Learn What Your Name Means Day is celebrated annually on the Wednesday in the first full week of March. It is part of Celebrate Your Name Week.

The day encourages us to dig deeper into the origins of our name and figure out the meaning behind it. Our names are an integral part of our identity, yet it is the one thing we do not get to choose. As a part of the campaign launched by American onomatology and hobbyist Jerry Hill in 1997, an entire week was dedicated to exploring the beauty of our names, and their deep history.

While surnames are passed down to generations and hold immense historical context and relevance, our first names are chosen by our parents. Our surnames are a window into the lives that our ancestors led, while our first names are a gateway to our own personalities. Our names hold a lot of power, and with current information, we can decide the course of our lives through it. With a little bit of research, we can discover the meaning behind our names.

I did a little bit of research myself and here’s what I found out. Dylan is a Welsh name traditionally given to boys. It means “son of the sea” or “born from the ocean.” Dylan is derived from the Welsh words “dy”, which means great, and “llanw”, which means flow.  Dylan’s popularity as a first name is owed greatly to the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. His most famous work you might recognize is the poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” 

The name Joseph comes from the Hebrew verb ‘yasaf’ meaning, “to increase.”

BEAT THE BOX OFFICE!

Tysha from Mount Vernon was our winner! She correctly guessed that We The Kingdom has won three GMA Dove Awards. She wins a pair of tickets to the show August 1 at the Ohio State Fair!

Thanks for listening!