Like your name, so are you.

I recently read this quote that is in the Bible about names:

Like his name, so is he.

At 10 years old you have shown me that you have grown into all that your name means and more.  When your father and I chose your name, no one knew that 10 years later I would be a Baby Name Expert (it would seem that the day that you were born was the beginning of many things for me too).

In choosing your name we followed our tradition and named you for people that we loved who had passed away. Your first name, Hannah is for my mother’s best friend, Heather Ann. Heather passed away shortly after your father and I met and they never had the chance to meet each other. I can tell you though, that I was so happy that she knew that your father was special and it made her very happy. My mother used to say, to know Heather is to love her. That was true of her and it is true of you. Heather was warm, kind and generous. She lit up the room. I would describe you, Hannah, the same way.

Your middle name, James, is for both of my grandfathers. I never knew my father’s father, he passed away not long after my parents met. My mother’s father, however, I knew so well and I was crazy about him. He was fun to be around and always had candy in pockets. He was a deeply religious man, who went to synagogue every Saturday and a few mornings a week before he went to work. He was a hard -working man who took great pride in his business.  He was a tailor. One of my most vivid memories are the costumes that he would make himself for Halloween.  He spent hours at this sewing machine sewing together patches of fabric to make these crazy suits. What I loved the most about him is how much he loved his family – we were everything to him. He adored my grandmother since the day they met when they were teenagers.

Me and my Zadie Joe (James)

Your Hebrew name, Chana, of course, is the Hebrew version of Hannah, but more than that, it was my grandmother’s Hebrew name. My father’s mother loved to be with her family. She had 5 brothers and sisters and they were all very close. My father grew up with strong family ties, great relationships and respect for his Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. One of my favourite memories of our wedding day was seeing my father dancing with all of his cousins. I remember my grandmother as a loving and warm woman with a fantastic sense of humor and a great laugh.

And finally, your last name, Alper. While we did not choose it for you, I want to tell you a bit about what it means to me. Even after having been married for more than 12 years, when people call me “Mrs. Alper”, I think that they are talking about your grandmother. You are blessed to have this name because you share it with your grandparents and with your father and me. What the four of us have in common is that we have strong marriages and relationships. To each of us, there is nothing more important than each other and our children.  One of my greatest wishes for you is that one day (a very long time from now) your husband will be the love, strength, partnership and companionship that your father is for me, and that his parents are for each other. That is what Alper means to me.

We drove by Alper Street one day and we knew we had to take a photo. We drove down the street looking for a sign that was not on a major street and came across this one, Allgood Street. This is us. Alper/Allgood.

It is with the greatest love and joy, that I wish you Happy 10th Birthday. I’m looking forward to the next 10 years! And the 10 after that. And the 10 after that. And the 10 after that. As Bubbie Sarah would say, “Until 120″.

 

Top 10 Baby Names of 2011

US SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION RELEASES DATA ON MOST POPULAR BABY NAMES OF LAST YEAR

May marks the release of the Top Baby Names, according to the data collected by US Social Security Administration. There is not a Canadian equivalent available of this data, but given the close relation of our culture, I’m quite confident that the results would be similar.

I see baby names every day and some days, weeks, and months, I note that some are more popular than others, and the popularity of some names grow while others fade. The Top 10 Baby Names, according to the US Social Security Administration, held few surprises for me.


So, like I said, there were few surprises, but that’s not to say that there were none. Mason broke into the Top 10 this year (last year it was at #12). There might be some weight given to the popularity of the name owed to the Kardashians. Kourtney Kardashian named her son Mason at the end of 2009 and since we hear so much about the Kardashians, the name Mason might have just squeezed its way into the subconscious of new parents. Chloe has been in Top 10 since 2008 and it might interest you to note that Chloe with a K cracked the Top 50 in 2010. Keeping Up With The Kardashians premiered in 2007.

I wanted to take a closer look at a few of the Top 10 Baby Names and found some interesting statistics:

  • Michael debuted on the Top 10 in 1943 and has not left the list since then. From 1954 through 2010, Michael has been in the Top 3. This year it fell to 6th place.
  • Jacob first appeared in the Top 10 in 1993 and has been in the Top 3 since 1996.
  • The boy names seem to have a longer staying power on these Top 10 lists than the girl names do. Sophia debuted in the Top 10 in 2006 and cracked the Top 3 in 2009. Isabella first appeared on the Top 10 in 2004 and has been in the Top 3 since 2007.

I wanted to note that there are a few names that through my business—Name Your Tune, where we make personalized CDs for children—I have seen gaining popularity. While they might not be on the Top 10 lists, some of the names that we are seeing a lot of lately include:

Boys:

Isaac, Kayden, Austin, Gabriel, Benjamin.

Girls:

Isla, Charlotte, Maya, Hannah, Evelyn, Addison.

Did you consider these lists of popular names when you were choosing your baby’s name? Did you decide to keep or toss a name from your own list of names, because they are on these lists?

 

Originally published at Yummy Mummy Club