Naming
Our Baby: How
one family found the perfect name
by Lisa Coleman
My
daughter's name is Gabrielle Joli. She was born
on November 8, 2000, but the name was chosen
long before she was born. Early on, we decided
that we wanted our baby to have his or her own
name. We did not want to name her after anyone.
However, my husband, who is named after his
father and grandfather, wanted at least one
child to have his initials, JWC. Like most men,
John wanted a boy. His was a more urgent need
than most -- his brother has three girls and
there are no men to carrying on the family name.
John
came up with several names for boys and one
or two for girls, all with the initials JWC.
I liked Justin Wesley for a boy, but hated Jasmine
for a girl. I had not thought of any names for
a boy, but always liked the name Gabrielle for
a girl. Gabrielle is feminine, but not too "girly."
It's a name that is fit for a CEO, a teacher,
or the President. And, unlike my name, Lisa,
there are not millions of girls and women with
the name Gabrielle.
While
making sure that my baby had no chromosomal
abnormalities, my doctor determined that I was
having a girl. I was just happy to find out
that my baby was healthy. My husband was focused
on the fact that there would be another girl
in the family. So I took my opportunity and
said that I wanted to name her Gabrielle. John
agreed. By that time, he was indifferent and
pinning his hopes on our next child being a
boy. My mother and aunts mentioned more than
once that they liked Gabriela better than Gabrielle.
My mother also suggested that we use her maiden
name, Simanca, as a first name. However, I felt
that they had the opportunity to name their
kids, and this was ours. By the way, no one
in our family is named Gabriela or Simanca.
My
daughter's first name has been Gabrielle from
the time that I was four months pregnant. So
what about a middle name? Well, I received suggestions
on that name too. My mother thought that it
would be nice to use my grandmother's name,
Marie. I liked that too, but John was not excited
about it. If there is one thing that I learned
during this process, it's that everyone wants
to give you their suggestion, including husbands.
It was hard enough considering John's opinion.
I did not want to have to consider anyone else's.
Someone
suggested that we combine our names to come
up with a name for our baby. I thought the suggestion
was stupid at the time. I wanted my baby to
have a normal name; not one that we made up.
Later, I changed my mind. It was either the
hormones, or my need to make a decision and
move on. We sat down and talked about combining
John and Lisa. Hence, we came up with Joli.
We got mixed reactions from people about the
name. Some thought that it was creative. Others,
particularly my family, thought it was dumb.
They were not convinced when I mentioned that
there were actresses with the name: i.e., Joely
Fisher and Angelina Jolie. So, I ignored the
naysayers. I liked my daughter's name, Gabrielle
Joli.
After
referring to Gabrielle by her name all those
months before she was born, it seemed to fit
her perfectly. Gabrielle means "God is
my strength" and Joli means "pretty."
She is pretty, if I do say so myself. But I
could not wish for more than God giving her
strength. With His strength, she can do anything.
Lisa Coleman is an attorney who resides in California
with Gabrielle Joli and her husband, John.
July 15, 2001
