The story behind the name

Miss Elizabeth "Liza" Jane

Matt and I are big fans of family names. We didn't consider any first or middle names that weren't family names, so that helps narrow things down a bit! And although not a requirement, we also like having one of the names from my side of the family and one of the names from Matt's side.

Elizabeth is my sister's name - Mary Elizabeth, who goes by Mary Beth. It is also my grandmother's name - Frances Elizabeth. Both of these women are so special to me, and I hope that my Elizabeth will grow up to have the Godly character of her namesakes. The good thing about the name Elizabeth is that there are endless nicknames! We spent many Saturday night dates over the last 9 months debating them, and in the end we both love Liza. And once she's older, she can always choose to go by Elizabeth if she wants.

Jane is Matt's grandmother's name - Jane Adams. She passed away this past fall. Jane was very artistic and creative - Matt's mom learned to decorate cakes from her, and it is clear that Matt and now Will have inherited that creative streak as well. We both love the name Jane - I think it is unique nowadays and so pretty! Honestly though, I think what made us absolutely fall in love with her name was after I heard the song "Little Liza Jane" by Elizabeth Mitchell. We had already chosen Liza as the first name, and Jane seemed to naturally come after it. We have listened to this song SO many times over the last few months as we thought about this precious little girl growing inside me. We sang it all the time too, so much that Will sings it now:)