Friday (under the Oriental Orthodox calendar, where I live)!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
That’s pretty neat. Thank you for sharing – and welcome!
Starla says
My grandfather wanted my mom to name me Starla because he knew a woman by that name that he greatly admired. I’ve only met 4 other Starla’s.
I named my girl’s Tammi, Kathryn, and Meghan. My boy’s I named Michael and Benjamin.
Your daughter is very beautiful!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
I like those names! I think I’ve met one Starla in my life. It’s not that common!
Erin says
I’m a librarian and I have a little Hadassah who loves to come in for storytime. Her parents call her Haddie for short. I love both the original and nickname!
Elizabeth Williams says
Briana, this is completely irrelevant to your post’s topic, but I noticed Hadassah’s upper lip when she smiles. It looks like lip tie, but maybe it’s just a hereditary family feature?
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
I think she just has her daddy’s smile. It looks a lot like his in his baby book!
Cassie says
I had no idea you had a baby! Needless to say I didn’t realize you wrote on here I had just found random recipes during searches for thm – now that I’m aware I have subscribed haha. I know you don’t know me but I have your books and such so it feels like I know you a bit. Anyways so thankful y’all are well and you have a beautiful baby! Love the name and the reason behind it.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Aw, thank you, Cassie!
Beth says
Love her name and recognized from the Bible. Thank you for sharing the process of selecting her name. She is beautiful and blessed to have Godly parents!
Marlana says
Love the name! Esther is one of my favorite books of the Bible & how God used her “for such a time as this”. She was only thinking of her people, when she went before the king, which could have gotten her killed.
Name problems 🙋♀️…. Marlana= Mar-lane-uh not Mar-lan-uh or Mar-lawn-uh or the many other attempts at pronunciation🤣
Ginnie says
my partner and i came to christ while seperated from our spouses and living together.
our new church wanted us to seperate and go back to our original partners .
trouble was while preparing to do so I discovered i was pregnant.
i cried out to jesus in my dilemma and I was led to read about the samaritan woman in john 4.
the pastor prayed and the lord told him that the old had passed away and as new creations to continue as Christ found us and he married us.
our daughter (37) was born and my husband called her Joanna when he discovered it means God is gracious
it is also my birth name..ioanna in greek
Kim says
Our 11th child is Hadassah Hope. Pronounced the same as yours and no nickname. Our 13th (a boy) is a week or two younger than your Hadassah. All ours have Bible names for the first name at least. And our process of naming is similar to yours – it doesn’t get any easier when you’ve already used up several names. 🙂
Anne Metzger says
We never let people nickname our kids. Full first name no matter how long fromKatherine to Grace and gently said names again if mispronounced. Love all of your family names and God put them on your heart and your husband’s for your blessed baby. You choose spelling and Esther is one of my favorite OT books blessings to your precious family
An Dijkema - Lenaerts says
We have 3 daughters and 1 son. I have special naming stories for all of them. But the story of our sons name is the funniest. When I was pregnant with him we decided on Aron, wich means ‘the enlightened one’. 😇Then the pregnancy progressed and I noticed our son was very strong and a busy bee. So I told my husband we had to find another name for our son because he didn’t seem ‘enlightened’ at all!😂 So, after some research, we decided on Boaz wich means ‘in him is strength’ and ‘in him is speed’. 💪🏻He will be 16 in April and I can tell you he has not stolen his name!😏
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
That’s pretty good!
Kristina Chatfield says
We have 4 boys and they all have the same initials. My husband, his brother, his dad, and his grandfather all have the same initials also, so it’s a family thing. They are all “J” names and we were biblical with those. Their middle names are all “M” names, and we used family names on my side of the family for those. My oldest son and his wife just had their first baby – a boy – and they are continuing the JMC tradition!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
That’s so neat!
Brandie says
I love cool names- especially OT bible names! Our firstborn is Boaz! Boaz was such an honorable man in the Bible, and although I know everyone is a sinner, the Bible presents him in such a godly way- I mean he WAS the kinsmen redeemer! Our other 3 are Emmie Joy, Eden Hope and Erik Michael….( and we never agreed upon names until very last minute! 🤣 )
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
SAME! Love your names. Erik is a favorite of mine, but Ryan has a brother Eric so we probably won’t use it. I have a thing for four letter boy names.
