Although I was rooting for Patience or Tara as a first name early on, the more we got to know our little girl the less those names seemed to fit. They both sounded dark-haired and dark-eyed (like so many of our daughters, but not like this one). I’m glad we didn’t decide ahead of time.
Thank you for all the suggestions for baby names! I have a feeling we’ll be looking back through the archives someday when the next girl arrives. I can’t believe how close so many of you were to guessing the baby’s name; I think somebody even got it, though it was before we had firmly decided ourselves.
There were a couple of clues here and there: I used the prospective middle names in this post, and a couple of you picked up on another clue which was let out before we had actually decided.
You all picked up well on the Hebrew clue because everybody thought Hannah and Naomi. You almost had us – both names from our final list of choices were guessed in the comments.
Our baby girl has a new name already. However, I thought it would be fun to make a puzzle of it. The two final first names are contained somewhere in this post: For each one, I managed to casually fit a series of words into the post where the first letter of each word spells out the name. At least, they look casual to me. Can you spot them? And can you guess which one we chose?
And one final question: are y’all having fun with this, or are we just driving you nuts? Cuz I could just out with it and end the suspense…
Related posts:
Bethany!
and Hannah!
Hey this isn’t fair!!!!! I’m not a “stay at home” mom, who can form a school project out of decyphering the code/puzzle!!! I just a hard working 19yrs old single youngman!!!!!…… I’ts not fair, that the Funcle of such a beautiful little girl has to stay up trying to figureout his new(fake) nieces name……i’m just copying the above post, concerning the guessing of the name:P
P.s. SHE IS SOOOO CUTE!!!
My guess
Bethany
Hannah
Is it Bethany Joy or Hannah Grace? I love them both! And yes, you’re driving us nuts!
Found Hannah and Bethany. I’m voting for Bethany myself. I’m just glad I didn’t find Jezebel or Hagar in there!! There are LOTS of Hebrew names out there, ya know!
I was actually thinking Esther myself.
ARRGH! I should have looked at the comments before I deciphered the post! Anyway, here’s what I came up with:
First names: Hannah or Bethany
Middle names: Grace or Joy
Either way, those names are beautiful.
Well..I noticed Grace was one of the prospective middle names (i’m guessing) – and seeing as Hannah *means* Grace, it would be a bit redundant to have a baby named Hannah Grace.
Of course, this may also be the part of me which is saying “There are three other Hannahs at my church, another at my old high school, two others at my college, and two random ones I’ve had encounters with at youth events in the past year..plus many others, including at least one with a middle name spelled exactly the same as mine is!”
That part is fervently hoping you didn’t go with Hannah. 0:)
I love the name Bethany, actually…
I have a sister named Esther..it’s a rare name, though we’ve met one other one – she’s also from a homeschooled Christian family!
Bethany Hannah are the first two names I found. Still looking for others…yes, it drives me crazy…but in a fun sort of way.
Hmmm…still deciphering…nobody has mentioned Hope yet. Maybe Bethany Hope?
I found them…my guess is Bethany Grace.
Hannah Faith?
Strike that…
Hannah Joy
Bethany Grace
Bethany Hope
I’m a tad partial to Hannah myself, but I think Bethany Joy is a pretty name.
It’s a good thing I took time to go through the post to find those names cause when I read Hebrew I caught myself before actually saying Esther (since that’s a Persian name) and then I remembered Esther’s Hebrew name…Hadassah. (that was almost my name. thank the Lord for my momma for not letting my dad name me that!)
Wow, this suspense if almost as bad as waiting for her to arrive
I hope she’s a Bethany!
Yes, I am beginning to get a little nutty over this. I can’t wait to hear the name. She is just beautiful. Congratulations!!!
Marie in NC
I’m guessing Grace or Joy from your other posts, but this one is driving me nuts
. It’s fun though!
oh now come on! please!!!!
I’m anxiously awaiting the final verdict! (We have Joy, Grace, Faith, and Hope for middle names at our house. I keep saying we need a little Love!)
