King of Ethiopia

So, why are we esperando a Iyasu and not esperando a Dawit or Mulat? 

Iyasu, according to an Ethiopian names website, means “King of Ethiopia.”

Wikipedia:  Iyasu I (19 of July 1682 – 13 October 1706), otherwise referred to as “Iyasu the Great”  (seen through the eyes of a visiting French physician) has ”great qualities — a quick and piercing wit [i.e. intelligence], a sweet and affable humour, and the stature of a hero.  He is the handsomest man I have seen in Aethiopia.  He is a lover of curious arts and sciences…” there is more, emphasizing his war skills, then the paragraph ends: “Such eminent qualities make him equally fear’d and belov’d by his subjects, who respect him even to adoration.”

Does it get any better than that?

But it was the 2005 Brandt Guide to Ethiopia (which is really great, by the way), where I first thought that maybe our baby should be named Iyasu.  I was reading the history section, and it just jumped out at me.  Iyasu.  That’s our baby.

Brandt writes that Iyasu the Great was “regarded as the greatest ruler of the Gondor period.  Iyasu I was a popular and peace-loving emperor…” (then again, mentions war skills.  Will de-emphasize that.)  His grandson, Iyasu III, “could have been the progressive leader Ethiopia needed to drag itself out of feudalism.” But alas, Iyasu III was a little too good-looking and fun loving for that, apparently. Ok well, you can’t have it all!

So, I tentatively chose “Iyasu” and quickly OKed it with hubby.  His only request was that it be an Ethiopian name.  At the time, I wasn’t crazy about Ethiopian names.  But I think the name Iyasu has just officially passed the test, ’cause I asked Freiwot about it, and she said that is a wonderful name.  (I know, I know, she can’t speak for a whole nation.  But for now, she’s all I’ve got.)  She says, Not too common, very nice.  That’s a great name.  (Thank goodness.  What would I have done if she didn’t approve of the name?!)

Now, I can’t imagine calling our baby-to-be anything else, since I have called him Iyasu in my mind for just short of a year.  Watch our referral be a girl.  Ha!  We do have a girl’s name too, but that is another story… And only Ethiopian by a stretch…