Former 19 Kids and Counting stars Josh and Anna Duggar recently welcomed their sixth child into the world. The latest addition to the Duggar clan, Maryella Hope Duggar, was born on November 27, 2019. Anna announced the newest little Duggar on Instagram, writing: "Maryella Hope arrived one day ahead of Thanksgiving Day 2019 and a great reminder to be grateful for all God has done for us! We are so excited and thankful to God for His special blessing giving us this precious, happy & healthy baby girl!"
Maryella arrived just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. After the rush of the holiday was over, Anna took to Instagram to reveal the touching story behind her new daughter's name.
In a tragic turn of events, part of the name came about as the result of an unexpected family loss. In June 2019, Josh Duggar's grandmother, Mary Duggar, passed away after falling into her swimming pool and drowning. The loss came as a blow to all of the Duggars, and Josh and Anna in particular decided that they wanted to carry on her legacy in some way. Anna wrote on Instagram on November 30:
"When Josh's grandma passed away we considered the name Mary, but we were hesitant because Grandma (Mary Duggar) was such a special lady and we wanted our daughter's name to be a reminder of how special Grandma was and carry on her legacy, but without feeling like we were trying to replace her."
They clearly put a lot of thought into just how their newest family remember could reflect that important legacy, and worked hard to incorporate Grandma Mary's name. Anna continued her Instagram caption by saying:
"Soon, our baby name list that we had narrowed down to 3 names had grown to a list of about [a] dozen Mary-hyphenated names. As we continued chatting about names, Josh and I both fell in love with the name Maryella!"
There's a little bit to break down here. According to Behind the Name, the meaning of the name Mary is unknown, which is a little surprising, since it's such a common name. Theories include the definitions "sea of bitterness" and "rebelliousness" - which, let's be honest, probably didn't factor into Anna and Josh's decision. The name Mary may also be rooted in Egyptian, possibly derived from two different words meaning "beloved" and "love."
Those seem more likely, although of course there are also multiple Biblical Marys, which is something of a theme with the Duggars.
As for the name Ella, it likely comes from a Germanic word which means "other." Or maybe they were just hoping for some of that Ella Enchanted magic.
The name Hope is much more direct, since it reflects Anna and Josh Duggars' Christian faith. Anna wrote:
"We chose Hope for her middle name because of the Hope we have because of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Jesus is the ultimate demonstration of love and hope. Jesus layed down His sinless life on the cross so we could be forgiven of our sins and one day live with Him in heaven forever when we die. We have Hope because of Christ!"
In the Instagram post, Anna went on to describe how there was both happiness and loss preceding Maryella's birth. Much of the happiness came from the fact that several other Duggars recently announced new pregnancies.
But Anna also explained how there was also grief that played a role in the name they chose for their little girl. She said, in part:
"We also grieved alongside those we love the most, remembering life is fragile and sometimes very short. Even through the grief of the loss of loved ones we know that we have comfort, hope and strength."
It's an inspiring message for anyone, especially around the holiday season, and Anna ended the post with a final message of thanks for her daughter:
"Maryella Hope Duggar is such a blessing and we are so grateful for her!"
Maryella isn't the first of Josh and Anna's kids to be named after a member of the family. According to People, their oldest child, Mackynzie Renée, is also named after family members. Mackynzie is the name of Josh's cousin, while Renée is Anna's middle name.
Josh also followed in his parents' example by giving all of his children names starting with the same letter. Josh and all of his siblings have names starting with the letter "J," while Josh and Anna decided to give all of their kids names starting with the letter "M."
The Duggars' other children are Michael James, Meredith Grace, Marcus Anthony, and Mason Garrett. Like Maryella Hope, these are all powerful names with inspirations from both family and history, so it's clear that Maryella is in good company! Watch the video to learn The Real Meaning Of Anna Duggar's New Baby Name!
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