Stories Behind Your Names

I often find that I can appreciate a person’s choice in names if I know it means something to them or if they have a good story behind it, so I thought that’s what we could do here! [name_m]Just[/name_m] a place to share how you found a name, what made you choose it, or what it means to you. Or anything else you’d love to share with others about a name you love.

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Great! I have so many stories for my names that I’m going to try and answer them separately and gradually! :laughing:

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I found my beloved Sarai when i was doing work experience in a school eight years ago now. There was a girl in the first class i worked in called Sarai and I was immediately besotted with the name. It has history, it’s pretty but not frilly, it’s elegant but tough and i just fell in love with everything about it

I found my other love, Tristan, at work too. I taught the sweetest, gentlest, happiest kid called Tristan and it just sold the name to me

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My girls name is [name_f]Joleigh[/name_f] [name_u]Ray[/name_u]. I am an only child with an incredible bond with both of my parents, their middle names are [name_u]Leigh[/name_u] and [name_u]Ray[/name_u]. [name_u]Jo[/name_u] is the name of my husbands grandma that he had a special relationship with, so it all just went together really well for us.

My boy name is [name_u]Barrett[/name_u] [name_m]Isaac[/name_m]. [name_f]My[/name_f] maiden name is [name_u]Barrett[/name_u], and I’ve always loved it as a first name as well. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband’s middle name is [name_m]Isaac[/name_m] and he’s always wanted to use it on a son.

Some people don’t like the fact that all of my kids name are honor names, but we love them and think it makes them so so special.

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I’ve already talked about the name Lilawyn in a previous post, but I didn’t give all the details.

I think I mentioned that I was on the search for unique, but usable names, and I came across [name_f]Lilwen[/name_f]. I wasn’t immediately in love with it but I did love the Welsh connection (having Welsh heritage myself, and wanting to carry that in my children’s names) and the nickname [name_f]Lily[/name_f], so I simply added the ‘a’ in the middle and fell for it.

The reason I wanted the nickname [name_f]Lily[/name_f] so badly was because I want girls names that are [name_f]Lily[/name_f] and [name_f]Rose[/name_f] (my other favourite name being Rosenna), since my mum loved the name [name_f]Lily[/name_f]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f] for me, but my dad hates flower names. And Lilawyn is kind of a mix of mine and my mum’s names. [name_f]My[/name_f] mum’s name is [name_f]Susan[/name_f], but means ‘lily’, so it has that too.

I had a hard time coming up with a middle that I loved too (not that I was actually expecting, I was just having fun with names), but thought that I could add another name with meaning; [name_f]Emma[/name_f]. I won’t explain [name_f]Emma[/name_f], because it’s a very personal, private story that isn’t really mine to share, but it is very, very special to my immediate family, especially my mum.

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Such an interesting read!

So for girls it’s [name_f]Rose[/name_f] I begun loving the name [name_f]Rose[/name_f] when I was a little girl after listening to my maternal Grandma talk about her mother [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. I just thought her name was so beautiful and found the stories about [name_f]Rose[/name_f] so insightful as it clearly explained why my Grandma is how she is. I was also jealous that my cousin not only had two middle names but one was [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. Then I watched the film Titanic as a teenager and it just added so much glamour and sparkle to [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. Not only was it the name of my Great Grandmother but it also the name of this beautiful woman who fell in love. [name_f]Rose[/name_f] was just so perfect after that. Then just over 2.5 years ago I met my baby’s father and on our first date he told me about his mother. His mother was just the bravest, strongest, kindest woman who loved her boys fiercely and always tried to do the right thing. She was brave as an African immigrant coming to a new country always striving to do the right thing for her children she was just inspiring. Her name was [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] Oyella (Oyella is Swahili for [name_f]Rose[/name_f]) and known as ‘[name_f]Rose[/name_f]’ it just felt so right. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though me & my baby’s father are no longer together things aren’t great between us which sucks as I love him so much. I definitely want to still use [name_f]Rose[/name_f] for all the reasons above and especially because it honours such a courageous woman who died in such tragic circumstances. I know it would mean a lot to everyone who I love & care for. If I am blessed with a daughter [name_f]Rose[/name_f] most likely will be her name. If not it’ll be a [name_f]Rose[/name_f] variant or [name_f]Rose[/name_f] will be a middle name for her. [name_f]Rose[/name_f] will definitely feature somewhere for sure

