Namesakes for Elizabeth Anne

So, did you name her after anyone or did you just like the name? I'm glad you asked. There are so many options to choose from - so many namesakes that could've inspired the name.

You might be inclined to think we like biblical names. After all, Abigail (our second daughter) has a biblical name. In that case, Elizabeth could be named after John the Baptist's mother in Luke 1 and the middle name Anne is a variation on Anna, the prophetess in Luke 2:36-38.

Or perhaps, knowing that Erin and I were both history majors, you might suppose we had historical figures in mind. It is true that Elizabeth and Anne are very royal names. (After all, Erin's middle name is the same as a famous queen of England, too.) Elizabeth I was a great queen of England whose reign from 1558 to 1603 is looked back on as a golden age in English history. Of course, the present queen of England is also named Elizabeth. Anne is also a royal name. Queen Anne ruled England from 1702-1714. We get "Queen Anne's Lace" and Queen Anne furniture from her. Anne was also the name of Elizabeth I's mother, the second queen of Henry VIII. And there's Anne of Austria, the queen of Louis XIII of France. (Perhaps that's it, I am a big fan of the Three Musketeers.) Finally, Anne is the name of Elizabeth II's only daughter. She's currently 10th in line for the British throne.

But, then, you may remember that Erin and I are both bookish types, so you might expect we had more literary namesakes in mind. If that's the case, the first literary heroine that comes to mind for Elizabeth is Lizzie Bennet from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. That could be, especially knowing that our first daughter, Emma, also shares a name with a Jane Austen heroine. Perhaps we picked the middle name Anne because of a fondness for Anne Shirley from L.M. Montgomery's 1908 classic Anne of Green Gables.

Or we could be choosing names based on worthy role models among our friends. A good friend from church is called Betty, short for Elizabeth, and Anne is the middle name of another close friend.

I like to think that all of these are true in some sense. The heritage of the names brings all the best qualities to mind of the great women of life, literature, and history who have borne each name.

The real reasons we chose the names are more sentimental and practical. But you'll have to wait in suspense until Erin fills in the details.