We had a name picked out, and then found out she was a girl, and our favorite girl name wasn’t our favorite anymore.
We looked at websites and books that Aaron claims were not created for people with normal baby names (we actually saw the name “Baby” listed as a girl’s name) and then threw the books on the floor and gave up.
And then one day, it just came to me. I loved it and he loved it and we loved the way it sounds with our last name and SHE HAD A FIRST NAME!
But she needed a middle name that fit with her first and last name and that also met the qualifications for middle-naming-a-girl on my mom’s side of the family. The tradition is for each of us to have a middle name that ends in “ette” and if you follow me on Twitter or know my email address, you’ve probably figured by now that my middle name is Janette. My mom is Lynette, my sister is Yvette and my aunts and cousins are Suzette’s and Collette’s and Danette’s and lots of things in-between.
{In order, from my oldest aunt to my youngest cousin: Annette, Lynette, Suzette, Collette, Mynette, Janette, Lynette, Yvette, Annette, Danette, Colette} (Yes, there are repeats. Some are after their own mother, others are named after an aunt.)
Aaron's mom's middle name is Lynn and since my mom's middle name is Lynette, it made sense that our daughter's middle name would be Lynette.
But you know that her middle name isn't Lynette.
Aaron called me one afternoon and suggested the name "Jolette". He had talked with his dad about how my family had the "ette" tradition but he wanted it to be unique, something that no other female had already. Aaron's dad suggested Jolette, which incorporated the "ette" and Aaron's middle name, Joel.
I admit, I wasn't immediately in love with it, mostly because I wanted us to name our daughter and not have influence from someone else. This is part of the reason I didn't want to tell anyone her name before she was born.
Aaron's dad passed away a couple of weeks later.
He'd known our daughter as McKinley Jolette.
We didn't really even talk about her name after that. I just knew that it would be so important to Aaron that we used the name his dad suggested.
And so she is.
It fits her perfectly, our sweet Kinley Jo.
9 comments:
that's a beautiful naming story!!! i'm sure she'll treasure the association with her grampa someday :)
Lovely name...she is so beautiful!
McKinley you are your momma twin there is NO doubt about that!!! You lucky little gal!
That's an awesome story and I know she'll treasure her middle name :D
What a wonderful story. She is SO precious and I love that picture of the two of you. Adorable.
Beautiful story and girl. I LOVE her name.
Such a precious Name story. Her middle name reminds me of a princess. My son's middle name is Joel. She looks just like you!
oh its perfect. in so many ways. i couldn't imagine anything else.
Hope you are having a fabulous time....wish I could have visited while I was in the area!
Ohhh!!! I looooooooooooove it. McKinley Jo. Has the sweetest ring to it too. :)
By the way, in my family it's etta, but as first names. My mom is Donetta. My aunt Coletta and my aunt Vendetta. But, that's not cool like the middle name thing, so none of my cousins or I have carried on that tradition. If it was middle names? That would be so cool.
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