For boys it’s [name_u]Noah[/name_u] I’ve always had a love for biblical names most likely because I grew up in a very religious household and as a child attended church & the synagogue regularly. I come from an interfaith family my father is Catholic & my mother is Jewish. [name_f]My[/name_f] mother converted to Catholicism to marry my father but I have a large Jewish family and was often taken to the synagogue, attended Hebrew school & regularly visited [name_u]Israel[/name_u]. I also have a large devout Catholic family attended church regularly, [name_f]Sunday[/name_f] school and would go to confession with my Grandma. However both sides of my family would read the children’s bible to me full of numerous stories with gorgeous illustrations it was my favourite thing to be read at night and my favourite story was [name_u]Noah[/name_u]’s Ark. I love animals I thought he was so cool and that’s where my love for [name_u]Noah[/name_u] started. I love [name_u]Noah[/name_u] I think it’s romantic, upbeat & outdoorsy the popularity of [name_u]Noah[/name_u] doesn’t phase me its great that’ll be my boys name.

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Hey Jonquils I really do think [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is the name for me I’ve always loved it and it honours my mum’s family & my baby’s father’s family the namesakes being such strong inspiring people. [name_f]Every[/name_f] other name doesn’t feel right for me & my baby aside from [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. I have [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] as a runner up if I’m like sheesh the association with [name_u]Peyton[/name_u]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f] is too strong but I just feel I would regret it if I didn’t use [name_f]Rose[/name_f] for my daughter. [name_f]Rose[/name_f] just means so much to me.

So interesting hearing the backstories to your names :purple_heart:

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I’ll do a few of my names in different posts as not to overwhelm!

To start with a classic: Parker
I’ve told this story so many times on here. I was a competitive dancer for ten years, up until I graduated from high school, and I spent seven of those years in the Kansas City competition circuit. In 2016, an eight-year-old girl from another studio in the area was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer called DIPG. It has a 0% survival rate and the treatments for the disease have no improved much since its discovery over fifty years ago. Her name was Parker.

For over a year and a half, Parker and her parents traveled from Kansas City to Memphis to Germany to Monterrey in search of ways they could fight the “monster in her head”, as Parker put it. Parker’s mom made regular videos to update about Parker’s condition and treatments, and the family started an organization called Parker Loves Life to raise money and awareness for the disease. Parker also made videos of her own. No matter how troubling the news or how grim the situation was, she always started the video with an upbeat, “Hey guys!”

Parker passed away in July 2017, only a couple weeks before her tenth birthday. I’ll be honest, I never met Parker. I followed her story closely though and she reminded me so much of my youngest sister, who was the same age. Parker was sassy, spunky, and beautiful inside and out. She loved dancing with her older sister, Eminem, the color purple, and her stuffed teddy bear, Bobby. If I’m being honest, Parker’s struggle—and ultimately, her death—was one of my first experiences with the fragility of life. She reminds me of how short our time here can really be and how cruel life can be sometimes. And yet, she also reminds me that it does no good to dwell on our troubles because if we do, that’s how we truly waste that precious time.

It has come to my attention recently that people on this site associate the name Parker with me and the story of Parker Monhollon. That makes me incredibly happy. It means that in some small way, I’m helping Parker’s legacy live on :blush:

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[name_f]My[/name_f] most meaningful girl name is [name_f]Vanna[/name_f]. I found it through Wheel of [name_u]Fortune[/name_u] and think it’s an adorable name, and I don’t mind the WOF association because it may fade soon, and I consider it a positive because my love for the show was one of the bright lights of my life. I even went to an audition with my mother and almost got on the show but never got the letter back, and the pandemic only compounded the difficulty.

For boys it’s [name_m]Gustavo[/name_m] “[name_u]Gus[/name_u]” because I had a best friend named [name_m]Gustavo[/name_m] who I met over the internet, he didn’t like his name because it was a family name used for the oldest son if I remember correctly, but I liked it despite my mother thinking it was a felon name when she didn’t know him well. We liked most of the same things and worked together on creative projects, and we met in person once and had sushi. But this story has a sad ending because he died from a seizure in 2019, the same day [name_u]James[/name_u] Holzhauer lost on Jeopardy. I would like to remember him.

