J is for...

joints (they're relaxing), job sharing (have you considered it?), and journaling (believe me, you'll be glad you did this!). It's a special edition of Baby Name Tuesday on Belly Notes today. Yes, we know it's Thursday but, on Tuesday, our computer wouldn't power up for some unexplainable reason and we just got it fixed. So, without further ado, today our names are Jane and Jackson.

While Jane may seem like a, well, plain name, there is much beauty in its classic simplicity. It is of Hebrew origin and means "the Lord is gracious". Jane, like Jean and Joan, originated as a feminine form of the name John; however Jane has been the most popular of the three forms.

History has given us many Jane's, from Lady Jane Grey (Queen of England 1537-1554) to novelist Jane Austin to scientist Jane Goodall to actress and activist Jane Fonda. Although it is one of the most common first names in British usage, in the US it is more often used as a middle name. It's popularity as a first name has grown steadily over the years, though, and we think it's a gem of a name.

When it comes to our boy's name for today, I've never been a fan of giving a child a name that seven other children in their 1st grade class are also going to have. Admittedly, Jackson (or Jack) has gotten some pretty wide useage in the last several years, but I don't think that this name quite falls into the "overused" category yet (at least not in the area of the country where I live). For me it has always been a strong, down-to-earth, traditional name.

Since Jackson is an Old English name meaning "son of Jack", we'll look to the name Jack for our meaning. Like Jane, Jack is a variant of the name John so, therefore, is also of Hebrew origin and also means "the Lord is gracious". Again, like Jane, history has given us many famous Jack's from painter Jackson Pollack to singer/songwriter Jackson Browne to heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey And, who can forget the famous Captain Jack Sparrow? Whether your son turns out to be a lover, a fighter, or a pirate, though, we're sure he'll carry on the strong tradition of the name.