Parents, how did you choose your children’s names?

TRIXY, Betsy, Rex — those are common and catchy names given to pets, plants or vehicles. However, coming up with the name of your child is a whole different ball game. Some parents quickly gain inspiration from their own names, or those of relatives and friends, while others spend months searching the Internet and books for a name. Either way, ensuring that the name chosen will be loved by you and your child, is what really matters.

Below, Jamaican parents share how their children got their names.

GM, dad to Garri-Ann:

She was given that name by my cousin who I helped raise and with whom I am close. That cousin was named after my uncle’s pet name, ‘Bob’, so she was christened Bobby-Ann. I guess the gesture was returned to me by naming my daughter Garri-Ann.

RL, mom to Danielle-Rose

She got the name ‘Danielle’ because of its meaning, ‘God is my judge’. The other part of her name was in honour of her grandmother, whose middle name is Rose-Marie.

CH, mom to Danielle-Amanda:

One day while taking a shower it was revealed to me. After she was born, she had some serious complications and had to fight for her life. That confirmed what was revealed to me and we gave her my mom’s middle name as an adjoining name, and that is due to the fact that my mom is a woman with a very strong character. Danielle-Amanda means ‘God is my judge’, and ‘worthy to be loved’.

CW, mom to Kaiden:

The name Kaiden means ‘warrior’, and also ‘companion’. When I got pregnant with my son, I was attending university and I felt like he was there along the way as my little companion and motivation to keep fighting and never give up. I remember nights bleaching in the library with my big belly before exams. His dad also has a nickname from high school, ‘Cry Cry’, which sounds a little like ‘Kai-Kai’.

AW, mom to Atalia:

I chose that name because I wanted her to have the same initials as me and her father. So I searched the Internet for a name beginning with ‘A’ that had a meaning relating to God. It means ‘the Lord is exalted’.

KE, mom to Velonique:

Her name was given to her by her father. He named her off of one of his good friends from his alma mater.

FO, mom to Aaron:

I chose the name because I really wanted to give my child a biblical name. Also, I had a really trying pregnancy with an unfaithful partner and my son was my ‘mountain of strength’ which is the meaning of Aaron. To top that off, everyone I know with that name is very handsome.