Mrs L says
Four letter boy names! My new favorites are Amos and Enok.
Lynne Lightfoot says
I have missionary friends who named their fifth child Hadassah. She’s about 8 years old and they call her ‘Das’. Choosing children’s names is so hard! Mine are all grown up now.
Hope you are doing okay in ice storm we are getting. We are right across the border from you in Pittsburgh PA. Love your cookbooks and use them often!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
I’m loving the snow! No ice over here, at least not yet. This has been a more mild winter than I was expecting so I was kind of glad for a proper snowstorm again. My husband, not so much. 😛
Esther says
My sister has a friend Hadassah and they also call her “Das” or “Dassah”
Holly Hochstetler says
We were very intentional with naming our children too & my husband & I are both firstborns too & could not come up with many names we both liked.
Our first daughter is Alannah Rose …. pronounced like all-Hannah but minus the H in the middle…..it’s not in the Bible but when my husband suggested it I KNEW that was what God wanted us to name her. It means ‘beautiful’ & she is that on the inside & out.
Our second daughter, Abigail Brooke, we named after David’s wife Abigail in the Old Testament. I have always loved the character qualities she showed when dealing with her husband & David.
Finally our third child, a son, was a surprise given to us in our older age….mid 40’s. We named him Gabriel after the angel Gabriel. My pregnancy & his birth were difficult & traumatic….he was born at 32 weeks. In the Bible, every time Gabriel was sent to someone he always said, “fear not”. As I was about to go into surgery to deliver him I was fighting great fear & God reminded me of the name He had given us for our son. He reminded me to “ fear not” for He had His hand upon this child & is going to do great things through Gabriel’s life. My son Gabriel has a VERY feisty, strong willed personality that, once trained & guided in the ways of the Lord, will be a great leader & bold man someday. Right now he’s 3 & letting us know he wants to lead & be in charge of himself….lol
Thank you for sharing your daughters name story with us!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Thank you for sharing those, Holly! Isn’t it so neat when you decide on a name and it just clicks?
Leah says
I am hoping and praying for at least one more baby (I’m 44 *sigh*) and I want a girl. She will be Hadassah Hope (and our last name starts with H.) I grew up with the initials LLL and I loved it so a daughter with initials HHH … 😁 Also, my sister’s name is Esther so it would be after her as well. I love the name Hadassah! And yours is sure a cutie!!!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
I pray that God will give you the desire of your heart!
Mikah says
I love this story! I am currently due in April and this baby is definitely a surprise. My husband had a vasectomy 3 years ago and I thought maybe I was having early onset menopause as I am currently 41. Well, man makes his plans, but God establishes his steps.
When we found out it was a boy we decided to name him Isaac. Just like Sarah, I did not think it was possible to be pregnant, and all I could do is laugh. My other 2 children will be turning 12 and 8 in April as well, and I just know this little boy is going to bring us much laughter.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
What a neat story and beautiful attitude. Praise the Lord for the gift of life!
Tamara Farson says
Love her name and all the personality shots! 🙂
Julia Walker says
My name, Julia, means either “young one” or “soft haired.” To me, it is special because my mom found it while reading her devotions ❤
GreenDoor says
I love her name. It is unique…and yet it’s not . My two boys are named for their grandfathers. All four men were wonderful each in their own way.
Proverbs 22:1 – “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
Sharon says
Love the name, love the meaning, love the story! She looks as if she is a total joy to be around. When we were expecting our first child we threw around names occasionally but my husband always told me to choose. If it was a boy we discussed using David, both for David in the Bible and for my beloved grandfather. After he was born I fell asleep for a short nap and they came in to fill out the birth certificate. My husband filled it out and I woke up to the surprise of a son named Ryan with my grandfather’s name as his middle name. Ryan was somehow never on our radar and I have no idea where he got it but it fit our son to a tee as he grew.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Haha…I love that – especially since I’m married to a Ryan. 😉
Vanessa says
My 6 year old self had a baby doll named Hadassah, but I had never heard it spoken out loud & it wasn’t until I was older I realized it wasn’t HAD-a- sah. I love your reasoning & happy to see it gaining traction as it’s too pretty to remain obscure.
