The Name Game

Who will you be? That is the question. How can we name a person we haven't met yet? How do we know that your name will fit your personality? It is NAME GAME time and our family has been playing this last weekend. A fella that you unfortunately never had the opportunity to know, Dadaddy Mac, once told Mommy and Daddy to name a child something that "means something"! So we are going to name you something that means something in his honor. He was a very wise man an I hate you never got to know him.

Mary Catherine definately thinks you are a "GURL" and she already calls you- Ella. So, if she is right and you are a "gurl" you are going to be named a slight variation on one of Mommy's family names. Your name will be Eleanor Love Rawlinson. We will call you- Ella. This is a very special name because you will be named after two very special strong women in the McLaughlin family. This name origionally belonged to Mommy's Great Grandmother McLaughlin- Lenore Love McLaughlin. The origional Lenore Love McLaughlin was called Nora or Lenore. She didn't like being called Nora much. She was an orphan at Thornwell orphanage who met Great grandfather McLaughlin while he was a student at Presbyterian College. She was very close to a man that Dadaddy loved to read about named William Plumber Jacobs. We have several of his books which I will make sure are yours someday. Mr. Jacobs was a minister from the Clinton South Carolina area who preached some dynamic sermons and was the founder of Thornwell and Presbyterian College. I will make sure your Great Aunt Miriam Stribling(or as Mary Catherine calls her - Aunt Mimimm) tells you all about her and writes it down so you will know all about her and what a wonderful woman she was. The second Lenore Love is very special lady that you will know and love as much as your Mommy does. Her name is Lenore Love Stribling Whitehurst. Our family calls her "Love" but everyone else calls her "Lenore". I don't know which she prefers. You will have to ask her that question someday. She lives in Virginia and is a French teacher. Dadaddy Mac often called her his "favorite cousin". She is so beautiful and smart. I just can't wait for you to meet and love her as much as we do. So to give you family name but make it a little different we changed the Lenore to Eleanor. If you choose when you get older you can use Eleanor instead of Ella. It will be your decision as you grow up. Just know your name is special and definately "means something"!

Mommy thinks you are a boy. If it is a boy we took the middle names from both of your granddads and your name will be Rowland Davis Rawlinson and we will call you Davis. When you get older you can decide if you prefer Rowland or Davis. Mommy's daddy was named Samuel Rowland McLaughlin, Sr. He was called Rowland. This was Mommie's Grandmother Thelma's maiden name. The Rowland family was from Vicksburg, Mississippi. Many of them still live in that area. I can't wait for you to meet them. The Rowland's are good hard working people who believe in God and family. Dadaddy Mac was a special man. He was a God loving man who loved family. He loved history and geneology. He was a graduate of Presbyterian College where his specialty was history and math. By profession, he was a real estate developer. He was a very successful businessman. He also liked to think of himself as a farmer. Just between you and me, he was much better at real estate than farming. His farming experience consisted of sitting in his truck and instructing those who were doing the actual farming. Many people called him excentric, I prefer to think of him as a visionary. He could take an idea and make it happen. He knew how to get it done. He was a fighter who never gave up on anything or anyone. He was a very driven hard worker. He expected alot from his family and those around him. One quote that was his motto in life was "the true measure of a man is that which he can do for those who can do absolutely nothing for him." If you adopt this quote to your life, you will go far. The name Davis is from your Dad's side of the family. For as many generations as I know about, the oldest male's middle name has been Davis. So, besides liking the name, we didn't have much choice here. Honestly, I don't know the whole story about how the name "Davis" got started but,I hope your Dad and PopPop will post on your blog and tell you the story of your name. Maybe they will even tell you about the other people who have had this name.

Well, there were other names that were considered for you but no matter what your personality I think these names will be appropriate for you. Your name will definately "mean something". Ella or Davis, whichever you are, be proud of your name and make those you are named after proud.