Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald Explain Why They Chose to Name Their Daughter Ivy Jane

Going in a new direction! Counting On star Jessa Duggar gave birth to baby No. 3 on May 26, and it’s a girl! She welcomed her first daughter with her husband, Ben Seewald, and they chose a very special name for their baby girl: Ivy Jane Seewald. Even though the little girl’s name seems as sweet as can be, it actually marks a big departure for the couple because Ivy is not exactly a biblical name, and they chose Jane after British royalty. The couple explained their name choice in a TLCme video posted to the Seewald family’s official website on June 3.

“Ivy Jane. We just liked those two names, Jessa and I talked about it beforehand this time around,” Ben explained. “We actually had a name picked out before she was born. We liked the way those names flowed together and with her middle name, Jane, she’s actually named after Lady Jane Grey, who was a young lady who was queen of England for a short time during the 1500s. She’s a very inspirational character to us.”

The name Ivy has a British origin, and it’s also the name of a plant. Ivy is derived from an Old English word that represents fidelity and eternity, according to The Bump. There is only one mention of the word “ivy’ in the bible, and it’s a reference to the plant and not a biblical figure.

Baby Ivy’s middle name holds more of a biblical meaning. Jane is a name that originated in Hebrew and it means: “Yahweh is gracious, Yahweh is merciful.” Yahweh is a Hebrew form of the name of God in the bible. While there isn’t a figure named Jane from the bible, Jane is a version of the names Joanna and several figures named Joanna exist in the bible. The names Joan and Jean are also derivative of Johanna. Coincidentally enough, Johannah is the name of Jessa’s 13-year-old sister, and it’s a which is a Latin female form of the name Joannes and it means “God is gracious.”

Ivy Jane has a cute ring to it, and Jessa, 26, and Ben, 24, decided to go with a different vibe than their original aesthetic for their kids’ names. Their first son, 3-year-old Spurgeon Elliot Seewald has an interesting meaning. Spurgeon’s first name was inspired by Charles Spurgeon, a British preacher who lived from the mid to late 1800s. Jessa and Ben explained that his teachings had a big impact on their lives. His middle name, Elliot, was chosen in honor of Christian missionaries Jim and Elisabeth Elliot.

Ben and Jessa’s second child, Henry Wilberforce, also has a religious meaning to his name. Henry’s first name was chosen first for aesthetic reasons, but Ben also explained that there was another great man of God name Matthew Henry. Wilberforce is inspired by William Wilberforce, who was a politician and philanthropist and he played a very large role in putting an end to the slave trade.