You ever wonder about your name? Why you were named what you were named? Was it family tradition handed down from generation to gen eration? Does the name have any speci a l meaning to your parents (favorite movie star, childhood friend or peer)?
I am sure my parents had no idea the meaning of my name. Timothy is a double name. Timos is the Greek word honor and theos is the Greek word for God. Thus the name means one who honors God. My middle name, James is the Greek word pistos meaning faith or faithful. My name means the faithful one honoring God. Kind of ironic that I turned out to be in ministry for the past 38 years, pastoral ministry for 33 years.
Naming my kids I never really gave much thought to their names. My oldest, Lauren, was named because her mom and I liked her name. Her name is a French name that means laurel or Celtic that means leaves. In the Bible it is used to mean a laurel crown given to victors.
My son, Corey, his name has Gaelic/Irish origins. It means peace. Now that I think about it, he is pretty laid back and easy going. He lives up to his name.
My baby girl, Jessica, well she is in a class all of her own. Her name is a Hebrew name meaning to behold, foresight…to see or gaze upon. When I think about it, she is something else and we did, at times, sit back and watch her and wonder.
Not to leave out my wife Jill, her name means youthful. It is a Greek/Latin name. It was a perfect way to remind you your baby will always be your baby!
All this name researching got me to wondering about the next generation of Perkins descendants. I now have four grandkids – two boys and two girls. My daughter Lauren has the older two, Killian, who is 10, and Selah Belle (you have to use both, or she will correct you) who is 8. The other two grandkids were born last summer two months apart. Harper is nine months. Kekoa is seven months and he lives in Hawaii. I think the kids put more thought into their kids’ names than I did on my three combined.
My grandsons are nine years apart, but their names are alike. Killian is a Celtic name and means little warrior, bright headed. It was literally taken as a red headed warrior.
Kekoa is a Hawaiian name for warrior. It comes from stem/root word Koa, the koa tree on the islands. It was used to make canoes, swords and melee weapons.
What are the odds that I would have two grandsons with names meaning warrior? And, they also share the same middle name, James, as I do (as a matter of fact, they are both 5th generation James’). I can’t wait to see what these two grow up to be or do. Selah Belle, well that girl is something else. Her name, Selah, is a Hebrew name. It means rock, boulder or cliff originally. You are probably familiar with this name from the book of Psalms. It is a liturgical/ musical term. David used it as a way to say stop, wait here, redirect away from, to learn. Watching her, talking with her, she does give you something to ponder or think upon deeply.
Then there is Harper. Origins are English, Scottish and Irish. In its simplest form it means someone who plays the harp. It has come to mean someone musical, a strong desire to create harmony & positive change in the world. I think she’s too young to tell what or if any of that will come out, but it will be interesting to see.
What does all this mean? Why would I share this with you? Names are important. Look at the name Jesus. Mary and Joseph were told what to name the baby that Mary was to birth. His name was Immanuel in the New Testament and Emmanuel in the Old Testament, God with us. Matthew 1:8 says that they will call his name Jesus, for He will save people from their sins. And, that is just what Jesus did. He died for all our sins!
That name, Jesus, is so special that it is by that name and only that name that we may be saved (Acts 4:12). Romans 10:13 says that all that call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Paul writes in Philippians that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess… (Phil. 2:10-11).
So, what is in a name??? Everything. It can tell us something about ourselves or others. And, that name Jesus… what you do or did with it will get your name written in a book of names that will be researched on the day of your death. Is your name written in it or not? Believing and confessing the name of Jesus will get your name written in The Lamb’s Book of Life and a guarantee of entrance into eternity in heaven someday.
I hope you know the name of Jesus and have called upon it for salvation.
He Knows My Name, Bro. Tim
