[name_f]Hermione[/name_f] [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] finally arrived on [name_f]September[/name_f] 5! [name_m]Brown[/name_m] hair, blue eyes. 7 lbs, 12 oz, 19.75 in. Our joy <3
Born during the aftermath of our city’s worst storm yet, many family and friends joked that we should name our daughter Harvey or some feminine derivative of the name. Instead, Hermione is named for two other forces of nature: the saint, whose steadfast faith and strength evangelized better than words ever could, and the witch, whose courage and cleverness was integral to her friends’ survival and to the advancement of others’ welfare. (Our girl was also born shortly after both the epilogue of the Harry Potter books, 9/1/17, and St. Hermione’s feast day, 9/4.) Additionally, it makes my literary heart happy that Helen of Troy’s daughter and Shakespeare’s queen in The Winter’s Tale share the name.
Our preferred nicknames are Hero and Minnie–the former another literary name (again, via mythology and Shakespeare) with aspirational connotations, the latter reminiscent of the mouse and one of my childhood nicknames, Tiny. I also like that there are other options, like Maya, that our daughter can use should she find them more suitable. (We intend to use nicknames interchangeably with her given name.)
Elowen is a Cornish word name for an elm tree. While elms don’t have particular significance to us, we love the sound, connection to nature, and similarity in sound to Tolkien’s Arwen and Eowyn. I also hope that, like a tree, she has deeply rooted beliefs but that she’s fearless in branching upward and outward.
We were especially blessed to welcome our girl on a significant day in our circle. Hermione shares a birthday with my brother and three friends, and the 5th is also her great-grands’ anniversary.
Thank you to the Berry community for all the support!
