Warning: this post is about my decision to name my daughter. I warn you, if that's not your thing, don't be a hater. Or as Rana puts it--don't talk smack on my blog--not that any of you do that :-)
Yes, Yeshi (YEH shee) is Myfanwy's name in 'real life.' (her ET given name)
I love the name Yeshi. It's a pretty, Amharic name meaning "for the thousand," as in she belongs to the thousands or as in she is the queen of all the thousands. In all my baby name browsing, I have never seen it before (or noticed it--I wasn't looking at the Ys). And I've quickly fallen in love with it. I'm just not sure it's right for her.
Funny thing, ever since I received the proposal, as of that exact date, I have had a very hard time spelling Myfanwy properly. It's never been a problem before. Now, I keep typing Myfwany, which is so not right. I even just misspelled it in this post title as Myfany. It must be a sign, I think, that I'm moving on. Now that I have a real child and all.
How Yeshi came to be named Yeshi is our private story, but I will just say that I feel comfortable giving her a new first name. I could never give up her Ethiopian name, even though she is a baby. If Yeshi was any older I would likely not consider changing her name in this way.
But.
Just because she is young doesn't mean she is 'blank.' She has a history, and she has rights. She is a small but perfectly formed human being with a personality--I can see that in the picture where she looks into the camera (at me). I can't just come lumbering along and turn her whole world upside down. Naming your child is a huge responsibility and a tough decision, no matter how you slice it. However, I will be giving her the name of my choice. (ok, whether I end up keeping Yeshi as her first name remains to be seen... I am so wishy-washy)
I have developed a list of baby names this long over the past months. I've whittled this list down to one/maybe two top contenders. I wasn't able to commit to one name because I knew I had to see my daughter's face first. Now that I've seen her, none of those names fit--not one. And there were something like 30 to choose from. I knew this would happen. I've never had one baby name that I've wanted to use since I was a little girl. Maybe it's because Mom told me that she had the name Claire picked out for me, took one look at my face when I was born and said "She's not a Claire." She was right.
A couple of days after I received the proposal, I came across a name that stuck with me and I wasn't sure why until I remembered it's a different spelling of a name I liked ages and ages ago (like years ago). A name that was not on my current list of many. And I like this new spelling better. And it seems to suit Yeshi better than my first favourite. Even if my sister Claire and her daughter don't quite agree with me and still prefer my #1 choice by a smidgeon. Asking for second opinions is already fcuking me up so I am no longer soliciting them. As Claire said, "Go with what you feel (grasshopper).......The #1 rule of Motherhood."
So that's that. My daughter's first name is officially going to be "B............"
And don't bother counting the dots--they don't mean anything.
tee hee hee
p.s. You can call her Yeshi or Myfanwy.
p.p.s. Maybe I WILL name her Myfanwy after all--I DO love that name, lol.
