- Kashti
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(KASH-tee) Hebrew, meaning “My Rainbow”. From the book of Genesis:
I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. And it shall happen, when I place a cloud over the earth, and the bow will be seen in the cloud, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living being among all flesh, and the water shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
– Genesis 9:13-15 (Stone Edition)
It was very important to Stacey and I to choose a name with connotations of renewal, rebirth, a fresh start. The decision to have this baby came out of a fundamental shift in our relationship from distrust, exhaustion, and resentment, to belief, respect, and renewed commitment. It was, in a very real way, a fresh start. Kashti is the tangible seal and symbol of our renewed love. As such, the symbolism of the rainbow, as a marker of the permanent end of destruction and the beginning of a whole new age, seemed eminently appropriate.
- Aodhan
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(AY-den) Gaelic, meaning “born of fire”. A continuation of the first name’s theme, this time drawing on Stacey’s Irish heritage. The connotation for us is that of being brought forth out of the hot, refining crucible of our Stacey and my relational journey. In addition, it represents an image that was strongly on my mind during the time he was being conceived and gestating: that of the profusion of rich growth that springs up in the aftermath of a fire.
There is a third personal significance for me, in that the initial emotional shift that ultimately lead to his conception occurred at a fire festival.
- Edgar
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The name Edgar honors Stacey’s paternal grandfather, Edgar Marshall Andrews, who died when Stacey’s father was only ten years old. Growing up, Stacey felt a strong connection to him despite knowing him only through her father’s recollections and stories.
- Heinlein
- For Robert Anson Heinlein. Often called the Dean of Science Fiction, to me Heinlein is more than just a favorite author. Heinlein’s unwavering belief in human potential, his lifelong advocacy of liberty, individuality, and human decency; his suspicion of authority, bureaucracy, and the status quo; his insatiable curiosity; his insistence that love and affection in all their forms are ought be practiced freely and joyfully; and the example he set of doing many things and doing them well, have profoundly inspired me in almost every aspect of my life. Giving my son his name is my way of honoring him as a spiritual ancestor.
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That’s wonderful 🙂
I love the name!
Very cool. My brother has enlisted my help in naming his son-to-be, but we’ve as yet not come up with anything… The challenge there is to find something that a) is meaningful and cool, and b) can be pronounced by his Japanese mother and mother’s family. So no Ls or Rs, which eliminates a surprising number of names! I like Aodhan (or Aiden – does that spelling mean the same thing?), though, and might steal it to suggest to him. 😀
Congrats again!
Aidan/Aiden is the English spelling of the same name. We would, of course, prefer you didn’t steal our son’s name, although feel free to use the English spelling since that’s probably going to go over better with the Japanese tongue. 😉
Yeah, I suspect the Japanese relatives might have some confusion with the Gaelic spelling. 😉