What's In a Name?

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We were tagged a bit ago for this meme (thanks, Pepper Scraps!), and today seems like a good day to play along, so here we go...

1. Do you have any cultural or religious naming traditions?

Not really. My husband is South African, and I have a Canadian background, so we probably had a larger range of names we were familiar with between the two of us. But we weren't specifically trying to follow any traditions.

As it turned out, both first and middle names have French origins. The first is fairly common in South Africa (so it represents her father's heritage), and the middle is my middle name and my aunt's name - and the middle name of one of my nieces (representing my side).

2. Did you or your partner come to the marriage with pre-selected names?

My husband wanted to use his name if it was a boy. I honestly never thought he was dead serious about it until we really had to start deciding on a name. His name has been passed down several generations so has significant meaning to him.

I personally liked the name "Celina" for a girl and probably would have gone with it if he had been more enthusiastic about the idea. But obviously I was adaptable!

3. Did you consider the sound of the first and middle and last names together?Did this make any sad eliminations?

Absolutely! After we chose the first name, I considered "Celina" for a middle name, but it just didn't sound right to me. "Delina" sounded better, but my husband used his veto power on that. "Renée" was my next choice simply because I liked the way it went with the first name - and we ALMOST went with that...

In the end, I think we went with my middle name in part so if we ever had a boy, my husband would feel it was fair play to name the baby after himself.

4. Did you have veto powers?

Theoretically, yes! But I think if either of us felt very strongly about a name, then the other would not veto it.

5. Did the baby naming cause arguments?

Not really. We were both fairly flexible once we knew it was a girl. My husband brought up the first name in one of our baby name discussions. I researched it, decided I really liked it, and made the decision to stick with it. He questioned me a few times as to whether I was sure about it, and since I was, he was happy with it.

6. Do you think it is easier to name boys or girls?

Probably a boy, since my husband has the name all picked out already!

7. Did you eliminate names because of people from your past or present who you don’t like or because a certain image comes to mind.

Uh huh! There weren't any specific names I eliminated, but I really wanted a name that WASN'T the name of someone I knew. Partially just to be politically correct and not offend anyone whose name we didn't use, and and partially because I didn't want any predetermined images coming to mind... All ex's and old crushes were out, of course

8. Did you / would you survey your children to get their thoughts on the name?

Absolutely! I'm hoping she'll appreciate her name when she is older, but either way, I'd love to know what she thinks.

9. Did you tell people the name or possible names before the baby was born or were they “in the vault”?

Yes - on the first name. And I would never do that again. As long as the baby's name is not official yet, people will try to convince you not to use it or offer "better" suggestions. Once it's official, they either tell you they like it, or they keep their mouths shut.

It's hard enough to come up with a name between my husband and I; it's even harder when people's reactions make us second-guess our choices.

10. Did you use baby name books?

No, but I did check out a lot of baby name sites online. I was looking for several things - I wanted a name that sounded pretty. And had a meaningful meaning (the first is "loved," the middle is "shining light").

And I wanted a name that was obviously a name (no Medicines or Sugars or completely made-up names or names where no one can figure out the spelling), but also was nowhere on or near the top 100 list. My daughter is unique, and I wanted her name to reflect that without being totally odd!

Drumroll Please…What did you name your kid(s)?

Esmé Elaine

That "Mozi" thing? That is nowhere on the birth certificate. It was just used for her MySpace site as an abbreviation for Mozambique, since that's where we were when I set it up. So it's carried over to the blog, too... It kind of grows on you.

And consider yourselves all tagged if you'd like to play along...