Other names I like have other sources and inspiration. The Supreme [name_m]Court[/name_m] made me love [name_f]Ruth[/name_f], [name_f]Sonia[/name_f], [name_f]Elena[/name_f], [name_u]Neil[/name_u], [name_u]Kennedy[/name_u], [name_m]Antonin[/name_m], [name_m]Byron[/name_m], [name_m]Warren[/name_m], [name_u]Brennan[/name_u], [name_m]Marshall[/name_m], [name_m]Brandeis[/name_m], [name_m]Mahlon[/name_m], [name_m]Harlan[/name_m], and for nominees there’s [name_m]Merrick[/name_m] and [name_f]Harriet[/name_f]. I once used [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] as a fake middle name for me (inspiring my [name_f]Luna[/name_f] [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] combo) in a fit of SCOTUSphilia because it was the wife of a Supreme [name_m]Court[/name_m] [name_u]Justice[/name_u] I was obsessed with. [name_f]Themis[/name_f] also has judicial roots. I took [name_f]Diantha[/name_f], [name_f]Valerie[/name_f], [name_f]Olympia[/name_f], [name_f]Gardenia[/name_f], [name_f]Cynthia[/name_f], [name_f]Iris[/name_f], [name_f]Candela[/name_f], [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f], [name_f]Lyra[/name_f], [name_f]Nessa[/name_f], [name_f]Winona[/name_f], [name_f]Erika[/name_f], and [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] from Pokémon characters I particularly liked, while [name_f]Saffron[/name_f] and [name_m]Viridian[/name_m] are cities. [name_u]Nova[/name_u], [name_f]Mira[/name_f], and [name_m]Layton[/name_m] draw from Neopets characters or items. [name_f]Lumina[/name_f] and [name_f]Mariposa[/name_f] relate to [name_f]Barbie[/name_f] characters, [name_f]Wisteria[/name_f] and [name_f]Celestia[/name_f] to [name_f]My[/name_f] [name_m]Little[/name_m] Pony characters, and [name_f]Adora[/name_f] to She-[name_m]Ra[/name_m]. [name_f]Reverie[/name_f] reminds me of an attack in the Touhou games. [name_m]Booker[/name_m], [name_m]Cedric[/name_m], [name_f]Marianne[/name_f], [name_f]Tulsi[/name_f], and [name_f]Kamala[/name_f] have political connections, which sparked my interest in them. I think the least interesting may actually be [name_f]Luna[/name_f], my favorite, because I took it on because I saw it on many baby name websites. It’s popular for a reason I guess.

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Now that I’ve stopped crying, as typing Parker’s story always brings me to tears, I’ll go for a bit more upbeat story: Cleo

To put it simply, I love watching soccer. My dad has always been a massive soccer fan—he played it when he was younger and has picked it up again in several adult leagues over my lifetime—and he absolutely influenced this in me. It is definitely one of our favorite things to talk about and watching soccer is one of our favorite things to do together. Cleo is one of many soccer-related names on my list.

My favorite club soccer team is Sporting Kansas City in MLS. When we moved to Kansas City, I was so excited to have a professional team so close and even though we have since moved away, I still petition whenever possible to have Kansas City as a host city for the 2026 Men’s World Cup. I have so many amazing memories from Children’s Mercy Park (their home stadium), from epic comebacks that include scoring 3 goals in 10 minutes to win a game 4-3, to watching the USMNT and USWNT playing friendlies and tournaments and World Cup qualifiers in the stadium, to that freezing night in December 2013 when SKC won the MLS Cup, to Matt Besler painting the wall after an Open Cup victory in 2017.

SKC’s motto is “For glory, for city”, and there’s a chant that the cauldron does during every game that includes the line, “for the glory / of the city.” Cleo means “glory” and brings to mind every memory I have of watching the Boys in Blue (last night’s game excluded). Cleo honors not only my love of soccer, but also several very important people in my life with whom I’ve shared my love of soccer: my dad, my best friend, my sisters (one of whom plays soccer and the other who has been there for important games too), and my late uncle.

