Janda,
I’m so glad to have been able to help. I think that you will ultimately feel better for having lived through all these really painful feelings. You’ll be in my thoughts! And I think that Sachiko offers some great perspective on naming after losing a child.
Take care,
H
I once again appreciate everything that everyone has had to say, as it has helped me to manuveur down this rocky road and choose which ‘fork’ I will eventually take. I hope to have my dilemma solved in the next day or so. So if you have been patient up until now, please bear with me for what I am about to post, hoping it will lead me to the epiphany (sp.?) I will need to make my final choice.
First, I wanted to address all my children’s names and why I chose them, thinking that maybe it will give others some more insight that will help to guide me as I make my choice.
My first daughter who has passed is named Navarra [name]Skye[/name]. [name]Skye[/name] for heaven…coincidentally, even before she passed I was loving [name]Skye[/name] (my husband not so much until she passed and he saw how perfectly the middle name now really was). Well from that point on, we decided to give all our children nature names that start w/an “S” to link all of our children to their oldest sibling as a way to honor her (so that is how I feel I am honoring her already).
My next child is [name]Keira[/name] ([name]Keer[/name]-rah) [name]Soleil[/name]…we chose [name]Soleil[/name] because she is the ‘sunshine that came into our lives after the storm’ we weathered with our first daughter’s passing.
Then our 3rd child is [name]Everett[/name] (Ev-rhett) [name]Sorrell[/name] (Suh-rell)…it was harder to find a nature name for a boy, as it seems you can be more out there so to speak w/girls; w/a son it seemed we had to be more discreet, where it is a nature name, but not an obvious one. For those of you that do not know what [name]Sorrell[/name] means, I believe it is a sagebrush in the desert and/or the color of reddish brown in French, etc.
So anyway, when we came to the next kid, our 4th, (the one we are having this naming dilemma w/), my husband came upon the name [name]Seren[/name], which means ‘star’ in Welsh. I had passed over it many times until he pointed it out to me and then I researched it’s pronunciation and found out I LOVED it and it was what we had been searching for. So that is the reason why the middle name for this baby is non-negotiable and has to stay, as well as the fact that it starts w/an ‘S’, is a nature name and those appropriate to our taste are getting harder to come as we got to baby #4.
Now here is the kicker…we all know by now that my husband’s #1 choice for this baby was [name]Amara[/name], but I couldn’t do it because of Navarra…I seem to not be able to get past the ‘wall’ of it sounding like Navarra no matter how hard I try. He begs to differ and didn’t even realize just how similar I thought it was or how much I actually associated the name with Navarra, and every time I say [name]Amara[/name] I think of Navarra…and it makes me wonder if I shouldn’t use it because this baby deserves a fresh slate and [name]Soraya[/name] provides exactly that. So anyway, after we got home from the hospital and I started having baby name remorse, I did some more research and discovered another connection that just has me thinking I should just make [name]Soraya[/name] her name. I feel like God is speaking to me through this piece of info. I knew that [name]Soraya[/name] meant ‘a cluster of stars in the constellation of [name]Taurus[/name]’ (which is the meaning we go by as the meaning of princess just seems to be a meaning now associated w/it because of the former [name]Princess[/name] [name]Soraya[/name] of Iran). Anyway, it never dawned on me that my daughter was in fact a [name]TAURUS[/name] until that moment…it was like a small ‘eureeka’…as sign of some sort that just may make up for the fact that I have to let go of [name]Amara[/name] and mourn the fact that I will never be able to bring myself to peacefully use it. I believe another nameberry member said it best when they said that I may have a need to keep the name Navarra sacred and feel like I would be stepping on the name’s toes by using any form of it, as I am already honoring Navarra by using all ‘S’ middle names because of what I started with her. I just need to get over the loss of [name]Amara[/name] as well as silly as that sounds in order to move forward I think. I think I may have the answer deep inside of me, I am just not willing to admit/accept it yet. Another thing, w/this being our last baby, I said at the hospital that she is literally 'the last star in OUR constellation (our family), which has made us come full circle so to speak since the tragedy of our daughter’s death/starting our family. I even thought I woud put on her birth announcement…Introducing [name]Soraya[/name] [name]Seren[/name], the newest ‘star’ in our constellation…
Here is a few last tidbits of info…my husband chose the name [name]Keira[/name] because he loved loved loved it to pieces…so because he thought that was how I was feeling about the name [name]Soraya[/name] at the hospital (which I honestly thought I did, yet go back and forth on it to this day or I wouldn’t be posting), he didn’t fight me at the hospital for [name]Amara[/name], because he thought I felt about [name]Soraya[/name] as he did about the name [name]Keira[/name]. Anyway, I chose [name]Soleil[/name]. I found [name]Soraya[/name] and he chose [name]Seren[/name]. [name]Everett[/name] was a mutual choice and I found [name]Sorrell[/name]. I also found Navarra [name]Skye[/name] entire name. Plus I like how all my girl names end in ‘a’ and how all of them will have ‘r’s’ in them!
So now my question is, based on the ‘book’ above lol, do you prefer [name]Soraya[/name] (Suh-ray-uh) [name]Seren[/name] (Seh-ren) or [name]Amara[/name] ([name]Ah[/name]-mar-ra) [name]Seren[/name] for our newest daughter, even though I know it is ultimately my decision…just had to ask again! I think my husband is understandably sick of hearing about this by now, so thank GOD for all of you!
Also, what do you picture when you think of a girl named [name]Soraya[/name] as opposed to an [name]Amara[/name]?
Which do you prefer with our other kids’ names: Navarra, [name]Keira[/name] and [name]Everett[/name]?
And has the pouring out of my story altered how you previously thought I should have chosen?
P.S. I forgot to mention my husband think [name]Soraya[/name] [name]Seren[/name] flows better than [name]Amara[/name] [name]Seren[/name]; even though [name]Amara[/name] was his front-runner name. Also, one of the meanings of [name]Amara[/name], unfading, eternal beauty, reminds me more of how Navarra will eternally be a baby.
So why oh why after all this seemingly logical reasoning can I not get passes [name]Amara[/name] and just go w/[name]Soraya[/name]?!
I think you just answered your own question. [name]Soraya[/name] [name]Seren[/name] is the name that fits your family and this moment in life for you and its something your little girl can grow into and “make a name for herself”. [name]Amara[/name] is a pretty name that draws your mind to the past. Live in the now and let go of [name]Amara[/name]
[name]Hi[/name] Janda
I too feel that [name]Soraya[/name] is the name for your baby, her name will not remind you of Navarra which may cause you pain.
I am so happy to hear of a baby [name]Soraya[/name] and of course the real life Iranian princess was a beautiful person I always admired her, and the connection to the stars is a beautiful connection.
I am so sorry that you have been going through such a tough time naming your precious baby.
Sending love, and hope that you find peace in naming her [name]Soraya[/name] [name]Seren[/name],
I agree with this posting and [name]Rollo[/name]'s 
enjoy your baby girl!!!
I enjoyed reading about how your children got their beautiful names. It is precious that Navarra is the one that inspired the middle name connection between them all. After hearing the story, indeed [name]Soraya[/name] appears to be THE name. [name]Soraya[/name] [name]Seren[/name] is a beautiful name! I hope you feel more at peace about it. Best wishes!
Thanks once again for all who read the long story of my kids’ names and to those who replied w/lots of reassurance and support…much appreciated. I am feeling closer and closer to a resolution w/o the panicky hesitation I felt in previous days. Making a pros/cons list for each name sure helped alot.