What's in a baby name, Fenix/Phoenix...

Some of you may have seen this post.

That isn't the reason we named Fenix as we did,

but it helped to set the decision in stone.

Here is the story of how we came up with the name for our sweet baby girl.

When my husband and I knew we were pregnant with a baby girl,

(I knew from the second that I found out I was pregnant, that my baby would be a girl)

(but that is a story for another day)

we started discussing names.

We didn't search through baby name books, we didn't scour the internet,

we didn't make lists of names we liked and names that were unacceptable for each other.

We knew already that the name for our baby wouldn't come from any list.

Our boy's didn't get their names that way and our daughter would be no different.

It was obvious that we needed something as unique and awesome as our boy's names.

But what name to choose.

There were many suggestions from everyone that we talked to.

There was:

Lynx

Tigress

Fawn

Dear

Bunny

The list goes on and on and on.

I didn't want to name my baby what somebody else suggested.

Not because other people don't have good ideas. There were quite a few actually.

I am just like that, I like to be original and creative by myself.

I wanted her name to be one that I had come up with and one I could surprise everyone with.

I had learned I was pregnant shortly after the death of my Grandmother.

Her name was Lilllian.

I loved that name and held onto it in the back of my mind for a long time before suggesting it to Superman.

I knew it didn't go with our unintentional "theme"

That didn't matter to me.

I loved the name and it felt right to me.

Plus I figured for short we could call her Tiger Lily.

(That was someone's suggestion, which goes to show just how bad I wanted to name her Lillian)

I had decided, nothing Superman said could sway me from this choice.

My daughters name would be:

Lillian Cathleen Graves

Lillian after my Grandmother

Cathleen after my Mother.

The weeks and months rolled by and the delivery was looming right ahead of me.

I still loved the name I had chosen, but Superman kept insisting it wasn't the one.

(He really wanted our daughter to share my name)

About a month before my daughter was born our family sat in the living room.

Watching The chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

There is a part in the movie where a war is taking place.

Involved are all manner of mythological creatures.

I watched half interested, and then I saw it.

A bird of fire swooping down into the midst of the brutality of war and offering its fiery aid.

(google image)

(Aid for the good guys of course)

Yes, it was the Phoenix Bird in all her glory.

I kept that picture in my head for several days.

That beautiful, fierce, fearless, fiery, bird.

Finally I couldn't contain myself and I blurted out to Superman:

"What if we named our daughter Phoenix instead of Lillian?"

Fast as lightning he jumped at this unpredictable opportunity.

He said, "Could her middle name be Rose?"

I rolled it around in my head for a minute

Phoenix Rose

I knew.

I knew without a doubt that that would be our daughter's name.

Part of me still clung to the first name that I loved so much.

But I couldn't deny the overwhelming knowledge that was

Phoenix Rose

We did change it a little.

Perfected it really

I didn't want her name to start with a P because that could get confusing to have two

P. Graves in our household.

And I wanted the name to be shorter (have less letters).

I asked Superman (Phil) how Phoenix is spelled in Spanish (he speaks the launguage)

F-E-N-I-X

I loved it!

It was perfect, beautiful, and totally my daughter.

Fenix Rose

My avita de fuego

bird of fire

and of beauty

*The name suits her*