Other names that have soccer-related meanings for me:
Heath- Tobin Heath is my dad’s favorite player for the USWNT

Kylian- after Kylian Mbappé, who doesn’t have a specific important memory per se, but I did watch several 2018 World Cup games with my dad

Christian- after Christian Pulisic, who is a player my dad and I both love

Reyna- actually, this is mostly for the character in Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series but Gio Reyna and Claudio Reyna are definite pluses for the name

Alexandra- one of my favorite memories with my dad is when we stayed up late to watch the USWNT play in the Olympic semi-final in 2012 when Alex Morgan scored the game-winning goal in the 124th minute. We were both stunned for a second then started screaming and probably woke the whole neighborhood :joy:

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Marianne: I first fell in love with [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] when I was about seven or eight and I first watched Sense & Sensibility. And it’s such a perfect name for me, since it honours my nan, mum and all my aunts. [name_f]My[/name_f] nan’s name was [name_f]Maureen[/name_f], and so all of her daughters middle names are variations; [name_f]Susan[/name_f] [name_f]Maureen[/name_f], [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] & [name_u]Anne[/name_u] [name_u]Marie[/name_u]. And, as is pretty obvious, [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] is a great way to honour my Auntie [name_u]Anne[/name_u]. So I really love this name!

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Adelina [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is an honour names as [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is after my late grandmother and it’s an unwritten rule for all girls to be named after her (my middle name is [name_u]Louise[/name_u], which was hers). [name_u]James[/name_u] in [name_m]Leo[/name_m] [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] is also a family name.

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A list of my honour names:

[name_f]Violet[/name_f] - [name_f]My[/name_f] great-grandmother
[name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] - [name_f]My[/name_f] great-aunt. [name_f]My[/name_f] middle name was almost [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], so my name would have been her’s swapped around.
[name_f]Flora[/name_f] - [name_f]My[/name_f] other great-grandmother, who was called [name_f]Florence[/name_f].
[name_f]Emma[/name_f] - [name_m]Just[/name_m] a special name of someone I never got to meet.
[name_f]Marianne[/name_f] - [name_f]My[/name_f] mother, aunts and nan.

[name_m]Derek[/name_m] - [name_f]My[/name_f] grandad
[name_u]James[/name_u] - [name_f]My[/name_f] dad’s middle name
[name_m]Philip[/name_m] - [name_f]My[/name_f] great-uncle and grandmother, called [name_f]Philippa[/name_f].
[name_m]David[/name_m] - [name_f]My[/name_f] grandfather’s middle name
[name_u]Bennett[/name_u] - [name_f]My[/name_f] uncle and aunt’s surname
[name_m]Harrison[/name_m] - Has the same meaning as my surname (and also [name_u]George[/name_u] [name_m]Harrison[/name_m], but that’s just a coincidence)
[name_m]Samuel[/name_m] - [name_f]My[/name_f] youngest brother
[name_m]Richard[/name_m] - [name_f]My[/name_f] grandfather and oldest brother’s middle name
[name_m]Joseph[/name_m] - [name_f]My[/name_f] youngest brother’s middle name
[name_m]Simon[/name_m] - [name_f]My[/name_f] dad
[name_u]Benjamin[/name_u] - [name_f]My[/name_f] oldest brother
[name_m]Paul[/name_m] - [name_f]My[/name_f] uncle
Stephen - Another uncle

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Annabella is the only name on my list that I really, truly know how to explain. I’m terrible at being open about my feelings like this, so bare with me!

My grandmothers are/were V@lerie Ann3 and B0nnie Jun3. Since I was little, I’ve wondered how I could come up with a way of honouring them without directly using their names (although I do love them, I don’t know if I’d like to use both names, and wouldn’t want to leave one out). Also, one of my most treasured childhood toys is a baby doll that is named [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]. I have had her for 20 years or so, and growing up, she went literally everywhere with me, even as a teenager, she came on every trip away from home somehow (even if she was smuggled in my backpack!) because I used to get terribly homesick.

I was looking into the meaning and roots of [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] as a young teen, and found a few sources that listed it as a compound of [name_f]Anna[/name_f] and [name_f]Belle[/name_f]. Upon further research, I found that [name_f]Belle[/name_f] and B0nnie shared a meaning, and with my nana’s middle name being Ann3, I almost knew [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] would be a perfect fit in some manner on my list. Another bonus, is that [name_f]Belle[/name_f] is [name_u]French[/name_u], and my grandmother was from [name_m]Quebec[/name_m].

