It occurred to me when discussing baby names with one particularly pregnant friend last week, that the OH and I missed out on all that with Country Bebe. I loved hearing how she and her husband had pooled their ideas and researched the meaning of names and their heritage, then narrowed it down one by one…
When I was pregnant with Country Bebe, we had quite a few early scans for various reasons, so found out he was a he, pretty early on. It was always a given that if we were to have a son, we would follow on the Southern Italian tradition from my husband’s side, of naming your first born son after your father. So, as we stood outside St Marys Hospital in Paddington clutching our grainy scans giddy with excitement, there staring back at us was Dante Marco Mansi. Dante after my husband’s father and Marco after my own daddy, Mark.
I guess we were SUPER lucky that we had a good name to inherit (thanks Nonna). If it had been awful I don’t think I would have been so willing to carry on the tradition. We managed to keep everyone guessing as to whether we were going to call him Dante until he arrived, which was lovely as we got to introduce Dante to Dante, face to face.
Here in deepest, darkest Devon you don’t find many Dantes. But I kinda like that. As a kid growing up, I never clapped eyes on another Lydia. In fact, I think it took moving to London before I managed it. I had a fierce pride in ‘owning’ my name, the fact I was the only one around – unlike the hoardes of Emilys and Lauras in my class – and I hope Dante feels the same way, too. It always surprises me when people comment on how ‘out there’ it is for a name, or how ‘unusual’ it is. Because it is so engrained in our family, I never bat an eyelid.
Although, unlike a lot of parents, we didn’t wait to meet our baby before seeing if our chosen name suited him, I really do think he couldn’t be more of a Dante. In Italian, it means ‘enduring’, which I love. He is such a quiet, stoic, sensitive old soul.
I’d love to hear how you chose your baby’s name? Or how you got your name? My mum chose my sister Francesca’s name because it was the character in a book she was reading when my sister was born! Do you know of anyone that hates their name so much they’ve changed it?! Let me know!
CF x