Mine are Victor, Charlotte, Miranda, Leora, Allison, Thomas & Judith. My husband & I have ended up taking turns naming them. Our Judith is 9 months old & was born last May; it was a great comfort to me that the God who granted her conception in 2019 knew what was ahead for us in 2020. I did feel bad for all of you first time moms missing out on things (babyshowers & such) but I share your sentiment that this generation has something big ahead of them.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
That’s a neat system! I agree – having a baby made 2020 a pretty special year. I didn’t think I would have a baby shower due to Covid and the timing of our move, but I ended up kind of getting three baby showers! The church we were at in Louisiana had a cake and gifts for us the last Sunday before we moved. (I was 34 weeks pregnant.) The ladies from my old church in SC sent gifts with my family when they came to see Hadassah after she was born. And nearly everyone at our new church here in Ohio ended up giving gifts at some point! Our cup has been full and running over.
Sheila says
I do love the name Hadassah. It sounds classy and strong while still being feminine.
Our Hannah got her name because of a difficult pregnancy, and this after loosing 2 pregnancies in the 2nd trimester.
The Biblical Hannah prayed much for a child, & our Hannah was much prayed FOR.
I do get the whole “hard to agree on a name” scenario 🙃
Kathy says
Love the story of Esther and love the name Hadassah. I am named after both of my grandmothers. Though I have always been called Kathy my name is Kathryn. Kathryn means pure, chaste
Teresa says
I teach kindergarten Sunday School at church and have a sweet Hadassah in my class! Her daddy is the worship pastor!
Diane says
My daughter is Genesee. It sounds strange but I heard it years before she was born and just knew it was perfect. I am a Colorado native that finds my greatest peace and nearness to God while up in my mountains hiking and camping. Genesee means “peaceful valley” in Seneca and also is a Colorado town name. The picture for me in my mind with that name was that of all my favorite places that bring me peace. Her middle name is Anne from my favorite books/movies, Anne of Green Gables. My second daughter we stuck with another Colorado town: Maybell. It’s a far off town no one knows of hardly but it is a place of open spaces and good ranching people. I pictured a little country girl with that name. Her middle name is Joy. I had God tell me to give her that in the midst of one very difficult year for us. It was my reminder of finding Joy in all circumstances.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Thanks for sharing that, Diane! I think those are beautiful, unique names.
Peggy Tackett says
Such a beautiful little girl and what a wonderful name. God bless.
Eva Toews says
Lovely post! Lived your encouragement about our children in God’s hands. I have two girls, 6&4, and I tremble at the thought of them growing up in this world.
PS I have a niece named Hadassah. She gets called Dasser. Don’t know where it came from, but there it is!!
Sarah says
Thank you for sharing the story of your precious daughter’s name. It was important to me that my kids have names chosen with purpose, and it was ROUGH for my husband and I to agree on names. 🤦🏻♀️ Somehow, though, each daughter received just the right name – house/storeroom of figs (full of fruit), ewe of G-D (named after my childhood best friend), and G-D answered our prayers (who was actually named before I finished a difficult pregnancy where G-D answered MANY prayers about this little firecracker), and my boy in heaven, who’s name means Beloved Son. My oldest also has a name that is commonly shortened, and I was quite adamant that she be called by her whole first name. Thankfully, she took up the cause pretty early. It was hilarious to see her standing with her fat, little toddler fist on her fat, little toddler hip, gravely explaining to people what her proper name is!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
What a fitting meaning for your son in Heaven! I love that.
Mary Stoller says
I
I Love this story. Our daughter and son in law had a baby in August. They too named her Hadassah. They call her Haddie though. They too chose her name because the Lord has showed them much compassion and they named her accordingly. I do love her name. Hadassah Brielle. I think it’s much to pretty if a name to shorten! Your blog was so sweet too! Bless you for sharing.
Wendy says
When our son Asher was born, I was surprised by the number of church-going people who asked where his name came from. (the Bible) We also use the American short a sound rather than the Hebrew “ah”. We chose biblical names for our boys: Ethan, Asher, Isaac, Judah, Benjamin, Timothy. Their middle names are a mixture of Bible names and family names. My daughter Georgia was named for my (deceased) father, George. Our youngest daughter is Johanna, which is a name we just liked, although it is the German feminine form of John.
Mikki says
My friend named her oldest daughter Hadassah. They call her Haddie
Another (older) friend has that name, with no nickname.
When we were naming our children we had a very hard time agreeing on anything.
