The Name Game

It took many, many months, but my husband and I have finally settled on a name for our daughter.

Haven Helene

I had a long list of requirements, as previously mentioned. We also wanted to give her a Norwegian name.

Unfortunately, Norwegian girl names are among some of the most awful I've ever heard, so I was having a hard time finding one that sounded pleasant to my American ears, yet still satisfied modern Norwegian ears (my husband's). Luckily, in a random perusal of my baby name book about a week ago, Thomas commented on a name I had underlined -- Hélène, one of my favorite French female names. It is pronounced ay-LENN in French. Take away the accent marks, and it is also a Norwegian name.

When he told me its Norwegian pronunciation (huh-LAIN-uh), I said I liked it too. And we decided to immediately set that name aside as her Norwegian middle name. Thankfully having one name picked out seemed to have gotten the wheels in motion with her first name because this past Friday, everything was settled.

Haven was my first choice and a name I had been holding onto stubbornly. Thomas finally gave in. Well, I shouldn't say "gave in," because he does like it too. He keeps talking about "Haven this" and "Haven that," so he definitely loves the sound of it. I think he was looking for something more perfect, but finally realized there was no such thing.

So there you are, Haven Helene.