A Very Special Announcement
June 21, 2009
Today, on Father’s Day, 2009, I’d like to introduce our second daughter, Eulalie.
Eulalie is a dream baby so far. She’s a good sleeper and champion nurser, and big sister Beatrix is in adoration (mostly). The most difficult challenge thus far– and I include the birth in this– was what to name her. Evidently, you can call it “it”, even if it’s just for a day or two.
Papa says I am too involved in names and take the fun out of it. :-( I have to admit to feeling myopic.
The good thing is that I love so many different names, I would have been happy with many of them. Papa just wanted me to be in love with one. Yet after multiple exchanges, we still managed to have an unnamed child for 47 hours.
I went into the birth anticipating a Theodora should we have a girl. He’d never been wild about Theodora: he’d of course dated a Thea and can’t stand the Explorer, so we were at an impasse. But I figured hey, it was way more important to me than to him. After all, I do write a name blog… he’d get used to Theodora.
Trouble is, she came out looking nothing like a Theodora.
Our baby girl was born soft and delicate, with rosebud lips and cheeks beyond their weeks. Theodora was just too heavy a name to saddle on our newborn, and Papa was even less convinced than before.
So back to the drawing board were we.
“She’s NOT a Theodora”, he said. “Too harsh.”
My face belied both the pang of the prospect of leaving Theodora behind and the knowledge that he was right.
“She looks like a Rose”, I offered.
“Could be. I’m sort of meh on Rose.”
“Rosemary? Rosalie? Rosabel?”
“ROSEMARY?!? Sounds like an old lady. No, no, and no.”
“She really looks like a Posy to me. Josephine?”
“Joséphine c’est pas mal… nah, I don’t really love it.”
And then it started in earnest.
“Cassiopeia!” he offers.
“Sure.”
“Persephone?”
“Persephone’s pretty.”
“Gimme some Greek names.”
“Hermione!”
Blech.
“Thisbe. Evadne. Penelope.”
Blah.
“She’s not a Xanthe”, a name we’d discussed in recent weeks.
“I love Cecily.”
“To be honest with you Elisabeth, Cecily is a name I cannot stand” (this vehement dislike is news to me).
“Louisa?” he offers, knowing it was once at the top of my list.
“I love Louisa.”
“That ship has sailed though.”
“She does look like an Eloise.”
“Could be, I’m not that wild about it though.”
“She could be a Charlotte” (his perennial favorite).
“I know, she could be. But Charlotte’s much too popular in our state. She’s bound to have another in her class. I would want to call her Lottie.”
“Lolly?”
“I love Lolly.”
“What about Eulalie? he says with a French accent, the “eu” rhyming with the vowel sound in foot. You haven’t mentioned that one in a while.”
“I LOVE Eulalie. In English it’s yoo-LAY-lee though. Are you ok with that?”
“Sounds like ukelele.”
“I know. But there are worse things to be associated with.”
“What does it mean?”
“It’s from the Greek. Beautiful voice, good words, or sweetly speaking. It’s an old French name, very nineteenth century.”
“Eu-lah-lee, va au lit…” he sings gently.
“It suits her. I love it with Beatrix and our last name.”
“So Eulalie it is?”
“Eulalie it is.”
Image above by childrens’ book illustrator Eulalie Banks. Below, B+E.
Oh Congratulations!!! Eulalie is beautiful! And oh so perfect with Beatrix! I love your naming story, unnamed for 47 hours, wow! She sounds absolutely gorgeous. The picture of them is precious, as is the one of the mother and baby. I’m glad the birth went well, congratulations to the whole family!
Congratulations! What a beautiful name.
Ooh, congratulations. I love the names of both your daughters.
Congratulations to you and your husband on the new addition! It’s a beautiful, unique, most lovely name! Congrats too to Beatrix on her new title of big sister
Congratulations! What a perfect name to complement Beatrix. I had been wondering what the newest addition would be named. Happy Father’s Day to your husband.
Congrats! How absolutely fabulous – and I love every name, even the ones that didn’t make the cut. But Eulalie most of all.
From one Elisabeth to another, I send you many congratulations on the birth of your beautifully named daughter.
Welcome to the world Eulalie.
Congratulations from one Beatrix-Mama to another! I love the hand picture, and I’m sure the rest of her is just as gorgeous.
I love to hear a name story, especially from a fellow name enthusiast.
And I have to say, the longer I stick around this blog, the more impressed I become with your gift for finding an absolutely *perfect* picture for the top of every post. How do you do it?! It must take you as long as writing the post!
Such a beautiful name. You (both!) have impeccable taste.
Congratulations!
I’m so happy for you! I too loved the story.
Oh, congratulations! I’m so happy for you—and for sweet Eulalie. I think her name is gorgeous, and I’m so glad she arrived safely. Thanks for letting us know!
Many congratulations!
What a wonderful name
Elisabeth, again a huge congratulations on the birth of your daughter! She sounds absolutely divine, especially those lips and cheeks – just gorgeous! Eulalie sounds perfect for her – I have never heard the name before, but it is fantastic with Beatrix, and has a beautifully lyrical lilt to it.
Your naming process is so exciting to read – what great names you contemplated! I can’t believe I wrote to you less than a week ago about hubby and I finally agreeing on Theodora! (I never for a second imagined you might be considering the same name!) It is still holding strong for us, but I will make sure we have a couple of back-up names too, just in case we face the same kind of dilemma you did on the day!
