Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Peace in the Process
    • Bringing Home More Than Groceries
  • Contact

Writing Motherhood: Names

July 3, 2008 by Kristin Leave a Comment

I’ve been reading a book called “Writing Motherhood.” Like any book, some parts have particularly jumped out at me, particularly the “invitations,” which are like writing prompts. Yep, I’m a nerd. Here’s something I wrote the other day in my notebook/journal about names.

I’ve had my baby girl’s name in my mind for years. And Greg even liked it too. A couple years ago, I even met a girl named Cate one Sunday at church. She’d become my friend and even quilted my Cate a blanket with their name on it. The first conversation my friend Cate and I had was about how I wanted to name my daughter — who was no more than a prayer at that time — Cate, with a C. She said I might regret it when I saw her name misspelled. Nah, K-R-I-S-T-I-N was misspelled more than its fair share, even by people who I know love me. So maybe I didn’t have as many pretty pencils with my name down the side as the Jennifers in my class did.

But Kristin Eileen was the name my parents gave me, and for no other reason than they liked it. So I liked it too. It was my name for 23 years of my life, until I got married, dropped Eileen, and added Taylor. Kristin Hill Taylor, officially. I like how it sounds.

Yes, I think of names. But, admittedly, I didn’t realize my daughter’s initials would spell C-A-T until someone, rather a couple of someones, pointed that out shortly before she was born. I didn’t care, though, I like her name, even if her initials spell an animal to which I developed an allergy shortly after leaving home for college that also happens to be the mascot of the college my husband and I root for during college basketball and football seasons.

Catherine Anna Taylor. Catherine is my mom’s middle name. Mary Catherine. She goes by Cathy. Anna is Greg’s grandma’s name. I like how the names sound together and how they’re symbolic of joining our families by starting our family. What’s ironic is I usually don’t like shortened versions of names. Well, maybe I should say, I prefer names like Matthew and Patrick to Matt and Pat. But that’s just me. I figure moms and dads give their kids names, why not use them? Who knows. Because I went and named my daughter Catherine and usually call her Cate. I can’t explain it.

I do know I love the name Isaac, which means “laughter,” but I fear Greg would call him Ike. He told me he would. Yuck. So let’s just say we’ll have to do some serious discussing before we name our next child, especially if it’s a boy.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: books, motherhood, writing

Comments

  1. laura says

    July 3, 2008 at 8:37 pm

    Is there anything you want to share with us, Kristin?!? lol

    I know what you mean about names. We women have funny quirks and peeves, don’t we? 🙂 I loved the name Edward (a family name) even though I dislike the nicknames to go with it. I told myself that we would be gracious in the times people took it upon themselves to call him Ed or Eddie and let him have the freedom to decide what name he’d like to go by as he gets older. But to us, he’s always Edward.

    So I normally like full names, and love our dd Genevieve’s full name as well. But for some reason, I’ve always loved the possibility of nicknaming her Veve and so one of these days, she probably will be. But for now, we’re a full name family :).

    I guess we really can’t have total control over a name no matter what. You’d think Laura was fairly un-nickname-able (aside from Laurie), but my family managed to coin the unflattering Laur and Laurster over the course of my childhood.

    When you think about it, it’s really not the NAME itself – made up of particular letters in a particular order – but the meaning, the feeling, the sentiment, the PERSON it represents to those who use it and who own it.

    I wonder what our names will be in Heaven? I have a feeling they will be more perfect and more affirming than anything we could come up with here on earth! In the meantime, I love my kids’ names. They carry some kind of magical significance and affection in my heart. But probably not as much because of the names, but because of the precious souls/bodies that wear them :).

    Reply
  2. Heather says

    July 4, 2008 at 5:01 am

    My first thought exactly. Do you have something to share???

    Reply
  3. Kristin says

    July 4, 2008 at 1:53 pm

    Nope, nothing to share! 🙂 I really didn’t realize it was going to sound like I did. Sorry for teasing you! 🙂

    I just love names. And it’s no secret I want to adopt a baby again at some point. And this time I don’t have another name stored in my mind like I did Catherine Anna.

