I wanted to write about why we named our son Silas Carl, and how we came to that decision.
Funny thing is, we have a girl's name all picked out. We had it picked out long before we settled on Caleb's name (remember, we didn't know the gender). We actually finalized Caleb's name two days before he was born (and he was late). It is a name I liked and could see myself naming my daughter before I was ever married, and thankfully, Brian agreed. We settled on a middle name together, (the first name and middle name were actually a full name of one of my former students), and we left it at that.
But alas, we have not yet been able to use this name!
For whatever reason, we have struggled long and hard for both Caleb and Silas. I have already told Caleb's story on this blog; now it is Silas's turn.
The middle name was easy, and we began there. Brian wanted to honor his grandfather, Carl, and I had no problem with it. From all that he has said, he was a remarkable man, and my own grandfather on my father's side was pretty horrible. No joke, no lie. He was a terrible man. I didn't really know him, but he was married four times because he just couldn't seem to like anyone long enough to stay with them. My mother's father died when I was four, and I don't remember much about him.
So, Carl sounded good to me, and I know it meant a lot to Brian.
Now, for the first name.
We knew we wanted to keep with the biblical theme we had already begun with Caleb. So for months, Brian and I would toss Bible names out to one another. Brian would say, "How about Hezekiah? Ezekiel?" or some such. We seriously went through about every male name in the Bible.
Except for Silas.
We were pretty set on Noah for a while. I actually wrote Noah Carl + our last name on a piece of paper. Then I read an article about how Noah has been at the top of the name charts for the past five years or so. Um, no thanks. We didn't want a name THAT popular.
About this time, I had heard of a celebrity couple who named their newborn son "Silas". Now, let me be clear. I could CARE LESS about celebrities and their goings-on. But when I heard that, I instantly said, "Oh, there's a name from the Bible we didn't even think about!"
I mentioned it to Brian, and he wasn't too enthused. Neither was I- yet. But I at least wanted to consider it. It was different, yes. However, I didn't want to rule it out.
The months went by, and we kept coming back to it, and over time, it completely worked its way into our hearts. At exactly 35 weeks along, we committed, and began calling him by his name.
As far as meaning goes, it isn't loaded. It means "forest" or "woods". However, he was Paul's missionary companion, and if he's good enough for Paul, he's good enough for me. After all, they were locked in prison, in shackles no less, and they sat there singing songs and praises to God. That is far better than I would have behaved in the same situation.
We are absolutely in love with the name now. My family was slow to like it, and I think it took them time to warm up to it.
And, for the record, don't Caleb and Silas sound great together? Same amount of letters, same set up of consonants and vowels. (Yes, the English teacher in me thinks of all of these things.)
