I always refer to our future son as, Joshua. But will we really call him that?
In Ethiopia children are typically named a Biblical name or a name that means something. For example: Abebe - "he has flourished/grown" Bereket - "blessing" Fasika - "Easter" Tesfaye - "hope"
Ethiopians are given a first name at birth and their "last" name is their father's first name. Women do not take their husband's name when they marry. Which means that traditionally parents and children do not share a name. People are known by their first name. They are referred to as Ato (Mr.) Chad or Woizerit (Miss) Krissy or Woizero (Mrs.) Alicia. (I suspect that tracing one's family tree is very difficult since the "name chain" lasts only one generation.)
Some families who adopt do not change their child's name. Others do. I agree with both. At the moment we do plan to call our son Joshua. I personally want to give our son a name, just like we gave our other children names. I also think that it is hard for a child to have a name that is unfamiliar and hard to pronounce and spell. (My personal bias of course.) I am also very attached to the name "Joshua" because I feel like it came directly from God. If you recall as we were considering adoption the name "Joshua" settled in my heart. It is not a name that we had ever discussed in the naming of our other children. When we discovered that Joshua means Jehovah Saves, that kind of settled it. I also felt reassured once again when I learned the criteria Ethiopian parent's use in choosing a name. "Joshua" is both Biblical and has a perfect meaning. So unless something happens to change our minds, he will truly be Joshua.
What is still undetermined is his middle names. He will have 2. One will be his Ethiopian name. While we do plan to call him Joshua, we most definitely want to honor his Ethiopian heritage. I have worked hard to learn about Ethiopian culture. I plan to teach our son what I can. I hope that he is proud of his heritage. One way to show our pride in that heritage is to use his Ethiopian name.
His other middle name will be Chad. I always said I would name all my sons Chad, because I love and respect both of the Chads in my life so much. (I have one brother whose name is Chad, and I married a man with the same name. Jamison's middle name is also Chad.) I have not changed my mind. I am not sure which middle name will come first though. I guess I should leave a little mystery in that?
We have never before announced the names of our children before they arrived. I never wanted to hear everyone's comments about the name, and keeping the name a secret was kind of fun. This time is different. I do not have the maternity clothes, huge belly, and back ache to attest for our soon-to-be arrival, so having a name makes Joshua more real to us all. He is not an adoption, but a flesh and blood child of God. His name also reminds me how central God's plan is in all of this. However, I am most anxious to put a face with his name!
