Behind the Name

Naming our daughter, especially our first, was a pretty daunting task...even more so when Shobab's siblings' names are a plethora of strong and unique ones-- Bela, Camalo, Talmai, Jotbathau, Milcah, Calvin and Aaron.

Then there's my siblings' names-- Timothy, Rachel and Philip.

But, as plain jane as mine are, there is also a common theme to all our names: They are all found in the Bible. So, in keeping that theme, at least we knew where to start.

Below is the meaning and/or reasoning behind her name: Yaelle Sylvia-Sanaa Gaskin

2 days old.

Yaelle: (Yah-el) - Hebrew origin. Our own variation in the original spelling "Yael".

Meaning - 1) Strength of God 2) Mountain (wild) goat, able to ascend. 

Biblical significance - A woman mentioned in the Book of Judges in the Bible, as the heroine who killed Sisera (Commander of the Caananite army) to deliver Israel from the troops of King Jabin. Sisera had fled to her tent under the assumption he was on peaceful ground. However, Yael waited until he fell asleep, then drove a tent stake through his head. Though she was going against her own authorities, she proved that she was only loyal to God by fighting for his people. 

Sylvia: We couldn't help but name the first granddaughter in my family after her awesome grandma ;) Watch the vid below to see my mom's reaction. Priceless. 

Sanaa: (Sah-naa) - African Swahili origin. Meaning Work of Art, beauty. 

Honestly, we just loved the name and wanted to fit it in somewhere...so we just added the hypen ;)