Aug 3, 2010
About Our Twins’ Names
Whitsun Robert (L), Cadence Felicity (R)
Many of you have been thinking about our baby names pretty much since we told you we were having a baby. Somehow our baby-naming philosophy has intrigued you.
Some of you already know this, but we try to name our kids with real English words that mean something significant to us.
So, here we go…
Our newest daughter is Cadence. I’ve always thought of her name being taken from definition #2, “a sequence of notes or chords…”.
It makes me think of a few things, and this is my brain-dump about how this all comes together for me:
- Henri Nouwen’s book The Dance of Life: Weaving Sorrows and Blessings into One Joyful Step. I love this book. I love the title alone.
- To have a dance [of life], you must have music. God is writing music, a score, that we’re all somehow dancing to. Sometimes it’s a jig, sometimes it’s a dirge.
- When I think of the swells and lulls of the music of our lives the past few years, cadence was a fitting word.
- I think of all the times the Bible talks about “a new song.” And when you add her middle name (Felicity=joy) to that, it makes me think (and hope) for the new song of joy that God is writing in our lives through the birth of these twins.
Did you follow that? And of course, her middle name is Felicity, in honor of her older sister, now almost three years in the presence of Christ.
Now, next up…our son Whitsun.
How’s that for unhelpful? Here, maybe this’ll help:
We’re already kinda planning to call him Whit. When I think of Whitsun, I think of:
- Pentecost: how cool was that?
- How little I understand of the Holy Spirit, and how I pray for little Whit, that he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from a young age, following Christ in heart and deed.
- How I pray for our family, for a fresh falling of the Holy Spirit. I want to pray that more often.
And Robert is my dad’s name. I wish I had it on video when he heard that he got the middle name. He was so teary and awesome and cute. My dad is amazing. It was our hope to find a name that went well with Robert, and I think Whitsun does it. We love you so much, Dad/Papa. It’s an honor to have a son who shares your name.
So, Cadence Felicity and Whitsun Robert.
Congratulations – how amazing is God for granting you such beautiful children! Your story is an amazing testimony of God’s greatness. I am so inspired by your family.
I LOVE their names! And love the special meanings behind them. Thanks for sharing them with all of us. We love them already. Praying for you in the special/challenging/wonderful days ahead.
I heard she had hair…
…i have bows…
i love their names! so prefect! Can’t wait to squeeze on them!
I love the names…they are almost as beautiful as the meanings and your hearts desire behind them and almost as precious as the children they identify!
Our God is good indeed:)
Of course we curious ones already wikied the names – ha! I assume you wrote this post before the delivery, or I hope! :)
I gave our 4-month-old the middle name Garrison in honor of my dad Gary who passed away 2 years the same month. I love the picture of your dad holding Whit.
Congrats, Piper family!
As one who has been honored by a namesake, I know how your dad felt when you told him Whit’s middle name. I cried like a baby when my brother introduced me to his daughter as “Reagan Jessica.” It is the sweetest gift a person has ever given me.
I love the meaning behind these names, Molly. And I love how they go together – that the Holy Spirit will fall afresh, bringing a new song of joy. To that I can only add Amen! May it ever be so.
I love you and I can’t wait to lay eyes on these precious gifts.
Congratulations to you all! The twins are just precious! Love their names and know that their big brothers are gushing over them too.
Congratulations! They are beautiful! So sweet.
So cute! I really like the names, especially since you picked them to have meaning.
I love that picture…I can just imagine what they’re thinking, “Hey, Whit, where ARE we?”
well…i just had to read this five times because i bawled through the whole thing. i love the names. LOVE. THEM. love you guys even more.
i’ll try to come out!
Beautiful.
Congratulations!
Hey Molly:
Thanks for sharing.
In a world where more and more folks are ramming a collection of letters together and calling those letters “names,” you and hubby are a breath of fresh air!
Thanks for returning to a basic human tradition that seems to have been lost on some: selecting names for precious children that actually MEAN something!
God bless you guys and your growing family.
eve
they are beautiful babies, and I love reading how others (specifically in this instance, you) choose names for their children. May God truly bless your family with a fresh falling of the Holy Spirit and a new song of joy. I pray that for my own family too.
These are wonderful. I agree with you that names have a lot of meaning – for the past, present, future.
When my son was in the womb and I prayed that God would reveal his name to us. And he did – Ian. It means “God is gracious” which is something we really needed to be reminded of in that season (and all seasons!) It also makes me think of John 1:16: “And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”
May I ask you where you found the images of these names (the white box with the dictionary definition)? I have had the idea to frame something like this for each member of our family and hang them on the wall.
Many blessings!
I love Cadence, but (as someone who studies Christian worship) was completely thrilled by Whitsun.
Just don’t let anybody call him Halfwhit. :)
I had to check it out at the anagram page.
http://www.easypeasy.com/anagrams
Did you know that your new son’s name is anagram for ‘Twin Brother Sire Pup’?
Molly, this is the first time I’ve had to take a break from one of your posts and come back later to leave my comment.
Your babies are absolutely beautiful! Their faces are so healthy looking, and their wonderful hair, double chins and puzzled expressions are adorable! I still can’t believe you have TWO babies! How very very wonderful!
And the names. I think everyone is fascinated because you choose unique names, but so very thoughtfully, not just in a “Hey, I’ve never heard to this one before, let’s go with that!” kind of way.
The prayers and the purpose behind each of their names is evident. I LOVE your ideas behind Cadence, and adding in the joy of Felicity just puts it all there. The joy and the sorrow.