I’ve always had [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] on my list, but I was beginning to feel a bit disenchanted with it. Then, I found an Instagram account with sweet little triplets named [name_f]Lottie[/name_f], [name_f]Florence[/name_f], and [name_f]Annabella[/name_f]. I quite liked [name_f]Annabella[/name_f], and it’s slowly grown to be my new spin on [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]!

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I think I could go on and on about [name_u]Eden[/name_u], but I’ll keep it short!
When I was younger, maybe 7 or so, I first read about ‘The garden of [name_u]Eden[/name_u]’ in the bible, and I was awestruck. I daydreamed about what it would look like for hours on end, the idea that a garden so beautiful could exist just filled me with joy.
For some context we were heavily involved with this [name_u]Christian[/name_u] humanitarian community, and they had this massive property… and the most beautiful garden I had ever seen.
[name_f]My[/name_f] imagination just went wild, I believed it to be my very own garden of [name_u]Eden[/name_u]. I spent the majority of my childhood in that garden, tending to the little ‘fairy baths’ and making flower crowns with pretty violets.
What really cements ‘[name_u]Eden[/name_u]’ as a favourite of mine, is that I remember once I was playing in the garden (taking care of the fairy baths) and somebody was playing the piano, and I remember hearing the beautiful music throughout the garden and everything had just seemed so magical, I truly believed it was the garden of [name_u]Eden[/name_u].
So now, whenever I hear of ‘[name_u]Eden[/name_u]’, all I can think of is the sweet smell of violets, the beautiful sound of a piano, and the pure elation I would feel whenever I was in that garden.

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Sure!

My top three girls:

Daisy [name_f]Aviva[/name_f]-[name_f]My[/name_f] dad, [name_m]David[/name_m], passed away suddenly in 2018. I’ve always liked the name [name_f]Daisy[/name_f], but it was never near my list. Then one day it dawned on me that it’s a perfect way to honor [name_m]David[/name_m]. Plus, my dad appreciated pretty flowers. :white_flower: :sunflower: It’s such a cheerful beautiful classic. The mn [name_f]Aviva[/name_f] is to honor my grandpa & grandma, [name_m]Albert[/name_m] & [name_f]Annette[/name_f]. I’m Jewish, so generally we just use the first initial of a deceased relative to honor rather than the actual name. And [name_f]Aviva[/name_f] is Hebrew. And just mystical & stunning.

Guinevere [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]-I heard this in a song on one of my still favorite albums by Death [name_m]Cab[/name_m] for Cutie when I was 17 in 2001ish. Maybe it’s the ‘v’, but I feel this name has the mystical vibe too just like [name_f]Aviva[/name_f]. It’s just the right amount of bold romantic-ness, super feminine but not frilly, classic, well known yet still very unique. [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] is to honor my grandma, [name_f]Pauline[/name_f]. And it’s just a pretty name.

Eleanor [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-I was never that into [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], although I’ve always loved [name_f]Nellie[/name_f]. [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] was my great grandmother’s name. It’s so sweet, slightly sporty & spunky, & just lovable. A few years ago I heard a little boy called [name_u]Finn[/name_u] (love [name_u]Finn[/name_u]!) call her his big sister [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. She was kind of tomboy-ish, & the name & the sibling combo was so perfect that I fell in love w/Eleanor. It’s smart & feminine w/out being fussy. And it has a great adventurous vibe. [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is another ‘A’ name to honor [name_m]Albert[/name_m] & [name_f]Annette[/name_f]. And it’s pretty. Also, dh really loves [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. This is a completely hypothetical child, so I really don’t care his thoughts (he’s mostly okay w/Daisy & [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f]), but it makes it a little more special.

Runners up: [name_f]Olive[/name_f], [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] & [name_f]Lilia[/name_f]. I just love [name_f]Olive[/name_f] & [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] because they’re very lovable! [name_f]Lilia[/name_f] has been on my list for seriously 24 years. I fell in love w/it, because it was the name of my favorite gymnast in the 1996 Olympics.

My top three boys:

Ewan-I think maybe I could do [name_m]David[/name_m] as a mn? I love the thought of [name_m]Ewan[/name_m] [name_m]David[/name_m]. Or [name_m]Ewan[/name_m] [name_m]Albert[/name_m] for my grandpa. Or just [name_m]Ewan[/name_m] [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] or [name_m]Ewan[/name_m] [name_u]Atlas[/name_u] or something like that. [name_m]Ewan[/name_m], I really just love. It doesn’t have any special meaning. It’s just a handsome, sweet, kind, simple yet unique Gaelic name that sounds great w/my husband’s Irish ln. And most of my little nephews have Gaelic names, so a little [name_m]Ewan[/name_m] would fit right in!