No, not a puzzle, just driving me nuts. :p
But thank God at least she has a name now! lol
LOL- I would say Bethany Grace judging from the photo labels. I am legally blind and use a screen reader so maybe the others couldn’t ‘see’ the labels like JAWS can.
Yes, we are having fun; yes, you are driving us nuts. A lot like having a big family, isn’t it?
Ahhhh, yes….the first picture in the post “Even More Pics” is named Bethany1.jpg. I just hover over the picture with my cursor and it is clearly displayed at the bottom of my screen. Bethany is the first name and Grace, Hope, or Joy is the middle name. C’mon make yer announcement…..
Ang
Aha, again….when you hover over the first picture in the post “Even More Pics” a box appears on the pic that says Bethany; when you hover over the second picture a box appears on the pic that reads BG. Her name is Bethany Grace….isn’t it??? Alright, enough already…..
Y’all are pretty clever! Now I can go take a shower, ha!
Ang
Yep… Nutso, that’s me. But hey, it’s fun! I’m rooting for Bethany too
I’m still so excited to have figured out the name yesterday, after being inspired by Mama Bear’s comment.
So excited, in fact, that I’m going to be lazy and not try and figure out the other possible first name. (Hey, any excuse to be lazy, right?)
All I know is: The name is Bethany and I think it’s a BEAUTIFUL name for a BEAUTIFUL girl!
How fun! I like Bethany… and here in the Peterson Casa we have Grace, Joy, Faith, Mercy (first name), and soon to be Hope for our garden of virtues! All but Mercy are middle names. And Bethany is on our final list for this new baby. (Dare I hope she arrive TODAY?!) If anyone wants more baby name fun, I have a poll on my blog to vote for names…
BTW- Your baby is so sweet. She is almost as cute as my babies, and that’s saying A LOT!
Yes you are def driving me crazy, but I don’t like puzzles or suspense!
I too say Bethany Grace, I caught the same thing Angela did.
I found them both, but I do wish you’d just out with it.
I love both names; my mother’s name is Bethany and I’ve always wished to call a daughter, Hannah.
I think it is Bethany. You are killing me with the suspense. LOL.
Yes, the suspense has gone on for too long, and I know already.
You have just lost track of your days. This is too long. Do an announcement post already! And more pictures! 
My guess is Bethany Grace. What a dollbaby!
Yes, I’m also being driven just a little bit crazy by the name game! Just tell us already, will ya!!
FUN TIMES picking out a baby name
The kids want to tell you their choice in naming your precious one AND let me tell you right up front it has nothing to do with your clues. They are just being selfish
Hannah is cheering for Hannah or Leah
Elijah has no opinion because it is a girl
Solomon has no clue: he only likes boy names
Naomi is cheering for Naomi
Esther says you should name her “STHER”
Ruth…is babbling, we cannot understand her choice
I am sure whatever you have chosen it will be perfect
Blessings
How funny! I also noticed the photo label as Bethany and the second one has BG. So, I decided not to guess, but others noticed also.
I got chills when I read the name Bethany! It is so feminine and beautiful. I must say that when you mentioned Hebrew names, I was hoping you would choose Hadassah! That is our 6 year old little girls’ name! We’ve never met another one!
Love the pictures! She is just beautiful! And, love the one with big brother kissing her on the head. Such love!
I need to apologize for revealing the photo label thing to everyone, apparently some others noticed and were more considerate and thoughtful than I and didn’t point it out. I am sorry! I was just excited to notice it and thrilled to finally know. By the way, I think it is lovely.
Officially driving me NUTZ!! But I think Bethany Grace
No matter her name she looks absolutely delightful. Congrats to you all.
BTW, we understand about having a name in mind and then it not fitting the child. Our 3rd was born and it took us three days to name her. When the other two (DS 12, DD 7) were told DD changed the name. She got her older brother to agree and they both refused to call her by the name we selected. Instead, they broadcast the new name to family and friends with such earnest determination we eventually had to get the birth certificate changed.
The only thing we could figure out was that we misnamed the baby and God saw to it the matter was corrected.
