Jessa Duggar and husband Ben Seewald welcomed their third child, daughter Ivy Jane, on May 26, and they opted to break with tradition when it came to her name.
The couple, who married in 2015 and share sons Spurgeon Elliot and Henry Wilberforce, made a major departure from their family’s typical naming trend when they granted their newborn the title Ivy — a name that lacks any Biblical or religious ties.
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According to popular baby site The Bump, Ivy is of British origin and an Old English word that represents fidelity and symbolizes eternity as well as “the notion of it sticking around forever feels accurate.”
As Bible Study Tools points out, the word “ivy” is only mentioned a singular time in the Bible, appearing in 2 Macc 6:7 “in connection with the oppression of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes” and in reference to the plant.
However, little Ivy’s middle name does have a connection to the Bible. Of Hebrew origin and means “Yahweh is gracious, Yahweh is merciful,” according to Baby Names Pedia. Jane, although not present in the Bible, is a derivative of Johanna, the wife of King Herod Antipas’ steward.
For comparison, the couple had opted to go with names having religious ties when it came to their first two children.
Son Spurgeon Elliot, whom they welcomed in November of 2015, was named after Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon, who lived from the mid to late 1800s and whose teachings the couple admitted had a major impact on them. His middle name, Elliot, pays homage to Christian missionaries Jim and Elisabeth Elliot.
Meanwhile, Duggar and Seewald had opted to draw inspiration from Matthew Henry, a minister and author, and abolitionist William Wilberforce when it to naming their second son, who arrived in February of 2017.
Choosing names with Biblical ties is something of a trend within the Duggar family, with many of the main members, as well as their children, being granted religious monikers upon birth. Little Ivy’s aunt and uncle Lauren Swanson and Josiah Duggar had even revealed that they had named the child that they had miscarried Asa, who was a descendant of David in the Bible. Of Hebrew origin, the name means “physician” or “healer.”
It remains to be seen what the couple will name their second child. It is also not known what expecting parents Kendra (Caldwell) Duggar and Joseph Duggar, Anna Duggar and husband Josh, and Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth will name their children, all of whom are expected to arrive later this year.
