Naming a Baby: Introducing.....

This post is part of the series "Naming a Baby"

We have taken much longer to name this fifth child than the other children, and that is directly related to me. Well, this is excepting Jack because we didn't know if he was a boy or girl until birth and I simply cannot discuss names until I have my options narrowed by gender. Simon was Peggy's top name from the beginning, but I had nixed it early in the process because I didn't like the way it sounded for some reason. We had a name all but picked out, but couldn't seem to make it final because I'm not sure either of us were in love with it. We pretty much stumbled on Oliver first, which had also been tossed out early on by me, but for some reason one evening the meaning struck me in a different way. At first, the meaning, Olive Tree, may seem an odd choice, but taken together with the meaning of the first name (along with a little explanation), we believe we have given Simon Oliver Hutchinson a name that is historical, strong, encouraging, and masculine. And as mentioned previously, we get bonus points for picking all five from the character list of ABC's Lost as Simon was Charlie's father on two episodes in season 2.

Simon Oliver Hutchinson

Simon

This name means, "he has heard", and the meaning is taken from its Hebrew root Shema, "to hear". Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is known as The Shema as it begins with the imperative to "Hear" O Israel. This command is given to Israel immediately following Deuteronomy 5 where the Ten Commandments are repeated. In Deut. 6 Israel is instructed to listen to and obey the commandments while also teaching them to their children. Our hope for Simon is that he will hear the call to, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might," and repent from his sins turning to the Lord for salvation.

Oliver

Simon's middle name is taken from the latin for Olive tree. The Olive Tree holds a prime place in scripture and it is known to be a "very hardy" and "drought tolerant" tree. "The trees are also tenacious, easily sprouting back even when chopped to the ground."

The trunks are twisted and give an appearance of being strong and weathered. Psalm 128 presents children as Olive shoots that are blessings for those who fear the Lord. Spurgeon, commenting on this Psalm says, "How beautiful to see the gnarled olive, still bearing abundant fruit, surrounded with a little band of sturdy successors, any one of which would be able to take its place should the central olive be blown down, or removed in any other way."

Yes, we have seen that the name has a Germanic root meaning Elf Army, but we will ignore that one and stick with the more well-known latin root that draws us back to its Hebrew meaning when using it to train up Simon.

Simon Oliver

Taken together these names present us with a picture of a young man who has heard the call of the Gospel and proves to be hardy and drought tolerant as he bears the name of Christ in a dry and weary land. The United States is continually becoming Spiritually drier as higher percentages of people choose to remain enemies of God than to reconcile to Him through Christ. If the Lord does not reverse this trend, Simon will live out his life in a lukewarm society (Rev 3:16), or even worse in a pagan society. As one "who has heard", we hope he will live long like the Olive Tree, rejecting the societal call to flee the Lord, and proving to be a source of strength and encouragement for other followers of Christ.

Read more about "Naming a Baby"