Why We Named Him Jasper

A lot of people have asked why we decided to name our son Jasper. Well, being the not-so-closet name nerd that I am, I am happy to divulge how we chose it! :) And I'll even reward you for reading with lots of pictures and a wee little update at the end. Ah-ah-ah--no peeking!!

We picked the name Jasper for the same reason (hopefully) that every other parent in the world chooses their child's name: we loved it!! Yes, that's not the only reason, but that was number one: Jake and I both had to love the name. This was OUR son, and even though Jake repeatedly offered to relinquish full naming rights to me, I didn't want sole responsibility for the decision should the general public, or heaven forbid, our son, hate the result. I wanted to share blame and believe that two brains are better than one, in this case. I needed Jake's balance of "practical but distinct" to balance my sometimes "adventurous and romantic" name taste. And I'm very happy with what came out.

So backing up the name train, here's how I very meticulously narrow down my top first-name contenders:

1. The name must be a real name with one obvious preferred spelling. I don't want my kid to hear "Huh?" and "Can you spell that?" from every Joe that asks his name.

2. I'd like it to be recognizable, but lesser common, i.e. not in the top 100. My name is popular, I was always Emily D. growing up and I never minded because I love my name. But for me, I want to encourage my child's becoming of his own person, to offer him distinction and interest, and to me, being selective with his name choice is the perfect way to do that. (Jasper is #286 on the 2010 Social Security list, the last word on name rankings in the U.S.)

3. It must be decidedly masculine, and preferably, not at all at risk of eventually being taken over by the girls. I wanted a name that would give him immediate identity. Maybe it's old-fashioned of me, but I want my boys to be boys and girls to be girls. Didn't want to keep people guessing.

4. It has to sound cool. I know this is totally subjective, but whatever, they're my rules. Personal preference--I didn't want a name that began or ended with M, since our last name was Moffat, I thought ones that started or ended with a different letter had nicer rings to them. Picky, picky. I know.

5. It has to have a good meaning. This is a tough one, particularly with boys' names. The most popular ones all have beautiful meanings (no doubt a player in how they got to be so popular in the first place,) but many boys' names now are either unisex, or place names or surnames (i.e. Austin, Jackson, Hudson). While I happen to love these names, they often don't come with really memorable meanings. Beyond having a name that speaks to his character at face value, based on the images and associations it invokes, I love the idea of adding a subtextual layer of favorable traits or images on a child in the form of a name's meaning. In our case, Jasper means "keeper of the treasure," (or "jasperstone,"--a precious gem--depending on the origin.) Either way, the name denotes one who is precious, loyal, one who holds high value. You can't get a much more winning name meaning than that, in my opinion. And for the record, I have not stopped calling him "my treasure" since he got here. Trust me, "precious" and "treasure" are the perfect words to describe him. He's utterly angelic, even objectively speaking.
(Dylan means "son of the sea," perfect for the serene and peaceful state he has exhibited and brought to our home these six days of his existence. I have always loved this name.)

• Side note: We really considered Dylan for the first name, but Jake preferred Jasper, which was the ultimate determinant. Dylan was also questionable on Rules 2 (#31 on SS list) and 3 (rising on the girl's name list), so putting it in the middle made those issues less significant. Also, given that Jasper's peak was in the 1880s and Dylan is peaking now, it more firmly set his first name in this century--to us, a nice mix of classic and contemporary.

An added bonus with the name Jasper is it's reminiscence to the name of his father, Jacob. Jake also believed in the child's "own identity,"and didn't want a child named after him. However, with Jasper, we were able to give him the same first initial, the same first two letters, so we consider the name to be in honor of Jacob. Also a bonus, and probably a surprise to most of you, Jasper, like Jacob, is a biblical name. Jasper is the name of one of the Three Wisemen (hence again, "keeper of the treasure.")

So there you have it! Simple! Well, maybe not, but no one can fault us for not giving our son's name a lot of thought. I consider naming to be a special gift--the first one given to a child by his parents. And it's a pretty permanent gift. Better be sure it's a good one. After one week of it's first run, this little mama's satisfied that ours is just that. :)

And, like I promised, some pictures of the last week. It has been absolute heaven with this little man here. Absolute best week of our lives. I will have to write more on that as I can, including Jasper's birth story, which is document-worthy--trust me! But for now, I'll simply say that I love being a mom and I thank my Heavenly Father from the bottom of my heart for this sweet little child he has sent to Jacob and me.
Jasper on his mommy's lap today, donning one of his new onesies. Love this little man in red.
And navy blue, too! We went to Target today because we were out of newborn diapers and newborn clothes after just 3 days home! Onesies it is, in bright colors, because I'm the mom and I get to pick.

Jasper on Sunday, June 26th wearing his "Sunday" onesie from Grammy Peg and a little orange and white baseball cap I crocheted for him. Jake wanted me to add the brim to make it look more manly. Good call, Jake.
Looking at his mommy, one of my favorite activities of his. That darling sleeper that fits him so perfectly is from his Nana Dalton.

Jake "wrapped up" in Jasper. Or is it the other way around? Thanks for the wrap, Rachel!! Jake and Jasper are assuming this same position on the couch next to me as I type this.

A perfect little face, says me. We love him so.

Jasper's first outing--to Target for baby necessities (happy in a pouch from his Aunt Cammy). We went on Friday night, June 24th, with my sister, Aunt Rachel (who was an angel staying with us for the first few days--more on that later) and also happened upon the Disney Cinderella Doll I voiced in October that sings Happy Birthday! How appropriate! Jake and Rachel were yelling, literally YELLING my name, when they found the doll! I thought something terrible had happened, but wait, I had the baby--so what was going on? Rachel bought the doll on the spot and told the clerk the doll's voice was mine, had me sing for him on the spot, the whole bit. Such an awesome sister I have. I could not even begin to tell you how awesome.

Jasper looking dashing in his swaddle wrap from Aunt Megan. I LOVE this picture.

Jasper in the afghan I have *nearly* completed for him. The white border is all finished in this photo, so close enough, though I've decided to wrap around it twice more with an orange border. I don't know if I have time to be a perfectionist AND a mother.

And lastly, congrats to Jasper for already regaining his birth weight! At the pediatrician's appointment today, Jasper weighed in at 7 lbs. 1.9 oz., so already almost an ounce more than when he was born! (Yea! and tear. They grow so fast. A week old. My little baby. What'll I do?) The doc said 1 in maybe 200 babies will regain their weight like he has. Way to be awesome, Jasper. He passed with flying colors in every category!

Welcome, welcome sweet baby Jasper! We love you with all of our hearts!!