Names are important. People judge you just by looking at your name even before they meet you and see you face to face. That’s why I started picking names for my future children in middle school. I wanted a big family, 8 kids maximum, haha, pipe dream no less. I picked William Sebastian for a boy and Shaeleigh Grace for a girl. Look real close at that girl’s name. 9 letters. A double name really – Shae – Leigh. Many nicknames. Flash forward 20 plus years, and my sister, without any knowledge of my middle school name list, names her youngest son Shea Daniel. Shea. Pronounced the same way. Not gonna lie. I felt slighted since I was the only cousin on both sides of the family without a partner and without children. Was God making fun of me? Was God punishing me? This was my name and she was the one who got to use it.

Many years later after I finally radically accepted my nephew’s name, he inherited the creative streak. He was my mini-me. I think I interpreted it in such a way that God was smiling down on us as a pair.

If I ever do have children, whether biological in a miraculous way, or adopting an infant and I get to name them, they will still be William Sebastian and Shaeleigh Grace. Will and Shae have two younger siblings arriving soon from Babeside. These two are solid silicone and weigh almost 6lbs each! Their names are Benjamin Hudson (named after the most darling little boy on Facebook. He’s five years old and has Down Syndrome) and Charlotte Orianne (pronounced O’Ryan). So I’ll have Will, Shae, Ben, and Charli.

I like the name William because like my actual first name, Wimberly, it starts with a W. And I think by naming him William, I am passing down my name and legacy without actually calling him Wim. The Sebastian comes from one of my favorite composers: Johann Sebastian Bach. Shaeleigh – I just like how it sounds and I LOVE how it’s spelled. Grace is my middle name and so I pass it on. Benjamin is a family name and I like how he can be called B, Ben, Benj, Benji, etc. Hudson for that little boy with Downs on Facebook. They call him Huddy Buddy for short. I love it. Charlotte, or Charli for short is named after a steadfast friend I had during grad school. Orianne is the feminine spelling of Orion and pronounced the same way. I loved it when first I saw it.

And speaking of names, my name Wimberly Grace is broken down into Wim, Wimbo, Bo, Grace, Bo-Grace. My nickname Wimbo is also a word in the Swahili language and it means “Song.” How fitting and appropriate for me because I am a musician.

Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus. God’s son couldn’t be called just any other name. Immanuel. Emmanuel. Jesus. God with us.

God bless.