I am a nut when it comes to naming our kids. I have to choose a name right away. For me, it is just an important part of bonding with my child to be, whether that child is coming through birth to me or adoption.

Within weeks of getting a positive pregnancy test I would be handing Josh lists of baby names and asking his advice. Within weeks of accepting a referral or choosing a waiting child I would present him again with "what do you think about this name?" types of questions. Josh is a pain in the butt when it comes to choosing names. He doesn't like anything "fancy" or "weird". He doesn't like anything that sounds "made up" and he doesn't like anything that is spelled unusual (unless it is an ethnic name).

He is so particular, that when I handed him a list of names to consider when we were adopting our Amanda from Korea, his response was, "Get back to me when you are serious." I would like to take this opportunity to remind him and tell you all that the name "Amanda" (which he later chose because he loved the meaning - worthy of love) was on that original list he so callously tossed aside.

Choosing a name for Solomon was extra important to me, because on all of his paperwork, he was only called "Tsega X". In Ethiopia, the naming tradition is that the children get a first name, and then their "last name" is their father's first name (and wives do not change their names when they get married). Solomon was found abandoned with nothing known of his first family. He was given the name "Tsega" by the orphanage staff, and a letter "X" took the place of where his father's name would be. Looking at that "X" on his paperwork makes me teary every time. It just seems to scream that he doesn't belong to anybody.

Tsega means "my grace", which I love. Pronounced correctly, it starts with an "S" sound and rhymes with "mega" (it does not sound like Sega the video game, although that is how most people say it). After doing some research on Ethiopian names, I found the name Eyasu, which is "Joshua" in Ethiopia. I knew immediately that part of his name would be Eyasu. We cannot name him after his first father, but we can name him after his new daddy in a way that honors the Ethiopian culture.

We thought about just naming him "Tsega Eyasu H.", and went back and forth quite a bit before deciding that we really wanted to give him a new first name to complete the package. I made a list, and in a highly uncharacteristic way, Josh announced that he liked three of my choices. All of the names on my list were Ethiopian names, and yet names that would still be easily recognized and pronounced in the U.S. by the average person.

We quickly decided that we liked the name Solomon the very best, and when you can see his pictures you will see that it just really suits him too. Plus, our three year-old Marcus chose the name Solomon, too. We would ask Marcus if his new baby brother should be named Abraham or Solomon, and he would say, "SOLOMON!" Then we would ask if we should name his new brother Solomon or Samson, and he would yell, "SOLOMON!" Solomon it is.

Solomon means "peace". Solomon Tsega Eyasu H. is quite the mouthful, but I think it's perfect.

So, that is how a little boy with no identity at all has come to have four very meaningful names.



Other posts I have written on naming adopted children:

Naming Your Child

The name game- Laura or Li Hua?

The Name game

Naming Your Child: International Adoption