Entertainment

Joy-Anna Duggar's Baby Boy Is Officially Here & His Name Is Super Meaningful

by Casey Suglia

The Duggar family, and stars of TLC's Counting On, always seems to be, well... counting on. Adding another family member to their ever-growing brood, daughter Joy-Anna Duggar and husband Austin Forsyth welcomed their first child on Friday, Feb. 23 and announced the exciting news on Monday. Within the birth announcement, the new parents revealed they named their newborn — a baby boy — Gideon Martyn Forsyth. But what exactly does Gideon mean and why did they choose this moniker for their son? Turns out, Duggar's baby name is a bit more traditional and holds such a special meaning to the family.

Both Duggar and Forsyth had been pretty tight lipped about the pregnancy and it is to be assumed that Counting On cameras were there to capture everything that fans didn't get to see — like picking out Gideon's name. But, as most people know, there is more to a name than just the name and Gideon does have a deeper meaning.

In fact, Gideon means "Great Warrior," according to Baby Center, with Hebrew origins. Gideon is a name that appears in the Old Testament of the Bible, according to Name Berry, as Gideon was "a judge called on by God to rescue the Jews from the Midianites." The name Gideon also symbolizes "great work done by few people."

With a name meaning like "Great Warrior," it's hard to imagine that their baby won't be successful or go on to do great, brave things.

It's a well-known fact that the Duggar family is pretty religiousbut Forsyth's family is, too. Forsyth's parents own Fort Rock Christian Family Camp and Christian Retreat Center — "a camp for family restoration and enrichment," according to the camp's website. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Duggar and Forsyth's baby has a name with strong religious origins.

Gideon's middle name also has some unique roots. Martyn is a predominantly Welsh name, according to Welsh Boys Names, and means "Warrior of Mars" — but not the planet, Mars. Instead it refers to Mars who was the Roman God of War and Fertility. Martyn can also be directly translated to "war-like." Yes, "Gideon Martyn" directly translates to "Great Warrior Warrior of Mars." Sounds like this kid will rule the playground.

Gideon's arrival is so special to Duggar and Forsyth. Monday, Duggar and Forsyth shared their very exciting news with People — that Duggar had given birth to their son on Friday afternoon. As one would expect from new parents, both of them are so excited about their new arrival. "We are blessed beyond measure with the arrival of our son, Gideon Martyn Forsyth," the couple said in a joint statement to People. "Looking at our child for the first time was such an incredible moment! God is good, and we are so thankful."

Gideon's birth could not come at a more exciting time, especially since Duggar's show, which she shares with her other sisters, Counting On, just began its newest season on Monday. The trailer for this season showed Duggar and Forsyth going to Switzerland on their honeymoon, spending alone time together for the first time, and announcing that they were expecting their first child. Now, with the baby finally here, fans can follow along on that journey that took them to this point.

It is a little unclear if their future children names (if they have them) will all begin with the letter "G" like Duggar's parents did for all 19 of their own kids with the letter "J". Whatever the case may be, it is clear that Duggar and Forsyth could not be any happier with their new "warrior-like" bundle of joy.

Check out Romper's new video series, Bearing The Motherload, where disagreeing parents from different sides of an issue sit down with a mediator and talk about how to support (and not judge) each other’s parenting perspectives. New episodes air Mondays on Facebook.