Thursday, March 04, 2010

What's in a name?

When we went to Ukraine back in 2008, it hadn't occurred to us that we would have to give our 2 new children a new name before we could adopt them. Then we were given about 24 hours to come up with their names before the court date. We had two boy names that we were tossing around: Sean & Keith. Keith is my grandfather's name and we wanted to name our new children after my grandparents. Tyler felt that the name "Keith" was right for Nikita, so his name became Keith Nikita - Nikita was his given name. I still really like his name. A lot.

The girl name that we originally thought to use was Ekaterina, or Katya for short. We were going to name Keith's twin sister Katya, but then she was adopted by another family before we arrived in Ukraine. I didn't feel that I could use the name Katya again, so we looked for another name for our soon-to-be daughter. I knew that I wanted "Louise" for the middle name, as it is my grandmother's middle name. But the first name - we weren't sure what to use. My mom's name is Kris and Tyler's grandmother's name is Christine. I like girl names that end in "a", and the name "Kristina" was on a list of Russian girl names online, so we thought that it would be a good fit: Kristina Louise. Even though the name "Kristina" seems like a good combination of names - I've never cared for it, even from the beginning. I think that all parents should enjoy the names of their children - since they get to name them. I love the names Anna and Keith, but not Kristina. So after some discussion with Tyler - we have decided to rename our 2nd baby girl:



Iryna Louise

"Iryna" is her given name and we wanted to keep "Louise" as her middle name. The nickname for "Iryna" is "Ira" so I may refer to her as Ira in the future as well as Iryna. We are excited about this change. Isn't it a beautiful name? A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. It's better late than never to get the right name for my 3rd child, right? :)

12 comments:

Doriana Gray said...

That´s really sweet Jill. I hope that she adjusts to it well :). Did you ever find out if Katya ended up in the US as well?

Have been catching up on your blog- have been away from blogland a long time and not blogging yet....

Renia x

Carina said...

Wow, that's so awesome that you feel at peace with this decision. I hope the adjustment isn't too difficult--and the name is beautiful! I love it. I wish your family, especially Iryna, the best!

Sarah C said...

That is a beautiful name. I am sure she will love it.

Karen J said...

You got a whole day to decide?!?!?!?!?! We only got 20 minutes... and that was for four girls. You are lucky!!
Iryna Louise is a very pretty name!
Does she like it?

MoonDog said...

we have been playing the name game for weeks. Erics eyes glaze over when I mention names. Iryna is beautiful. and while Kristina is nice you are right in that Iryna is so much prettier. we go back and forth what to call our girls.

Rebecca Clerc said...

Drew and I fight over names really bad, so we don't even discuss them till the child is practicaly here, (and we have 9 mos), so I decide what name I want and then wait to fight with him over it. I wanted Kyler, of course he did not. We ended up with Dylan Kyler, but like you I could NOT get over wanting Kyler, so when he was 1 I told Drew I still wasn't happy with Kyler and he readily agreed to change his name to Kyler. (why he couldn't just do that from the start!!) Anyway, his name is still Dylan Kyler we just call him Kyler and it has been this way for a year and I LOVE it!! You gotta go with your heart when it comes to their names. Can you give me an idea of how to pronounce that? Ira I can do but not sure what to do with the Y, is it ear-e-na?

Mary said...

What a lovely name! I think it suits her very well :-)

MariaG said...

Iryna is a beautiful name and for her so special as it was her given name to begin with ... and connects her culturally to the Ukraine. Also it seems good that it sounds similar to Kristina (easier transition for her?).

I'm curious ... when in the Ukraine are you forced to re-name your children? If "yes" ... what's the reasoning?

'Love hearing about your family.

Maria (Canada)

Bogarantyú said...

So you are back a full circle!

I love the name Irina (or any related spellings) ever since I read Chekhov.Beautiful choice.

Maria said...

I LOVE her new name. Honestly I have to tell you that Kristina never seemed to really suit her. Iryna (love the spelling) is just awesome and perfect for her! You are right - better late than never. :o)

Queen Mother said...

HEY, what's wrong with Kristina? ;)

Anonymous said...

I knew that comment was coming sooner or later, Queen Mother. I liked the name Kristina. I also like Iryna. I am a little worried that many people will not know how to pronounce it. Oh well.

-Daddy