    That’s all. 🙂

    Reply
  4. LeeAnn says

    July 8, 2008 at 5:20 am

    Maybe she will marry someone with the last name Edwards, Elliott, etc. Then her initials will spell her name— super cool!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Kristin Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s Connect

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Me

Telling stories is my therapy and I love sharing them with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our high school girl who never forgets, our middle school boy who has no fear, and our joy-filled first-grade girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

Subscribe for Updates

Recent Posts

  • How to host a party
  • All the places she’ll go
  • Cruising for Spring Break
  • How to take care of yourself
  • How to recreate favorite foods

Join the Conversation

Join the Conversation

On Instagram

🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness 🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness has walked beside me / The winter storms made way for spring / In every season, from where I'm standing / I see the evidence of Your goodness / All over my life … 🎶 @joshbaldwin in “Evidence”

I love summer. But my summer has started off busy: appointments, book edits deadline, establish new habits with the kids at home. All that’s necessary and good, it just cuts into my down time beside the pool. 

Today we have two open gyms for our basketball players, my book study with a few friends, a new weekly high school girls’ book study at our house, and a monthly dad-son character study. 

I long for a little more white space on the calendar, but I also wouldn’t change a thing because the kids are only 16, 13, and 7 once. This summer will only be this summer once. And I’ve already learned time flies with big kids. 

So here we are finding out footing, singing praises with church friends on our porch, grilling delicious chicken, and squeezing in the wide-open spaces when we can. This is evidence of the good stuff. 

#84daysofsummer #poolpeople #momlife #momconfessions #faithlife #livingfaithfully #favoritethings #choosingJOY #countryliving #reallife #PorchStories
The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat ha The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat has become a favorite tradition to kick off summer! The weather was perfect and everyone enjoyed one another. 

#familyreunion #lakelife #kentuckylake #kylake #getoutside #familytime #memorialday #memorialdayweekend #favoritethings #84daysofsummer #summerisbest #choosingJOY
Hello, #84daysofsummer! ☀️ #TeamTaylor #girl Hello, #84daysofsummer! ☀️ 

#TeamTaylor #girlmom #boymom #momlife #reallife #summerisbest #siblinglove #countryliving #poolpeople #getoutside
First of all, who else has read this book? The plo First of all, who else has read this book? The plot was promising as a thriller and the setting really worked. There were some good twists, and then there were ridiculous twists. I skimmed the end only because I wanted it to make sense. And it didn’t. It was too weird for me. 

But this made me wonder: how do we know if a book is going to be weird, contain elements we don’t like, or go places that don’t make sense? I don’t like to read much about a book before I read the book. Usually, I do a better job of picking books for myself. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #donotrecommend #bookofthemonth @bookofthemonth
I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant we I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant weather, a mixture of productivity and rest, and had plenty of wide-open space to enjoy our property and each other. 

#weekending #TeamTaylor #poolpeople #countryliving #favoritethings #choosingJOY #maydays
And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watch And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watching them both play. 

#soccermom #weekending #springtime #momlife #girlmom #boymom
On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a book, but I didn’t know what I wanted to read. Whenever I have indecision about books, picking up a thriller usually helps because of the story’s pace. 

“The Only Survivors” worked well because there was a lot happening! Lots of creepy, mysterious moments. Only so many people could be guilty of infiltrating a small group who had lots of secrets! 

I loved the timeline of this one. The back story about an accident was told in seven one-hour segments. The present mystery was told in seven days. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #latergram #bookofthemonth @bookofthemonth #poolpeople #mothersday
Y’all we are very ready for summer. ☀️ And Y’all we are very ready for summer. ☀️ 

And when I say summer, I mean we are ready to shake up the routine, mentally regroup, turn off the alarms, establish some new habits, soak in the sun, and catch up with friends we’ve been crossing paths with too quickly. 

I want to savor the #84daysofsummer and I want to embrace this new season. And it’s almost time. Three more days of school. (Deep breaths.) 

Meanwhile, I’m going to keep collecting the moments — the hard, hurried, happy, and heartfelt. The seasons do change, but this is the life we are living. 

“The moments you collect may not be loud or flashy. They might be quiet or covered or a far-off view you were lucky to catch. But this I know to be true: A moment savored says to your soul, ‘You have lived something beautiful.’ And it keeps you buoyed. It sustains you when you’re running empty. It lifts you up and carries you forward.” — Joanna Gaines in @magnolia summer 2023 journal issue no. 27 

#momlife #reallife #momconfessions #livingfaithfully #summerisbest #teenagedriver #choosingJOY
I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but t I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but this one by Soraya M. Lane focused on three nurses, their friendships, and how the war changed their lives. It’s a hard story, but it’s full of love and hope despite the destruction around them. 

And it’s the second historical fiction audiobook I’ve listened to in a row! #KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #audiobooks #Audible #KindleUnlimited #historicalfiction
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Favorites

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 Kristin Hill Taylor | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM