Annabella 'Pepper' Jewel

Christina and Mark took a long time to decide the right name for our precious little one, but it was definitely worth the wait. Anna, meaning 'gracious'; Bella, meaning 'beautiful'; and Jewel, meaning 'a joy', or 'a precious gem'; are the perfect compliments for such an adorable child as Pepper! (Can you tell the parents are the editors of this website, too?!)

Among the positive meanings listed above, the name Annabella 'Pepper' Jewel actually has a very cute story behind it. While Pepper may already be tired of hearing this story, it's still worth sharing!

The Naming of: Annabella 'Pepper' Jewel

Mark was working in his garden one day and noticed that he had planted different breeds of peppers a little too close to each other. The bells mixed with serranos, the serranos mixed with the jalapenos, and so on and so forth. All the peppers had apparently cross-pollinated with each other, which actually gave Mark some very  interesting pepper yields. But the most interesting looking was a bell pepper that had mixed with an Anaheim. Since Mark didn't know if there was a name for it yet, he jovially called it an "AnaBell".

Mark came into the house to share his fortune with Tina, even though she really doesn't like bell peppers. But when Mark showed her it wasn't just a bell, but an "AnaBell", she was delighted, and with a smirk stated, "Hmmmm. AnaBell Pepper. That sure is a cute name for a girl."

And then it hit Mark, too . . . "ANNABELLE PEPPER" . . . WHAT A COOL NAME! The name has stuck with Mark and Tina ever since.

Tina did eventually use the big "veto hammer" on that name as it stood, but we both still liked the sound of Annabelle, and then Annabella. "Pepper" has sort of stuck anyway as it is what will probably always be Daddy's pet name for her! :)

Jewel is a beautiful name as well, and is sort of a tribute to our families, too. Both Mark and Tina had special members of their respective families named Jewel, and felt the name was appropriate for Pepper, too. They also felt that by naming her Jewel it would give something back to, as well as providing their daughter an already respected name within their families.