What's in a name?

Everybody keeps asking me how we ended up deciding on the name September Persephone for our daughter. I'm never quite sure how to answer. We named her September because we liked it. And we named her Persephone because it so beautifully follows up on the sound of September.

Besides, it shortens down to Bob so nicely, don't you think?

Somewhere not to far along in my pregnancy, Andy and I were discussing baby names of an afternoon, and he commented that he'd met a girl named January.

"January Johnston?"

"What's wrong with that? I think it's a lovely name."

"Uhhh..."

"Well, in any case, we can't name her January, because she's going to be born in September."

We looked at each other. "September."

And from that moment, our little unborn child had a name.

I love the name September because the aural quality of the word evokes the crisp richness of the month itself. And those qualities of sound and colour and texture evoke the spiritual qualities that I want for my daughter. A strong femininity, a gentle, winsome, independence.

I guess that you could say that we named her September after her Aunt Sharon, although I didn't realize it until well after she was named. I'm a firm believer in cross-modal resemblances, and I do think that there really is a common quality to the word, the month, and the particular shade of womanliness.... but it was Sharon, with her glorious hair and love for the falling leaf that showed me that resemblance.

I love you, Anne-with-an-E. Come back soon and meet your little namesake.