What's in a name?

For the first hour of John's life, we lovingly referred to him as "sweet boy" and "handsome." After months of discussion and a long list of ideas, we still had not settled on a name. We always like to see baby before proclaiming any name choices, but we were far from a deciding point this time around. With Spencer, we had a top four that we took with us to the hospital, but Spencer was the clear favorite...and he definitely looked the part. With Emma, well...it's a good thing she makes such a cute Emma because I have loved that name for a LONG time and was somewhat distraught when I found out Adam has a cousin named Emma. We used the name anyway. :0) With this little man, it was much more difficult. We went through the usual procedures of combing the baby name websites and genealogy - even asking friends for suggestions via facebook. This resulted in a respectable, even hearty list. We wrote out combinations for first and middle, but it was not until the excitement of labor was over and we got to spend a little alone time with our sweet baby that we settled on his name: John Barnard Wride.

Adam has been fairly constant in his desire to name this baby John; I was undecided, swimming in the sea of options before us. I did find several Johns in my McDonald and Bezzant family lines, so that was a genealogical win. In the hour after baby John's birth, we had our final discussions about his name and discarded all other first name options, alternating between John Porter Wride and John Barnard Wride. In the end, we selected John Barnard to help carry on the Barnard line and because that is also Adam's middle name (his mother's maiden name).

Our choice was quickly confirmed when we discovered that John Porter Barnard, one of Adam's ancestors, was one of the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Here is little bit about him (from an e-mail Aunt Shauna sent shortly after we announced John's birth):

"On the 6th of April 1830 in Seneca County, New York, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was organized with only 6 members. It grew rapidly as missionaries were sent out to take the Gospel message to all who would listen. John Porter Barnard and his wife Eliza Ann were among the few in their neighborhood who believed the story. They received a testimony of the truthfulness of His gospel and in 1837 they became members of the church.
"Through the coming years their faith grew stronger and they were able to endure the persecutions which those faithful, strong hearted early church members were subjected to. Never once did John and Eliza faltered or have a desire to return to their former comforts. The same year that John and Eliza joined the church they left their home in New York and settled in Far West, Missouri. Then to Nauvoo, and on to Council Bluffs with the rest of the saints following the persecutions and death of Joseph Smith. John Barnard was prepared to come with the first group to the Salt Lake Valley, but was called by Brigham Young to remain in Council Bluffs to build a repair wagons as he was an expert blacksmith. They entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1848 and were immediately sent north to settle the community of Centerville, Utah, then to Idaho for some years eventually returning to Utah and settling in Harper, Utah a small settlement north of Brigham City."

Another special thank to Aunt Shauna for also sending this link to the Friend with another anecdote about John Porter Barnard.

We are so thrilled to have such an example of faith and endurance as baby John's namesake. John Barnard Wride, you have big things ahead of you.