This past week we found out you are indeed a boy! This means we can finally settle on a name for you. We wanted to make sure you knew all the reasons your name came to be.
Your first name had first come to your mom's attention her senior year in high school when she read The Chosen by Chaim Potok. She had gone to Brooklyn the summer before on choir tour and had grown fascinated with the Hasidim. The book began a journey of cultural awakening and increased awareness that would come into play when she met your dad a few months later. Potok's My Name is Asher Lev is her favorite book.
Chaim, חַיִּים, is a Hebrew name that means life. There is something beautiful about a name that means life itself. We have come to know University Baptist Church in Waco as our home. Every Sunday our communal benediction is, "As we approach this week, may we love God, embrace beauty, and live life to the fullest." This is what we think of when we think of the "life" in your name. This is our prayer for you.
For your dad, your name represents an aspect of his history that he longs to learn more about and connect with. Your dad's father tried to preserve his family history in the names of your dad and your dad's brother. The "Khem" part in your Uncle Khemerak's name comes from four generations prior to you. Your dad's great-grandfather bore this name. The correct pronunciation of "Khem" is much more like Chaim than the 'e' would make you think. The transliteration can be blamed for the spelling differences. The meaning of Chaim in Khmer is strongly tied to Cambodia and the sense of identity as a Cambodian.
Your middle name doesn't quite have the same history as your first name. Kosal is a name we found while looking for a Cambodian name that flowed with "Chaim." While we liked how it sounded together, we also liked the meaning of the name. Kosal, in part, means clever, a trait both your parents appreciate. Your mom in particular likes the slight homage your middle name has to her brother, Benjamin. His middle name is Jacob which means "leg puller or deceiver."
Kosal also means mystical or magical which is fun.
The idea of merit, blessing, gifting, or favor is another layer of meaning for the name. There's a sense of not knowing if it's going to be a good thing or a bad thing. You just have to open it and see. That's what life is like. The life we hope you will pursue with faith and boldness.
A quick caveat on nicknames:
Right now your dad loves calling you "X" or "Baby X" because the Greek letter X is pronounced "Kai." This also leads quickly to Professor X, your mom's favorite Marvel character.
Your dad credits a lot of his development to hours upon hours of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. In the show, we frequent the Neighborhood of Make-Believe where in the center is a large tree that houses X, the Owl. We hope that unique characters like X populate the worlds that you'll come up with on your own and with your mom and dad.So X. It could be a lot worse kiddo.
We assume you will be called Kai quite often in the end which is ok with us!
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