The NAME

So, a few posts back (for all you astute readers -- aka Malia) I said we may have picked our baby's name and was trying to get some stuff together for when I share it with the bloggy world. Well, the "stuff" isn't quite ready (read: I've been lazy but I'll get to it someday soon and show it off), but I still wanna share the name now.

So here's the deal - we've come up with two names - a first and a middle name. Although I love both, I have a special affinity to his middle name, and like his daddy, we'll probably call the firecracker by his middle name (or a shortened version of it) rather than his formal English first name. However, since we've decided that we picked the name, I find myself referring to the firecracker using both of his names interchangeably, so who knows. Long story short, feel free to call him whatever you want, first name or middle name.

So without further adieu his first name will be (as of now, yes, its subject to change up until we put it down on his birth certificate):

WYATT

Why we picked this name? DH came up with it one day simply because he liked the sound of it (dont all names kinda start out like this?). He mentioned it to me and while I wasn't hugely keen on it right away, I admit it did have a certain ring to it, and it eventually grew on me. And it really matches our last name (which also starts with a W). Although we know its not an uncommon name, neither DH nor I know anyone with that name, other than the westerner - Wyatt Earp, and even then, i dont know much about his story other than he got into a gun fight. But that's not why we're naming him that. We also recently looked it up in a baby name book (and I also did some google research) and discovered it has french origins and means "little warrior". We think this meaning is really fitting since my DH's name means "strength" or "strong". We chose this name as his first name because its simple, its sweet, its "cute" but "manly", its got a great meaning, and it's to help our son out because his middle name is going to be a doozie.

His middle name will be:

KAUA'APUAKEA

Pronounced (Ka-ooah-ah-pooah-kay-ah) (yes, we're Hawaiian, and yes its a Hawaiian name.) There is also a line over the third A, (called a kahako), but I dont know how to reprint that on the blog using the fonts available. Hawaiians use ' (a backwards apostrophe called an 'okina) and kahako as part of their alphabet and the addition or subtraction of such "letters" can change the meaning of a word...so it's important that those be included when spelling a word to be accurate.

Now for the explanation of the name and its meaning. First "ua" means rain in Hawaiian. "Ka" is a ka'i or directional word and is very similar to the word "the" in English...so "ka ua" = "the rain". "'Apuakea" is the name of the type of rain where we live on our island. (yes, yes, so much info about me on an anonymous blog!). So our son's name means "the 'Apuakea rain". The literal translation of "'apuakea" is "white fish basket". 'Apua = fish basket used for catching fish. and "kea" means white. I'm not exactly sure why the name of the rain in the town where we live is called the white fish basket rain, but I think it has to do with the multitude of rain we get and the type of activity (fishing) that was prevelant in pre-modern days. Or it could be that the way the rain clouds wrap around our side of the island resembles that of a white fish basket. Hawaiians commonly named the different rains and winds in different areas of Hawaii based on the type of rain or wind and its characteristics. So there are many different names for the different rains and winds in the different parts of the state.



We chose Kaua'apuakea for our son's name so that he would know and be able to share where he was from. It's a common practice for Hawaiians and basically anyone in Hawaii to introduce themselves with not only their name, but where they are from. For example, in modern times, we'd say our name, and say what island we're originally from (or what town), or what high school we went to. It's just a way to know that person better. We also chose this name for our son because he was conceived and will be born in the rainy season here in Hawaii (conceived in March, born in December). Also, our town is known to be on the rainier side of the island, so we see a lot of the ua here. I mean, a lot! Also, in many cultures, including Hawaii, rain signifies a blessing or is good luck, and of course, this little guy is our blessing. There is many great associations with rain/water and good fortune, love, etc. and I hope that it will translate into our son.



We also live in a gorgeous valley where the rainfall makes everything green and there are beautiful waterfalls coming down the mountain side. Since moving to this area (where my DH is from) I've fallen in love with the mountains and have always wanted to name our child with something having to do with the mountains. I have big plans of taking a picture of our valley when it rains and using it as a nursery decoration. Something similar to this photo (though its not of our valley, its of the same mountain range):





Getting the photo that we'll use in the nursery is the "stuff" i wanted to get done before I shared his name with you all, but it's not done and I have a feeling it may be a work in progress, so I wanted to share now.

So there you have it. As of now, our son will be called: Wyatt Kaua'apuakea

or just simply - Kaua.