Bethany and Hannah are the names in the post. I’m gonna guess Hannah because that always seemed like a fair-haired girl’s name to me.
Sheila,
Don’t feel bad – I was glad to see that you and others caught it! I’m not a puzzle person, so I’m always surprised, delighted and amused at the effort others will put into solving a riddle.
Every day I go to your site, hoping to find out your little girl’s name. Every day……….no name! AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! I hate puzzles. They hurt my brain =) So, I am glad that someone mentioned the hovering over the box thing, because I had not done that before. Next baby, just tell us the name. LOL She is such a beautiful baby! Congratulations to all of you =)
Great puzzler! I found Bethany and Hannah. Since my own name is Beth (short for Elizabeth, of course), I’m voting for Bethany. But then I do have a lovely, red-headed niece named Hannah Faith, so that one’s a good pick, also.
But I have a little puzzle for you, Kim. Can you find where you also have the name Stacy in your post? (That’s my husband’s name, but I do realize it isn’t Hebrew
I am guessing first name Bethany and second name Joy or Grace!
Either would be beautiful! Bethany is one of my favorite names and would likely be our girls name this time around if we were picking, but God gave us one!
I found Hannah and Bethany in the post and was going to guess Bethany Joy… but Bethany Grace is a beautiful name, as well!! I love the name Bethany.
Smockity Frocks: My sisters have Joy, Grace, Faith and Hope for their middle names – exact same order.
My first name means Peace. For any of my last three brothers, if they had been girls they would have given Love as a middle name.
“because everybody thought Hannah and Naomi. You”
Spells out Bethany with the first letters of each word above.
Congratulations, she is beautiful!
After copying the post onto Notepad, and patiently backspacing everything except for the first letters of every word, and then studying the remaining confusion, …I found Hannah and Bethany!!!!
I vote for Bethany Grace. It’s beautiful.
I am a ghost reader through Biblical womanhood.
I think it’s Bethany Ann
Then again, if we were going to be silly, I also found these lovely names in your post: Smood and Jowia. They just don’t have the same ring.
what fun! We have enjoyed trying to find the name in your post…. but my DS wanted to read all the comments and guesses. When he discovered the little .JPG loophole, we had a good laugh! I am so impressed that somebody found that. Anyway, that caused us to go back for a longer look at the photos. The photo named Bethany1 is so sweet and as I lingered on that photo, my eyes fell to your Bible in the background. How precious that is. My prayer is that my 2 dear sons will both find young ladies that have been brought up in such a family… filled with love, fun and the nurture and admontion of the Lord. God Bless and hope you have a wonderful Independence Day.
I’ve had the name Bethany for 39 years and I do love it. My daughter’s middle name is Bethany and my granddaughter’s name is Bethany too so we’re carrying it on!!
Beth
I vote for Bethany Hope. Though it would be nice to have a list of all your other girls’ names so we don’t guess the same middle name! It would be amazing to have so many daughters and not have used Grace for a middle name yet! Or Joy or Anne!
Congratulations! Bethany is beautiful!!!!
Agreeing with most of the others and that it’s Bethany Grace. That photo tag thingy was clever.
I know the name already, and I still can’t find it. : )
I have a Hannah & a Bethany so I think both names are great either way you went.
While some may seem it redundant to name a child Hannah Grace, I happen to have a Hannah Grace and she was named that with purpose. The fact she survived her birth is miraculous, and it was apparent that God’s Grace was extremely abundant… multiplied.. overflowing… He gave us a double portion.
We also have a Nella Joy, so you can tell I’m partial to both middle names.
I love the name Bethany, too.
I am terrible at puzzles, but after peeking in the comments for the answers, I went back and found Bethany and Hannah.
I’m partial to Hannah Grace since my own sweet Hannah Grace is 8 years old! I also have an Abigail Hope so now I need three more girls for a Faith, Love, and Joy!
I’m hoping for Hannah Grace!
I’m glad you didn’t name her Patience; our beagle’s name is Patience. lol.