Emma wrote in the blog last year because she and her husband Matt were expecting a baby, and were considering the name Lillia if they had a girl.

They welcomed their baby last November, and he was a boy, so his name isn’t Lillia, but

ARTHUR GENKI.

Arthur is a name that Emma loves, and she is also fascinated by the meaning of “bear man”, as there were many bear references around at the time. The middle name (said with a hard G as in Gilbert, not like Jen) honours his father’s Japanese heritage, and baby Arthur helped to choose it himself before he was born – any time the word gen was mentioned, he would give a little kick! Matt chose the ki part.

In Japanese, you can choose the meaning of a name yourself depending on which kanji (characters) you decide on. In this case, gen means “bowstring” (for archery), while ki means “season”. The reference to bows and arrows was chosen because Emma’s family heritage is Scottish, and her ancestors were famed as skilled archers. Maybe Arthur instinctively knew he was descended from a line of great bowmen!

Congratulations to Emma and Matt on the birth of their son, and what a wonderful name story that honours both parents’ heritage so beautifully.

(Photo of bear with bow and arrows from Bridget’s Bears)