Our only daughter has a first name without much meaning because it was the only one we agreed on. However her middle name is Brielle which means “God’s heroine”, and “God is my strength”
It is our prayer to have her lean on God always. Remembering our strength comes from Him.
Thanks for the story. I love it!
Rachel says
My name, as you see is Rachel, spelled biblically. It has been misspelled my entire life. I always said I’d never name my kids anything that could be misspelled. Never say never! Jamie Mae, Garrett Thomas, Galen Charles, Holly Rae. 😂
Rachel says
Oh, and we do have a system for naming our children. The girls’ first and middle names are family names. The boys’ middle names are family names. This way, they all carry two family names even after they marry.
Haddie is a sweet name. We have several friends who have daughters named that.❤️
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
That’s really neat! Hadassah’s middle name is a family name. I think it would be neat to carry on the tradition for all of our children.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
You’d think Rachel would be easy enough to get right…
Laura says
Briana, your words bring glory to your Lord and Savior! Thank you for sharing with us. 😊💗
Hannah says
That is soo funny!! We call our Hadassah “Dassah” for her nickname also! That is a favorite name of mine!! Enjoy her while she is little! Our Dassah just turned 13!!! Time sure does move fast!
Gina says
First of all – I love that your post about her name wound up with you sharing the Gospel. Sister, that’s what it’s all about right there.
I actually have heard of several people recently using Hadaassah – so there are a few of them in her generation – from believing families who intend to raise their girls in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 🙂 One of my friend’s, whose granddaughter is Hadassah Rose, calls said granddaughter Haddie Rose – so I think Haddie may be a common-ish nickname.
And I agree – nicknames just occur naturally in the course of living with someone – and sometimes are bestowed by siblings as they’re learning to talk (my 2nd born, Katherine, is nicknamed NinNin – because her older sister was only 16 months old when she was born and Katherine is a mouthful!!!) I was adamant that my oldest daughter would be called by her full first name – and maybe, like all good little Southern girls, actually be called by her first AND middle names – Elizabeth Jane. My father-in-law called her Lizzie all the time and I just couldn’t get over it. Now that he is gone, it makes me sad that I was *so* ungracious about it. That nickname that was like nails on a chalkboard for me when she was 18-months old is now the name that her dear young man calls her — and it is precious to my ears.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
You know what’s cool? I didn’t even intend to go there in this post…it just happened. That’s God for ya. 😉
Thanks for sharing. I like what you brought out – that a name given in love is worth using. I’ll have to remember that.
Kim Raley says
I love her name! My niece named her little girl Hadassah, and she is so smart, loves her Jesus, and is well on the way to living up to her name. God bless you and your beautiful little family.
Charlene Anderson says
Thanks for sharing about her beautiful name and for the pictures! She’s beautiful!
Anela says
You have a beautiful daughter, she Will be such a blessing to both of you as she grows and matures. Thank you so much for the information and I am happy that you gave us the meaning of her name. Probably have never heard of the order of the Eastern star, it is part of the Masonic order and we in eastern star on her several heroines of the Bible. I happen to be queen Esther, as an appointed officer story that we use as part of our ritual
Beth Daghfal says
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing so winsomely. Praise God for his gifts!
D Gehman says
She is just lovely. I know another little girl named Hadassah, so it’s becoming more common.
Rachel says
Hadassah is a beautiful name and may your daughter be strong and a leader like the biblical Hadassah/Esther was.
My own children also all have biblical Hebrew names (as is common in our Orthodox Jewish community). For example – my son, who we named for Moses, was given the name and is called Moshe. 🙂
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
You’ve been given a tremendous heritage!
Bobbie says
I do love that name and know only 2 others with that name. One with the short a and one with the ah. Also one is spelled Hadessah. so…….I too picked names for meanings and with no nicknames planned. I’ve always been called Bobbie by my parents and my siblings and my family and friends. Only teachers and doctors’ receptionists have called me Roberta so I didn’t want any issues like that with my children. So I have a Shelly and a Laura. And now I have 6 grandchildren The second born from each daughter somehow have a Hebrew name which I love. Asher (happy and blessed) and Tirzah (delight,pleasantness). Thanks for sharing your reasons! I believe in names being important to what God has called them to also!