Colm-[name_m]Colm[/name_m] [name_m]David[/name_m] is just sooo beautiful. But I think I’d be happy w/Colm [name_m]Dawson[/name_m] to honor my dad too if I didn’t want to use the exact name. I read [name_m]Colm[/name_m] in a historical fiction book a few years ago. His character was an Irish immigrant in the U.S. during the 1860s. I would never actually use this name, because it just doesn’t sound right w/an American accent. But I find it so peaceful & handsome. It means ‘dove’ too. I’m not usually that into meanings, but that’s a good one.

Julian-This is just another name that I love. It’s been on my list for about as long as [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f]. I don’t even remember why I fell in love w/it. It’s just charming, friendly & soft but still boyish. I love the idea of [name_u]Julian[/name_u] [name_m]Albert[/name_m]. It’d honor my grandpa, & his initials would be J.A.M. I think that’s cute.

Runners up: [name_u]Shiloh[/name_u], [name_m]Liev[/name_m]. & [name_u]Nolan[/name_u]. No special meanings really. Two Hebrew names & an Irish name, so they both fit dh & mine heritages. But that’s not necessarily on purpose.

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@MichelleM I’ve been reading so many of these stories so interesting keep going back to this question and reading the responses. I just wanted to say that I love absolute adore [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] [name_f]Aviva[/name_f] & [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] so beautiful :purple_heart:

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Jonas [name_m]Feivel[/name_m]: the biblical [name_u]Jonah[/name_u] is the prophet my husband identifies the most with. He has wrestled with faith his whole life, sometimes argues with G’d and remains highly skeptical of religion, yet he has never fully abandoned our culture and practices because he likes to be part “of something”. He likes the story of [name_u]Jonah[/name_u] because his stubborn attitude and open refusal to obey orders from a Higher [name_u]Power[/name_u], but ultimately falls in line.
It didn’t hurt that we both like the movie American Tail, but we went with [name_m]Feivel[/name_m] because it was the name of one of my husband’s great-grandfathers, which he changed to [name_u]Bobby[/name_u] after immigrating. We wanted to bring the name back, as it must be difficult to have to change your name after leaving everything else behind.

Elliot [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m]: One of my favorite moments in the Passover traditions is pouring a glass of wine for the prophet [name_m]Elijah[/name_m]. It’s something I looked forward every year as a child. That was my inspiration for the name. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband’s inspiration was [name_m]Joe[/name_m] [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] from Def Leppard :unamused:. I do like [name_u]Elliot[/name_u] as a name a little more than [name_m]Elijah[/name_m]. To me it sounds warmer and happier in this form, and it was easier to pronounce for the [name_u]French[/name_u]-speaking side of the family. We wanted to honor the memory of a family friend who is greatly missed with [name_u]Elliot[/name_u]’s middle name. His name was [name_u]Jermaine[/name_u], and we went the [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m] to also incorporate a Hebrew name in there.

Leon [name_m]Herschel[/name_m]: [name_m]Leonard[/name_m] was my mother in law’s older brother and my husband’s favorite uncle. When [name_m]Leon[/name_m] was born, we had [name_m]Roman[/name_m] in mind for him but as soon as I held him and contemplated his little face, he reminded me of uncle [name_m]Leonard[/name_m]. It was a fleeting moment, because now he doesn’t look like him at all, but I know what I saw and took it as a sign that we should honor him somehow. It ended up being a little strange because [name_m]Herschel[/name_m] means deer, so our [name_m]Leon[/name_m] has two animal names, one an apex predator and the other a quintessential prey. However, we kept the middle name because it was the name of an ancestor of mine.

