I've never been big on name "meanings". I'm not sure where they originate from or how valid they are. We don't choose our children's names based off some definition a book or website gives us. This is proven by the fact that we stuck to our guns and gave our first born the name we had both fallen in love with from the start, even after we found out that Avery means "ruler of the elves". Seriously? After that experience, I wasn't even going to bother looking up the meaning of the name Norah. We had already decided on it and nothing was going to change our minds, so it didn't really matter anyway. One day on a whim though I was at the library with Avery and a book caught my eye about name origins and meanings. I flipped through and looked at the name Avery just to see if anyone had realized how silly "ruler of the elves" sounded and changed it to something more fitting. No such luck. Then curiosity got the best of me and I turned the pages to find the name Norah, ready for a good laugh if nothing else. But I didn't laugh.
The name Norah means "ray of shining light, woman of compassion". I rubbed my pregnant belly and smiled. It's just a silly definition that someone somewhere made up a long time ago (really, who decides this stuff?). But, it means a lot to me. After just 9 weeks on earth it's clear that "ray of shining light" fits her well. She is a light in our lives and just a smile or giggle from her can keep me pressing on through a hard day. And without a doubt, my prayer for her is that she'll grow up to be a woman of great compassion with a heart to love and serve others. We would have named her Norah regardless of what I'd read in the book that day. It just suits her so well. But I have to admit that I will always smile when someone asks me her name and I will say it proudly... Norah Elizabeth Piland, our ray of shining light.
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