Pam Peters says
I loved seeing the pictures and reading the story of your little Hadassah! Our children are a delight and a learning time for both parents and child(ren). Thank you so much for sharing. Hadassah is beautiful and no doubt, she has a great mom and dad!
Jane White says
When we found out I was pregnant oh so many years ago, we knew that if it was a little girl, we’d name her after my sister that was killed in a car wreck when she was three. If it was a boy, I had written down a page of two columns of names I liked, gave it to my husband and he crossed all of them off but two. That was our boys name. We just had to decide what order and of course we went alphabetically. These two children are now 35 and 33. God granted us the desires of our hearts. The book of Esther is my favorite book in the Bible so I recognized and rejoiced in your choice of names. Congratulations and may the Good Lord grant you joy and peace.
Joselyn says
Extremely rare is the case that my name is ever pronounced right. So rare in fact, if a stranger does pronounce it right, I stop in my tracks and ask if they really said it. Life is challenging and this lot seems to be mine…. Anyway I loved reading this blog!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
And now I really want to know how you say your name. =D
Jeanne says
I picked up on your affinity for Bible study in its original context—same here. I’ve found resources from ffoz.org to be invaluable in that regard. The ministry produces all kinds of resources from a Messianic Jewish perspective. I’ve done Bible study for decades but was just introduced to these resources about 18 months ago, and I have learned a tremendous amount. Torah Club materials and the HaYesod lessons are what I’ve studied so far. They are written for both Jews and Gentiles.
*Hadassah is precious!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Thank you! I look forward to checking out their materials! That’s interesting that you picked up on my interest in contextual study…takes one to know one, I suppose. 🙂 I hope to share some thoughts and resources along that line here on the blog some day. God bless you as you study!
Diana says
She is so cute! And I love her name. You chose wisely. I like that.❤️
Jen says
I loved your “She’s in God’s hands” discussion. I’ve been dealing with worries about my kiddos and what they’re going to have to face as they grow older, so your comments were a blessed reminder and a balm to my soul. He’s got them. Thanks so very much for the timely reminder. 🙂
Angie says
My oldest son’s name is Kanaan Brock. The story leading up to his name took place from 2001-2008. In January 2001 my pastor preached a sermon on who or what is your Canaan? I remember thinking that a husband and children would be part of my Promised Land. Later that year I kept coming across references to Abraham obeyed God and went even though he didn’t know where he was going. On September 3, 2001, I came across a reference to that story on a plane coming home from a conference. I immediately stopped, prayed a prayer of surrender to God, telling Him that I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but I knew that whoever and whatever He had for my life would be a part of that and I wrote it down on my boarding pass. After I shared with my pastor, he told me to walk with God and He would show me each step of the way. Fast forward to 2004 and I realized that I was attracted to my best friend’s brother who I had known for 12 years. We had both been hanging out with his sister and her husband but just as friends. I prayed about it and then didn’t see him for a few months, so I thought that was my answer. In early May my friend invited me to go eat with her family for her Dad’s birthday. Her husband talked about how he and her brother usually celebrated birthdays together. I knew his birthday is August 28th, so I asked what day her brother’s birthday is. He said September 3. Something inside me clicked, I came home and checked that boarding pass, and God gave me a peace that if anything happened, He was in it. Even though it took me a little to realize it, John asked me out on our first solo date when we were eating with his family. A little over a year later, we were married. Being older and after experiencing a miscarriage, it took us a little while to get pregnant. We met his brother and sister in law for vacation in Mexico. We started tossing out names and agreed on a middle name in Puerto Vallarta. On the flight home I was looking through a baby name book and not long before we were going to land, my husband said “what about Canaan?” I loved it. What’s funny and so like God, is that it wasn’t until we were at the hospital after Kanaan was born that I realized the significance that my husband suggested the name on a plane. We chose the spelling Kanaan because we wanted our son to have the same initials as his aunt who introduced us.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
That is such a neat, God-filled story, Angie. Thank you so much for sharing.
Benita says
Lovely name. We named our firstborn Hadassah Joy. She’ll be 21 this yr💞💞
Kari says
The names I chose for my babies HAD TO HAVE good meanings. There were many names I liked, but the meanings weren’t great so they were tossed. I’ve seen how people live up to the meaning of their name, whether they realize it or not. Look around you, and to those you know. Search their name meaning and see how their personality and disposition really tie into the meaning. It makes sense when they have that name (and its meaning) spoken over them many times a day! “Life and death is in the power of the tongue.”
