H is for...

...heartburn, hiccups (baby and I both got them daily with pregnancy #1), and heightened sense of smell! It's Baby Name Tuesday and our names for today are Halima and Henry

Halima is a name of Arabic descent and means "patient". My youngest son has a friend in his class named Halima and, although I had rarely heard the name before, I find it beautiful and, of course, befitting our young friend. Often when those of us living in the western world think of something as being Arabic in nature, we tend to connect that thing to Islam as well. Whether this is always true or not is a topic for an entirely different place, however, in the case of Halima, she figures prominently in the Islamic world. Halimah bint Abdullah was the wet nurse to Mohammed, nursing him as a baby since his mother had died. In pre-Islamic times, the name is most famously connected with a 6th century warrior princess. Now, your lovely girl may or may not turn out to be a warrior, but we're sure that, either way, she'll be a princess.

If, on the other hand, you're expecting a prince, Henry is a wonderfully classic, traditional name that has recently grown in popularity. Henry is ultimately of Germanic descent. It is the anglicised version of the German name Heimrich and means "home ruler". I'm not so sure about being a home ruler, but, as a mom with boys, I'll tell you that mine at least all rule my heart. The name has been popular throughout history with many kings of Britain, France and Germany carrying the name. St. Henry, a Holy Roman Emperor, was the only German king ever to be canonized by the Roman Catholic church and is best known for his encouragement of missionary work. Your son may not ever stray far from home, but we think Henry is an excellent choice for anyone's little king.