My husband and I are due with our little girl in [name_u]July[/name_u]. Up until now we’ve been content with our 3 name short list, figuring we’d decide the combo we liked once we get to meet her.
[name_f]Rosaline[/name_f]: A combo of 2 family names: [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_f]Eileen[/name_f]
[name_f]Kathryn[/name_f]: My grandmother’s name
[name_f]Delia[/name_f]: As the shortened form of [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f], just like our son [name_m]Liam[/name_m] is short for [name_m]William[/name_m]. It also means “daughter of the sea” and my name means “of the sea”.
All seemed well until we were hit with this bombshell : my [name_f]MIL[/name_f], who has been battling cancer for 2 years, has officially been given 3-6 months left with us. Needless to say we’re all a little shell-shocked. I’m now feeling like choosing a name sooner rather than later is more important. To top it off, a new name keeps rattling around my head:
[name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] : [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] means “silver” in Welsh and [name_f]Joy[/name_f] is the shortened form of my [name_f]MIL[/name_f] name: [name_u]Joyce[/name_u]. So [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] means “silver happiness” or, more literally for my husband and I, she’s our silver lining.
I’m just feeling so conflicted and could use some advice: do I wait and meet my daughter or should I choose a name so that my [name_f]MIL[/name_f] can “get to know” our daughter before we lose her.
I think [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] sounds beautiful, and is a perfect happy medium. I would choose it now so your mil will know it too.
I personally would go with [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f]. I would want to honor my mom-in-law first in this situation. I would save the other honor names if there was another child in the future. BTW [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] is an Italian form of [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f]. [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f] means “most holy”, in my opinion that adds even more specialness.
I’m skewing to [name_f]Delia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f], maybe you can settle on having [name_f]Joy[/name_f] as the middle name no matter the first name? I think it sounds really nice with all your options. Sorry you’re going through this
I agree it would be nice to pick the name now so your mother in law can know it. Something about the silver lining meaning seems a little off to me–I think of it as the good part of a bad situation, but you wouldn’t want to say there is a good part of your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] getting sick. That might just be me over-thinking it though. I do like all your other name options, especially [name_f]Delia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f].
I love [name_f]Delia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f], it’s really pretty! I get your thoughts on your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] ‘getting to know’ the baby through a set name, but don’t you think she would feel just as involved if you tell her the options for the first name and her honor name as the middle? If she has passed by the time your baby girl arrives it will feel as if she’s sent a hint from above whatever name you chose if you know what I mean. Very sorry you’re going through this!
Wow… the meaning behind [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] is stunning and it’s a beautiful name! I would ABSOLUTELY choose that. Best of luck and well wishes.
I think it’d be nice to tell your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] what name you choose, just to give herself (and maybe DH) some closure on what her granddaughter’s name is.
Out of your options I prefer [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f], or [name_f]Kathryn[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f].
I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’m going through something similar as well. My husband’s grandmother was diagnosed last month with cancer and will be going on hospice rather than seeking treatment (she is turning 94 next month). Her prognosis was 6-12 months, but of course they never actually know how near the end is. Our [name_u]August[/name_u]/[name_f]September[/name_f] baby will be her first great-grandchild and for the past few years she has made it clear that she wants a great-grandchild more than anything else in the world. After we heard her diagnosis, my husband and I felt the need to sit down and discuss our decisions in light of this news. We had previously chosen to be team green, to choose boy and girl name options but not to discuss them with family at large, and also to wait to discuss with my grandma-in-law the baby’s Chinese name (she is Chinese) until after baby’s birth (it’s traditional that you allow your elders the honor of helping in naming the child in Chinese). We revisited each of these decisions, discussing them at length, and we ultimately decided that the decisions we had made in the first place were still the right decisions for us now. It will be very heart-breaking if she does not live (without suffering) to meet her first great-grandchild, but she has many other ways in the meantime to fawn over this baby (and she really is spoiling the baby already!). She is already bonding and is understanding of our choices because she didn’t know the sex of her 6 baby boys before they were born and also because in Chinese culture you don’t name a baby before birth or even publicly announce for the first month of life. I really hope that she will be alive and well and thriving in [name_f]October[/name_f] once I have recovered enough from childbirth to fly to see her with baby in tow. But for us, her diagnosis didn’t ultimately change the reasons behind our sex and naming decisions so we think they are still the right decisions for us.
So all that is to say that only you and your husband can decide what is right for you given this situation. I think all of your options are lovely. I really love [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] but I can’t be the one to make that decision to tell your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] now or in several months if she (hopefully) is still with you then. Sit down with your husband and discuss together if it is important/how important it is that your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] be involved in your pregnancy in THIS way. That will illuminate the other decisions as well, as you decide which name suits your daughter best and if honoring your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] in particular is the most important thing for you now.
Best of luck and I hope that your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] may live without suffering to meet your little one and spend some time with her granddaughter. But either way, your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] will be dearly remembered and you can always share how special she was to you and your husband with your daughter as she grows, whether or not they have the opportunities for minutes or months together.
I agree that [name_f]Joy[/name_f] works as a middle name for any of your names and I think that could be a good compromise. Tell her the baby will have [name_f]Joy[/name_f] as a middle name, after her, but decide on the first name when you actually meet her.
I’m so sorry you’re going through that. I wish you the best!
From all your options and descriptions, I love [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] the most. It’s gorgeous, and has the perfect meaning in this situation. I agree with @oneofthetrio’s comment above: tell your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] you’re going to use [name_f]Joy[/name_f] as the middle name in honor of her, and then let yourself choose the first name when you meet the baby. But I adore [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f]
I’m sorry to hear about your situation. A little girl at my daughter’s school is named [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f]. She is a cancer survivor. I think the name is gorgeous. Any of your choices with [name_f]Joy[/name_f] as the middle name definitely honor your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] and are good solid choices.
I’m so sorry for what your family is going through
I personally think [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] “[name_f]Delia[/name_f]” is stunning, but [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] is also beautiful. Echoing what some others said, I imagine your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] would be touched knowing that the middle name will be [name_f]Joy[/name_f] after her. I understand wanting to share the name with her so she can be as involved as possible, but I also think it would be hard if you chose a name for that reason and later on it didn’t “feel” right to you and your husband.
I’ll say a prayer that she gets to meet your little one before she passes <3
It would be a lovely idea to use [name_f]Joy[/name_f] as the middle name and let your [name_f]MIL[/name_f] know. I like [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] and [name_f]Kathryn[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] best. [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] flows well, as long as you are aware, as pps have said, of the correct meaning. When you are sure about the first name and make that decision I think it would be lovely to announce it to your [name_f]MIL[/name_f].
[name_m]Just[/name_m] wanted to correct some pps- [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] is a welsh name with its own history, meaning silver, and is not solely a version of the Greek [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f]. Ariana - Name Meaning, What does Ariana mean? (or pretty much any basic google search).
I think any name with [name_f]Joy[/name_f] as a middle would be a wonderful way to honour her. [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] also means ‘heart’ so [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] means heart of joy which is adorable.