Felix [name_u]Benjamin[/name_u]: [name_m]Felix[/name_m] got his first name from his birth mom. She was inspired by the meaning of the name, which is optimistic. She also told us that she wanted to incorporate an X in his name, as she finds it interesting and unique. We added [name_u]Benjamin[/name_u] as a middle name, because he didn’t have one and it felt a little off balance to us to have [name_m]Feivel[/name_m], [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m], [name_m]Herschel[/name_m] and (blank). We chose [name_u]Benjamin[/name_u] because his biological grandmother liked it and so did we. [name_u]Benjamin[/name_u] is sometimes used to mean the youngest brother/sibling. [name_m]Felix[/name_m] is brother number 4, so although he is not the youngest, he is a little brother three times over.

Margo [name_f]Shoshana[/name_f]: [name_f]My[/name_f] maternal grandmother’s name was [name_u]Maria[/name_u], which she unfortunately didn’t like and always went by [name_u]Marion[/name_u]. I felt that [name_f]Margo[/name_f] was the perfect compromise between her brith name and the name she chose for herself. Like her brother [name_m]Leon[/name_m] who has two animal names, [name_f]Margo[/name_f] has two flower names and I’m not even sorry. After collecting girl names for years, I felt that I had to use them all at once and [name_f]Shoshana[/name_f] is one of my all time favorite girl names. This one has no family connection or story, I just love it.

Sylvie [name_f]Hadassah[/name_f]: There are Sylvias in both sides of the family, as well as a [name_m]Sylvester[/name_m] on mine, but this form of the name is a favorite of ours. I particularly love the meaning! Purim is now our family’s favorite holiday, so we naturally orbited toward [name_f]Esther[/name_f]/Hadassah as a possible name for the girls. We matched it with [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] because we liked the sound and look.

Right now we’re looking at [name_f]Tess[/name_f] or [name_f]Tessa[/name_f] [name_f]Yocheved[/name_f] and [name_m]Oscar[/name_m] [name_m]Anshel[/name_m]. [name_f]Theresa[/name_f] is a family name for me, and a dear one at that but prefer it as a short and simpler form. [name_f]Yocheved[/name_f] is a biblical character I’ve been thinking about since the beginning of the pandemic and the difficult year we’re having. Thinking of parents and parent-like figures everywhere who have to make difficult decisions to keep their children safe, and taking action so that everyone’s children are able to grow and live in safety and peace… it’s a lot. [name_f]Yocheved[/name_f], [name_m]Moses[/name_m]’ mother has been a source of comfort and inspiration so far. [name_m]Oscar[/name_m] is the “first” first name we’re contemplating simply for its look and sound, as it is not taken from the family tree or because it has a story behind it. It’s getting hard to name boys around here! However, [name_m]Anshel[/name_m] is also a pandemic inspired name, just because if there’s something we’ve all tried to do during quarantine and beyond, is to remember that there are different ways to be happy, and to teach the kids to be happy under challenging circumstances. We’ll see if these are the final names or not, but that’s the story so far.

:slight_smile: I should add that we wanted the names to be easy to pronounce or at least recognizable to everyone in the family, which is scattered through Europe, [name_u]North[/name_u] and [name_u]South[/name_u] [name_u]America[/name_u].

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This is very interesting!

Greta [name_f]Cecily[/name_f]: These are after my maternal grandmothers. [name_f]My[/name_f] mom’s biological mother, [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], gave up my mom since she wasn’t in a healthy relationship, and I actually respect her for doing what she thought was right. [name_f]My[/name_f] mom’s mother’s middle name was [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f], and my favorite character from a movie that I love to watch, The Color Purple, was named [name_f]Cecily[/name_f], which is a variant of [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f].

Vanessa [name_f]Hope[/name_f]: [name_f]Vanessa[/name_f] is very meaningful name to me. [name_f]My[/name_f] cousin, who is sadly no longer here with us, was a very sweet, brave and caring soul. She had these adventures and just loved being one with nature and just had this positive aurora surrounding her. And [name_f]Hope[/name_f] is just a name I love with [name_f]Vanessa[/name_f].

Frankie [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]: [name_f]My[/name_f] mom is very nice, caring and warming soul. And I want one of my daughters to be just like her. And my mom’s middle name is [name_f]Frances[/name_f], and she doesn’t like it, but she loves [name_u]Frankie[/name_u]. And my mom’s biological grandmother, her name was [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f], and my middle name is [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. And I’ve always wanted to give my daughter the name [name_f]Rose[/name_f] as a first or middle name. So that’s why I decided on [name_u]Frankie[/name_u] [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f].

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:joy::joy: best response!

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