Kathleen and I are thanking God for a healthy newborn daughter! Here’s the backstory behind her name:

Aletheia Evangeline Lim

林慧英 (Lim Hui Eng)

Aletheia is a tiny, sweet bundle who coos and pipsqueaks more than she cries. A few cute quirks already stand out: she prefers peeking at the big wide world with her left eye; she can sleep through diaper changes; and she latched a few minutes after being born!

Her name has many layers of meaning, so for those interested here’s a deeper dive:

αλήθεια in Greek means truth, with a sense of unveiling or “unhiding”. It is used for example in John 8:32 when Jesus says, “And you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free”.

In the past year, we’ve discovered that truth (Aletheia) brings freedom and invites wisdom; at the same time, it can prove painful and disorienting.

Hence her middle name Evangeline which means “bringer of good news”. In such times, we need good news to accompany the truth–that as we see things more clearly (which often reveals hidden brokenness) the reality of God’s grace at work for good can also be more clearly seen. This good news (Evangeline) is a healing salve for the soul.

In searching for my daughter’s Chinese name, we considered many possibilities, of which I will spare you the details, except to say that in my family’s tradition, you have a last name (林 Lim), a generational name (慧 Hui) that is shared among cousins and a given name (英 Eng).

慧 (Hui) includes meanings of wisdom, insight and discernment.

英 (Eng) includes meanings of brave, courageous and talented. (pronounced in the Chinese-Indonesian way)

My maternal grandma, who was such a vital part of our lives, passed away about a month ago. She had hoped to see her great granddaughter, joking that maybe she could be born before Chinese New Year and be a dragon after all (since she was born on Chinese New Year’s Eve Aletheia fulfilled my grandma’s wish!).

In any case, my grandma’s name was 桂 英 (Kui Eng) and in memory of her, I wanted to use Eng as the given name for my daughter. Coupled with my cousin’s choice of 慧 (Hui) as a generational name for girls (since she had the first daughter of the next generation), we arrived at 慧英 (Hui Eng), which beautifully rhymes with my grandma’s name.

But wait there’s more!

I learned from my sister that my maternal grandma had told her that my paternal grandma’s name Tjiu Eng used the same 英 (Eng), so my daughter’s name is connected to both of her great grandmas’.

So while being wise and brave are wonderful qualities we desire for Aletheia 慧英, her name also shows a deeper rootedness in the rich tapestry of relationships that she belongs to.

We praise God for blessing us with Aletheia Evangeline Lim 林慧英 (Lim Hui Eng) and we look forward to seeing His grace revealed in and through her.