My baby's name is Evangeline Rae Jacobs. For right now, since her name is longer than she is, we call her Evie. We think it's a beautiful name, but it surprises me how often people will ask if I got it from the Disney movie The Princess and the Frog. The answer is NO. Or they'll ask if I got it from the Nanny McPhee movie. Also NO. Come on, people--I'm not going to name my child after a Disney movie! I want to explain where Evie's name does come from, and why we chose it, because each part of it means something special to me.
Evangeline is a gorgeous name of elegance and sophistication for when she's an adult, and can be shortened to the cute bouncy name Evie while she's still cute and little.
It is actually the name of a poem by Henry W. Longfellow. I grew up playing the game Authors, which is like Go Fish, except with 4 real "books" that you collect from each author. When Todd and I got married, I already had several names picked out for my children. I wanted them to be four syllables, begin with a vowel, and contain an "exotic" letter: Alexander, Elizabeth, Olivia, etc. However, Todd already had a nephew named Alexander, and he hated the name Olivia. That left me only Elizabeth, which isn't a pattern all by itself. Then, I remembered the name Evangeline that I'd spent my entire childhood hearing, and I thought it was beautiful. Sadly, the movie The Princess and the Frog came out after I'd picked out my baby's name but before I actually had her. I still haven't read Longfellow's poem, but it is on my list for this summer.
Ev-, the first part of Evie's name, is a salute to Mother Eve. This past year, I've learned so much about her, and have come to really respect and love who she is. I'm also beginning to relate to her a little bit, and I feel that the best way to honor her is to name my beloved daughter after her, at least in part.
-angel-, the middle part, is how I feel about my little girl: she is an angel straight from Heaven. She brings such peace and joy to my heart. Because of her sweet spirit, I can't help but know that God lives and that he loves me enough to trust me with the special gift of being her Mommy.
-ine, the last part of her name, is a diminutive, used to convey both a smallness of and affection for the person. And I certainly feel great affection for her small self!
Rae hints at sunshine and cheer. In fact, I refer to Evie as my little Rae of Sunshine and sing sunny songs to her like You Are my Sunshine, and My Girl. Her little smile is a beam of pure light into my heart, and it warms me more than the real sun does.
That name took longer to find. We wanted something short to go with her long first name, but nothing seemed to work. I tried Belle, but Todd thought that it sounded snooty. Finally, after months of fruitless searching, I was browsing on Facebook, and came across the name of a good friend of mine from when I was in middle school and early high school: Camie Rae Lott. I put the whole name together, and it sounded pretty good to me. I suggested it to Todd, and he really liked it too.
Jacobs is our last name, a name given to us by my sweet husband. As she grows up, Evie will be able to wear her Daddy's name and know that she always belongs to our family. And, even after she gets married and gets a new last name, she will still be our precious daughter--sealed to us for eternity.
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