Eish!

<Insert Name Here> has a name inserted.

It is quite a seemingly difficult task choosing a name for your first born child but the Parental Units have made a decision.

<Sienna>

Or, given modern spellings, the options could range from: Psienna, Seehenna, Psyena, Seyena, Ciena, Siennah, etc. They did not specify the spelling and I naturally assumed that there might be a silent P in there somewhere.

Tradition often dictates a child’s name. I am from Dutch heritage so my parents had an easier time of it. As the second born child I got my maternal grandfather’s first name, my father’s first name and a surname.

In some cultures, the child is named after the man that sired them. In this case, <insert name here> could have been named Sienna Midgetson (had she been a boy). In others, the child is named after some or other occupational description. In this case, the poor thing would have been Sienna Yogayoda.

I for one am glad that this was not the case. Psyena Womble Yogayoda-Midgetson is thankful too.

In the absence of such traditional dictates, the odious task of choosing a name is quite challenging. Bella Bellingan would have been a stutterer’s worst nightmare. Polly Ester was on the shortlist for some time until they realised that she might get confused with a cheap suit. The more medieval names, once so popular with hippies, could have resulted in Analeigh or even Lilja Fokka. Anne Gry, Youdaman, Kyla Bunny, Sue Ridge, Poppy Cook … have all been shelved where they belong: on a shelf.

And so the lovely little  Sienna is officially welcomed into the world. We do hope you enjoy your stay.