April 15, 2021

What's In a Name? A Lot! by Tracy Krauss

I fully admit to a fascination with names and their meanings, so this month's theme has been a dream, both to write and to read! 

I think I've always loved investigating names. I recall scouring baby name books even at a young age. I must have passed this love on to my own children, for this book, which I acquired when I was a young woman, became a favourite with my kids. (The cover has been repaired more than once.)

When I was pregnant with my own children, I was very intentional about choosing their names. I wanted each one to have a Biblical name, a reference to our family heritage, and a good meaning. Also, I didn't want to choose something that was too popular. (I missed the boat on that one with my son. I thought Zachary was unique at the time - but it has seen an explosion in popularity... I did think I was very clever, however, because his initials also spell his name: ZAK.) 

In any case, to this day I keep a list within sight of my desk with all my children, their spouses, and grandchildren's names on it with their meanings. I use it to pray over them, that their positive characteristics would increase as they step into the destiny God has for them. It has been a great comfort for me at times. 

As for my own name, I admit to feeling disappointed the first time I learned about its meaning. Apparently, Tracy comes from Theresa which means "The Harvester". How boring, I thought! 


Now I choose to think of this in the Biblical sense. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9: 37 - 38 (ESV) I count it a privilege to be among God's harvesters and believe that I can be used in this regard. Even though I have never been comfortable as an evangelist, I believe my writing is one way of reaching people for Christ. 


I also found that Tracy can mean 'Courageous defender" so, again, I like to think that part of my destiny is to defend the gospel. 

I am very proud of the fact that I was named after my paternal grandmother, but that feeling wasn't always the case. (My middle name is Lydia.) As a child, I was embarrassed because I thought it was so old-fashioned. I got over that by the time I was an adult and named my first daughter Lydia. In fact, something rather cool has happened, as you can see from the picture. 


My grandmother's name was Lydia. Her son, my father, was Fred. I named my daughter Lydia. And... she has named her son Fred. (She was born on my Dad's birthday, so they were always very close.) I also had an aunt Lydia and my middle name is Lydia, so as you can see, it is a strong family name. 

I could go on, waxing eloquent about the meanings of each of my children's names and why I chose them, but I won't do that to you. My daughters all seem to be following in my footsteps in that they have chosen very intentional names for each of their children. Suffice to say that there is more to a NAME than meets the eye. 


Tracy Krauss lives and writes in Tumbler Ridge, BC. She is currently serving as InScribe's president. For more visit her website: https://tracykrauss.com -fiction on the edge without crossing the line-


24 comments:

  1. I can understand why the theme for the month was exciting for you, Tracy! BTW, I always connected the name Lydia with elegance, most likely because the only Lydia I knew was so very elegant! It is a wonderful name.

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    1. Apparently when she was young, my daughter's friends used to refer to 'Beetle Juice' the cartoon because one of the villains was named Lydia - not very flattering. However, I think it's almost impossible to avoid all the possible negatives, so we just choose to look at the positive attributes.

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  2. Names are definitely fascinating and how our attitudes can change over time about them too. I can remember as a child always naming my dolls Tracy and thought it would be wonderful to have a name like Tracy :) Isn't Lydia also a biblical name? Mentioned in the new testament?

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    1. Yes, Lydia was one of the first converts in Philippi, was apparently wealthy and well respected, and the apostles often stayed at her home. So far none of my kids have used the name Tracy for anything because, and I quote, "It seems dated." it is so interesting to me how trends come and go and how tastes change. Maybe a great-grandchild will pick it up...

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  3. I'm reminded of the song "Lydia Purple" by The Collectors. They changed their name to Chillowack in 1970.

    Thanks for the fascinating family story, Tracy. And if your name was up in lights, you could say, "Watts in a name."

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  4. Loved this Tracy! I love how you keep their names posted close by and pray for them according to their meanings. I have those in my bedroom but I think I will move time to my computer so I can do the same. 👍 I like the recycling of your names through tie generations as well. And yes you are a defender of the gospel in so many ways. I appreciate you and I’ve learned a lot from your books. Coming from a different style of home, my eyes have been opened as I read your books and the “salty” characters within. It’s been so good to gain an understanding amd a different way of seeing people. Thank you Tracy Lydia! 🌸

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  5. I love this story Tracy & I agree these have been very interesting to read. I really like the continuation of the Lydia & Fredrick connection. What is inspiring to me ... and something I want to do as well, is to make a visible list like you have with the names of children and grandkids for a specific prayer list. Thanks for a great post.

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    1. You are welcome! I need to update it since two of the newest are just written in...

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  6. Thanks for this snapshot of your family, Tracy. What an honour it must be as a mom, to be able to declare the attributes of their names before the Lord. Wow. Inspirational and fascinating. Thank you!

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    1. Thanks Sharon. Blessings to you and yours as well.

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  7. What a lovely tradition of keeping your family's names and meaning list nearby to pray over. Enjoyed your post - I felt your enthusiasm and joy in it. Loved your note about the Lydia and Fredrick thread in your family. That's so special.

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    1. yes, it is very special and the people are, too!

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  8. Wow! You ARE a thinker when it comes to names. Nice.

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  9. I loved this post, Tracy. And you have inspired me to keep a similar list of family names and meanings close by to pray over. Thanks for the idea.

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    1. You are welcome! It is super fun, too.

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  10. Thanks for this inspiring post, Tracy! I can see why you "love, love, LOVE" this theme. Like others who have commented, you have inspired me to keep a list of meanings for the names in my extended family--this, I think, will motivate me to pray for these qualities in their lives and faith.

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    1. I'm glad it inspired you. I am a nerd that way, but I see the spiritual implications as well.

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  11. Dear Tracy, I enjoyed learning more about you and your beautiful family. I also kept the baby naming book I used during my pregnancies. They're great for choosing character names for our stories too. :)
    Blessings ~ Wendy Mac

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    1. Yes, they are a useful tool for character names! When my kids were young they loved playing the game of life and they often used it to 'name' their families as they played. LOL!

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