Give those darlings a kiss for me! I am so glad your song is a song of joy and hope!
Beautiful! Love how amazingly unique and joyous this blessing is for you. May God bless Cadence and Whitsun every day of their lives.
I love both of their names:). Such sweet little faces. And before even looking at the caption I could tell which was the boy and which was the girl:).
congrats….God is soooooooooooooo Good!
Along with every other commenter, I think these names are lovely. Thank you for sharing your heart on them. :-)
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful babies. And I see the strong resemblence already to their big brothers. What tons of love is flowing in your home!
They are so precious! I love the names! Congrats!!! :)
Beautiful names! I love your naming philosophy; not only do your children have unique names, but they have very meaningful names. Congratulations again on your beautiful twins!
CONGRATULATIONS!! So glad to hear your amazing news! Cadence and Whit are precious – so beautiful – well done Molly! Will be praying for all of you as you adjust to your new arrivals! :o)
That made me cry. Beautiful…..I wish more people would put so much care and thought into the names they give their kids….blessings on ya’ll….
wonderful babies, wonderful names. Thanking God for these blessings!
Beautiful babes, and fabulous names! I immediately knew the one on the right was cadence… How?? She just looked “feminine”. And Oh my word, I rarely see newborns who look so strikingly like a parent, but these babies have “Abraham” written all over them!
Absolute perfection.
Thanks for more pictures. They are so Piper kids! I LOVE it!!!
It is so fun to already see how feminine Cadence looks and how masculine Whit looks.
Look at that furrowed brow on Cadence! Another deep thinker in the family???
how awesome. thanks for sharing. you guys are bringing happy tears to my eyes several times a day.
WOW!!
Wait, first, CONGRATS!! on your twins. I don’t think I’ve commented before but I’ve been following you for a bit now and your posts are talked about not a few times over dinner :-)
Secondly, you name your kids English names!! My husband and I did/are doing this also and it is soo refreshing to find another family that does this. Our daughter is Fiery Soleil and our son is Honor Jah. Their names, especially my daughter’s, took a bit to get over the shock of it and all the “oh! that’s… different” or being a joke sometimes with well-meaning friends but that would end up in hurt feelings. So thank you- this has been an encouragement. And congrats again!
Beautiful babies and beautiful names!
Congrats. I am so happy for you!
3 boys and 2 girls, quite a wonderful family!
wow! i LOVE this, molly. can’t wait to meet them!
Again, Congratulations! Praising God with you!!!
Kindest regards,
Brook
Love the names!
They are so adorable and look so wonderful. I love how you thoughtfully and prayerfully chose their names so that they have meanings. It’s not just a name. Wonderful!
I am so happy for you and your entire family. Praise God for the gifts that he gives.
God bless
Sandra
How beautiful, the thought you put into your babies’ names. They’re wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
I don’t know you but I can’t stop looking at your beautiful babies with their beautiful names! They are wonderful. Congrats Piper Family!
CONGRATULATIONS! And oh my goodness, do y’all ever know how to name some babies…I LOVE the names. Perfect. So happy for you!
I read along down in Australia and just wanted to say many congratulations! (x2 again). Such great news and what cute little frowns (or maybe they are not frowns but they look all very earnest all the same!). And I have to say the photos of Orison look a lot like the photos of your Dad to me. God bless, Ali
Congratulations! Rejoicing with in the birth of these beautiful babies. :)
Beautiful names for beautiful babies!!!! Congratulations!
We are surprised ourselves at how excited we are about your twins! We love the family pics we saw on fb. My older girls especially just can’t get enough of them. They are celebrities at our house. So adorable! Speaking of twin names, my mom’s maiden name is Double, and Kevin’s mom’s maiden name is Hubble. We’ve always joked that if we ever have twins they’ll be Hubble and Double – but I think your names are better! :)
Great names!! Can’t wait for the birth story!!!!
i *loved* your baby naming philosophy. We had a similar idea with our children’s middle names & gave our daughters & sons “quality” names – The boys names are all in latin as we felt it sounded a little more manly :) “Grace, True, Joy, Pax, Solace, Serenus & Magnus” – it is kind of fun to have a theme like that but sure adds to the strain of baby naming. Beautiful job – & such lovely little babies. i love that God chose to bless you doubly this time – & especially as you mother little Cadence -, i’m sure God will both sustain and comfort you as you continue to mother Felicity from afar.
I love their names. They are just … perfect. Congratulations! The name wrestling paid off in spades. I’m still smiling ear to ear, just knowing Cadence and Whit are with us.
Cadence and Whit are amazing, Molly! I love the names you guys picked out and their meanings. I love looking at these pictures! Congratulations, friend…much love to you.
Congratulations on the arrival of your special children. Love the names and the thought that went into them
Maybe one day Whitsun might visit the Whitsunday Islands on the tropical north coast of Australia – they are absolutely stunning
http://www.whitsundaytourism.com/
Bron
That is soooo sweet. Made me a little weepy.
Congratulations!!
Congrats on the birth of such beautiful babies. I have a four month old and it’s hard to believe how big he’s getting already. I kind of miss that smooshy newborn phase. And the names are beautiful. We’d like to have meaningful names for our kiddos, too. Our first is named Judah, which means praise – he was born after several years of infertility and a very early miscarriage – so we wanted to be reminded to thank God for the blessing he had given us in Judah, but also to remember to praise God for all that had happened before.
Wait, Whit is not my name sake. I mean I was a pre/post good luck charm right?
They are so sweet! Congrats! H
Love the names. Our first daughter’s middle name is Caedence.