Guest Blogger: Raya

Today our guest blogger is Raya.  Please welcome her and enjoy this post! :)

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Too Many Middles- AKA How I Came To Love Two Middles

For a long time, my top two names for girls were Gina Lorene and Charlie Beth. Gina was a shortened version of my grandmother’s name of Virginia. Lorene because I had a great aunt named Lorena. Lorene has been in my family for three generations. Charlie is a nickname that I always wanted a daughter of mine to have, but the name Charlotte is unusable to me. Beth has always been a sweet nickname that I thought would sound great as a filler middle name.

As time went on, I realized that I really liked the name Charlie Beth Amira. However, I shudder to think about using two middles! I always assumed it was for people who couldn’t make up their minds. But Charlie Beth Amira kept insisting that it belonged on my list, so finally I decided to put it on there. There it was: my number 2 name had two middles on a list of names with one. It looked so out of place.

Soon, Gina Lorene started to sound bad. It was so rhymey. I decided that it needed a name to go between Gina and Lorene. I went through many names, most notably Paola, a variation on my mother’s name. However, the one I decided on was there all along underneath my nose. The name was Alessandra, number 4 on my list. It went well with Gina and Lorene didn’t look so bad attached to it. My number one girls’ name is Gina Alessandra Lorene.

Well, now Gina Alessandra Lorene and Charlie Beth Amira do not look like they are from the same family. Gina could stand on its own as a name, even though it is often a nickname, but Charlie looks so informal. Charlotte was out of the question, so I went to a name I had as a middle on my list. The name was Caroline.

Soon, Charlie Beth Amira became Caroline Emmanuelle Paige, still with the nickname Charlie. The reason I choose Emmanuelle is because I thought that it complimented Alessandra in my top name. Emmanuelle is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it works as a long middle and I find it breathtaking. Paige is a nod to my mother as the first two letters are the same in her name and she really loves the name Paige.

My top two names are ones I am really proud of: Gina Alessandra Lorene and Caroline Emmanuelle Paige “Charlie”. Gina and Charlie. These will be my daughters.

Thanks for reading my story and I’d like to thank Jamie, Ali, Jaylyn, and Kirstie for allowing me to share my name story in their blog. J