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| Lilia Image: bretagne.com |
Choosing a name for somebody must be one of the most daunting things I've ever had to do in my entire life. With lots of friends sporting new bumps, or about to pop in the near future, I've been giving a lot of thought to how people go about naming their babies.
Some just look at the 'most popular' lists, and pick one near the top that they like so that their child doesn't stand out too much and is guaranteed to be fashionable, at least during their school years. Others don't have much choice and have to use a family name.
But a name is something that your child will literally carry with them through life. When they are a tiny tot, graduating from university and as a professional, as a parent themselves and as an old lady doing her knitting.
When we found out I was pregnant, I started to draw up lists and lists (always my first step in a new venture) of boys and girls names. The boys list was very short - my husband and I both like strong, traditional boys names. And then of course we found out I was having a girl...
This provided endless hours of conversation on long car journeys :"How about x?" "Ew, that is just too old fashioned, I'm sorry" (Me). "What about y?" (My husband) "But I suggested y two weeks ago and you said no, never!"
I don't know about you, but I've always had a mental list of names I like for future children, and a few ground rules. (I was surprised to find out my husband has no such mental list, and I think many boys are the same.) It has to be meaningful. It can't be a made up name or a combination of the parent's first names (why do people do this!!!) It has to suit the person at all stages of their life. And it can't be plain weird.
I found reading through baby name books really exhausting and my eyes would go all squiffy at the lists and lists and endless possibilities.
So thank goodness that we live in the Internet age. I found nameberry and babynamewizard, which give you the meaning of names, popular current names and alternatives and similar names, as well as records what people named the siblings, which also opens up some interesting and unexplored possibilities.
We really like the name Lily or Lili, but it's not that unusual. Then I stumbled on Lilia, and just got cold tingles. The Hebrew meaning is "What belongs to me belongs to God (whatever I own belongs to God also)" I thought this was a beautiful meaning and reminder, to us as parents, and for our Lilia to carry through her life, that all good things come from God.
Lilia is also used in Russian, Persian and Spanish. And is also the name of a small fishing town in Bretagne, on the north coast of France.
So we still have all the lists of the unused names (we only made a final decision in the delivery room from our short list of three, and only told everyone once Lilia was born. It was really special to have that secret between ourselves), for both boys and girls names.
But don't even think of asking me to share.
Some just look at the 'most popular' lists, and pick one near the top that they like so that their child doesn't stand out too much and is guaranteed to be fashionable, at least during their school years. Others don't have much choice and have to use a family name.
But a name is something that your child will literally carry with them through life. When they are a tiny tot, graduating from university and as a professional, as a parent themselves and as an old lady doing her knitting.
When we found out I was pregnant, I started to draw up lists and lists (always my first step in a new venture) of boys and girls names. The boys list was very short - my husband and I both like strong, traditional boys names. And then of course we found out I was having a girl...
This provided endless hours of conversation on long car journeys :"How about x?" "Ew, that is just too old fashioned, I'm sorry" (Me). "What about y?" (My husband) "But I suggested y two weeks ago and you said no, never!"
I don't know about you, but I've always had a mental list of names I like for future children, and a few ground rules. (I was surprised to find out my husband has no such mental list, and I think many boys are the same.) It has to be meaningful. It can't be a made up name or a combination of the parent's first names (why do people do this!!!) It has to suit the person at all stages of their life. And it can't be plain weird.
I found reading through baby name books really exhausting and my eyes would go all squiffy at the lists and lists and endless possibilities.
So thank goodness that we live in the Internet age. I found nameberry and babynamewizard, which give you the meaning of names, popular current names and alternatives and similar names, as well as records what people named the siblings, which also opens up some interesting and unexplored possibilities.
We really like the name Lily or Lili, but it's not that unusual. Then I stumbled on Lilia, and just got cold tingles. The Hebrew meaning is "What belongs to me belongs to God (whatever I own belongs to God also)" I thought this was a beautiful meaning and reminder, to us as parents, and for our Lilia to carry through her life, that all good things come from God.
Lilia is also used in Russian, Persian and Spanish. And is also the name of a small fishing town in Bretagne, on the north coast of France.
So we still have all the lists of the unused names (we only made a final decision in the delivery room from our short list of three, and only told everyone once Lilia was born. It was really special to have that secret between ourselves), for both boys and girls names.
But don't even think of asking me to share.
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