Teresa M Montoya says
I chose all my childrens names based on meaning…I like old fashioned names..In birth order Amy=Beloved, Christina=Follower of Christ, Sarah=Princess, Leesa=devoted to God or God is my oath, John= God is gracious, he goes by Bo which means “to live”…..Love your story on your daughters name…
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Thank you for sharing those!
Sharon Smith says
What a beautiful baby girl! Obviously so very happy and well taken care of. The blessings of God are upon you. Children are such a gift! I am so happy for you and I love her name!
RuthAnne Darr says
She is adorable! Thank you for sharing the story of her name. Esther is one of my favorite women in the Bible because she was very beautiful and saved her people.
Growing up, I didn’t have much trouble with people mispronouncing my name, but rarely do they spell it correctly. And they tend to shorten it to just Ruth, thinking that Anne is my middle name. Nope! RuthAnne is my first name. I have a different middle name. 🙂
Teresa Dale says
My sons name is Myron Timothy.
Myron – Fragrant ointment
Timothy – Honoring God
I absolutely love it!!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Timothy is my dad’s name! I’ve thought about using it as a middle name as well, if we ever have a boy.
Michele Cook says
My name “Michele” is spelled with one “L”. My mom chose to spell it that way because she remembered when she was 7 years old, she was complaining to the neighbor lady about how she didn’t like her name (Joyce). The neighbor lady’s name was Helen. Helen told her “but Joyce, you have JOY in your name, and I have Hell in mine.” My mom remembered that and chose to only have one “L” in my name so I wouldn’t have “hell” in it…..nevermind the fact that Helen only has one “L” too! 🙂
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
That is a pretty cool name story. 😀
Katrina says
Have you read the mark of the lion series by Francine Rivers? The main character is a young girl names Haddassah. I highly recommend the series if you haven’t. ❤️ It’s one of my favorites.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
I think I may have skimmed it many many years ago but don’t really remember anything from it. Thanks for the recommendation!
Rosy says
Thanks for sharing! Haddie is one of my favorite names, so I wish you liked it! I know she will live up to her beautiful, meaningful name!
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Haha…I think it has something to do with a book I read growing up that had a character called “Hattie the Hedgehog.” 😛
Janette says
We also have a daughter, who is now 21, we named Hadassah. We have experienced the same as you. Lol. Her little nieces and nephews like to call her ‘Aunt Dassie’.
Congrats on your sweet little daughter. May the Lord bless her in a special way.
Janette
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Aw, that’s sweet! We thought about “Dassie” too.
Jan Ross says
Thank you so much Brianna for sharing your thoughts and your story of selecting a name that would honor God…..and your family. Did you ever think you could love someone so much from the very moment you saw her? It’s a sense God gives us like no other – the bond of love between Mother and child. I’m sure Daddy’s have a new awareness and love too they didn’t expect. I am so proud of you for being bold about your faith, and I think more and more everyday about the Jewish and Hebrew customs and the feasts and traditions that God’s chosen people follow. I know I will need to know more of that in heaven. She’s a beautiful baby and she was born “for such a time as this.” Congratulations.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
That is the exact thing that I have told quite a few people: I never knew I could love someone this much! And the love just keeps growing and growing.
Kim says
She is absolutely precious. I am thankful that you shared her beauty with us. God will use her mightily.. as a matter of fact, He already is! Since you gave the gospel while you explained the name origin and How our names from God have meaning… Blessings to your growing family. I appreciate all that you do and share.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
That’s pretty neat and I didn’t even think of it – praise the Lord! Thanks for pointing that out.
Sandy Johnson says
You are truly blessed with a daughter. She is adorable. My daughter, now 50 and I are very close. I had the same with her name being mispronounced. Even once told I pronounce it wrong. Lol. Oh and I love the name.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Those mother daughter relationships are such a blessing. I treasure my relationship with my own mom, and even though I love this baby stage I look forward to seeing what Hadassah’s and my relationship will become in the future!
Jessica Welflin says
Oh my goodness! My friend is all about nicknames for kids, and I’m all… If I wanted to name my kid with that name I woulda picked that name. My mom didn’t like any nicknames and her entire family has names to be shortened. Probably why both of our logic is badly different. 😂
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Haha…same.