What's in a name?

I love when there is a story behind someones names. Even if it's not a big involved story, just a story makes it so much more personal. So I thought I would share the story behind Bailey's name.

BAILEY MURPHY

BAILEY - For starters, Bailey is my Mom's maiden name. So, I could easily say that she is named after my Mom, but it goes so much deeper than that. When I was set apart as a missionary, September 1, 2002, my Grandpa was there to participate. While we were waiting for the Stake President everyone was sitting in the foyer chatting. I was sitting on the couch next to my sister-in-law Rachel and my Grandpa Bailey came straight to me from across the room and had quite the determined look in his eye. He pointed his finger at me and said my name to get my attention. Then he said, "Jennifer, promise me that you will name your oldest daughter Bailey." I said, "Of course I will, I have always loved that name, and have always planned on using it." And that was the end of it, his whole demanor relaxed and he was content with the conversation. July 18, 2003 my Grandpa passed away from a stroke. I was heartbroken being on an island in the middle of the North Pacific and unable to have said goodbye to my Grandpa. However, at that point I was so grateful to know that I would be able to honor my Grandpa by naming my first daughter Bailey. So on Saturday, August 6, 2011, I felt so close to my Grandpa as Bailey was born and his last wish to me came true.

MURPHY - I debated for awhile what I wanted to use for Bailey's middle name. I went back and forth with a few different ideas. I finally decided that I somehow wanted to represent my Dad's side of the family. I considered using Katherine, which is my Dad's mother's name. However, I felt that we had enough Kataherine's in the family (grandma, niece and cousin). So I asked my Dad if Grandma had a middle name, and for some reason she did not. So I thought about it more and decided that I would use Grandma's maiden name, Murphy. This would not only represent Grandma, but it would also represent the Irish heritage in our blood. My Dad was pretty pleased that I would be using Grandma's name because he was very close with his Mom, and I had a very close relationship with my Grandma as well.

The name Bailey Murphy was decided long before David and I got married. As a matter of fact, when David and I were dating I made it very clear to him that whomever I married would have to be okay with that name because it was non-negotiable. Fortunately for David, he was liked the name. :) So there you have it, that is how we came up with Bailey Murphy Mize!