Why a Name Matters: By Lizzie Ducking- With all the weird, made-up names we give our kids, it’s a wonder it can be pronounced, but that’s not the scary part. The scary part is what do these names mean?

Our name can shape our character and the outcome of events in our lives. This may sound strange but it is true. Names mean a lot and can be good or bad.

When I was a teenager, I knew that Lizzie, which is my name, was a slave name. I felt compelled by that, so I told People to call me Liz. I still felt tied down and had some unfortunate events that happened in my life. I’m sure my parents didn’t have the ideal that my name would be attacked into slavery; they just named me after my grandmother.

I called my daughter Noctonya. I didn’t know at the time that Noc was referring to the night. It grew to be and still is a Night Person. She stayed up all night and slept all day. I think it is the result of his name.

If we have an unfortunate name, all is not lost. It could be blessed. Ten years ago, the Lord told me that my name is blessed. He blessed the name Lizzie and ever since then I have been calling myself Lizzie and I have been blessed.

Our name can make our character but we are not destined for any negative effect because we can change it. I am not implying that we change the name to another, what I am saying is that we can bless our current name and things will turn out differently.

I can recall two accounts in the Bible where God dwelt under the name of Person. Abraham was called Abram for the first time, but God told him that he had made him the Father of many nations and changed his name to Abraham, which means Father of many nations. Every time Abraham spoke his name or someone else did, God’s promise drew closer. Today Abraham is the Father of many nations just as God promised.

Jabes is one who had his unfortunate name blessed. His name meant pain. He didn’t want to cause pain, so he prayed and God answered his prayer.

People are putting letters together and creating words that have no value or negative values. This is not ideal, especially if you don’t know what it means. In reality, they could be speaking a curse on their Sons without realizing it.

We are all going to have some paths in life, but parents need to give their children the best possible start they can and it begins with their name.

I have three grandchildren, the oldest name is Bobby, the next is Caleb and the baby is Emmanuel. When Bobby was born, I wanted it to have a name that had meaning, but my daughter wanted it to have her father’s name, so she named him Bobby. When the next one came he asked me what to call him and I said Caleb because Caleb believed God. I could tell Caleb what his name meant, but I couldn’t do that for Bobby and that worried me deeply. The Lord told me to tell the firstborn. Firstborn is a title given to the eldest son, for which he receives a double portion. Bobby does not have a biblical name but he is blessed because he is the firstborn. The name Emmanuel means that God is with us, so my three grandchildren are blessed.

We should think carefully when naming our Children because it could be the difference between living a prosperous life or living a life of pain.