Congratulations again to you and your well-named family
Thank you for sharing this story! I love the picture of B+E so much. Eulalie nn Lolly is breathtakingly sweet, and what a meaning. Welcome to the world, Eulalie!
Congratulations! I adore Eulalie.
Congratulations to you and welcome little Lolly! I’m so very happy for you and for your family! xoxo
Elisabeth, Congratulations to you and your family! I love the name Eulalie! It is so feminine and lilting. Very best wishes to you, your husband and big sister Beatrix.
Congratulations!
I’m dying to know – what’s her middle name? Does she have one?
P.S. Does this mean you can finally tell us which name combo you loved from the “Telegraphed” post?!! I am dying to know! I will place my guesses first:
Posy Clementine
OR
the sib set of Humphrey, May & Beatrice.
Yes? No?
Thanks so much everyone for giving Eulalie such a welcome!
Jane, I CAN answer you. Ivo William Casimir sang to me from the Telegraphed post.
Oz, sorry to be such a tease, but no, Eulalie doesn’t have one middle name. She has three– family names from both sides. Each name is French, but serendipitously is easy to say in English. Still feeling timid about sharing the combo in full online.
Congrats to your family! Eulalie is divine–so lovely and unexpected, and makes your sibset very inspired. Of all the choices, you absolutely went with the best choice! I’m not surprised, you definately have a knack for names!
I’m also curious to know what little Lolly’s middle names are! You shouldn’t be timid about sharing, those of us who follow your blog admire your style.
Again, I’m happy your new little love arrived safely, and with a lovely name to boot!
*shelly*
Congratulations on the birth of your child and the announcement of her name Eulalie. Thank you for sharing the thought process between your husband and yourself. Without a doubt you both came up with some splendid names! Your expertise came through when it mattered the most. I am glad to hear that you took the time to look at your new daughter before naming her. It seems that has made all the difference.
Wow wow wow…. lovely news and many congratulations.
I think the name Eulalie is delightful, and I am certain your daughter Eulalie is a delight and more.
Eulalie is lovely! (Something I haven’t considered as instead I adore Eugenie, pronounced the French way. It is my current number one).
Best wishes.
Zoe
Congrats!
Little Eulalie is lucky to have such a beautiful and well considered name.
I like it pronounced the way you said – with the ‘Eu’ pronounced like the ‘oo’ in foot. And I think you might finf Eulalia in our top 10 names too.
How do you like Edward and Eulalia?
Edward and Eulalia is just perfect! Yum.
Congratulations, Elisabeth! Beatrix and Eulalie are lovely together.
I’m just curious…Did you have the same issue with naming Beatrix? Did you decide on Beatrix for sure before she was born, or did you pick Beatrix when your first choice name didn’t seem to fit? I’m wondering how often it happens that the name one has chosen doesn’t seem to fit one’s child.
My husband and I are expecting a baby in January, and so far we’ve decided that by then we want to have settled on one “first choice” name but also go in with a list of several backup choices just in case he or she doesn’t look like the name we’ve picked out.
Again, congratulations!
Emmy, with our second baby we called my stomach Sophie for 3 months but when she emerged she just didn’t look like a Sophie to us. Somehow (and I think because of the pain meds) she became Avery and the name really suits her, though I am now slightly dismayed that we picked a name that was on such an upward trend. For several weeks after she was born, though, I would catch myself calling her Sophie.
With Beatrix, Papa came to me the day before my due date and said “Ok. I can’t stand it anymore. WHAT is my daughter’s name going to be?” He asked me for my three favorites, and from those he chose Beatrix. We stuck with it because she when she was born I remember thinking that she could pull it off. She did get a surprise middle that had not been considered until we saw her.
Congratulations! You daughters both have beautiful names. Wishing you pleanty of rest and sweet baby kisses.
Eulalie is a delightfully sweet choice. It makes me think of the beautiful painting by Waterhouse, the martyrdom of St. Eulalia. I am pleasantly refreshed. Thank you for giving your child such an awesome name.
Sebastiane (gorgeous, btw),
Thank you for pointing me in the direction of the lovely Waterhouse! I got excited when I read that, but I suppose it’s a little too gruesome to hang in a child’s room. Still, some day Eulalie will know of it.
So pretty! I love it! I’m new here so i was wandering, do you live in france?
congrats on a beautiful (sounding) baby girl
~Bree
Hi Bree,
I’m fairly certain that Elisabeth does actually live in America, not France.
Great names, Elisabeth! Eulalie is sure to be the only one in her class. I hope you’re feeling well.
COngratulations, its a fantastic name! (As is Beatrix) Wishing you well and hopefully lots of sleep!
Thank you for sharing that wonderful story! Eulalie is simply divine. It’s meaning fits perfectly, it just sings. Congratulations to you, Papa and little Beatrix.
Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful baby girl, and on choosing such an inspired and beautiful name! This is the first time I’ve heard the name Eulalie, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. It also fits perfectly with Beatrix, which has long been a favourite name of mine.
Please do share Eulalie’s middle names. I am sure they are equally lovely…
~Siobhán
PS. Are you able to share what you would have named Eulalie had she been a boy?
Eulalie might have been a Luc, an Olivier, a Frederic, a Gustave, or a Ferdinand! Ferdinand was a recent revelation of Papa’s, but I quite like it. Too much for a young man? Any favorites from here? Maybe I should start taking votes now.
Ooh, they’re all wonderful names! I personally love Luc, being a mother to a Luca! Olivier is beautiful too, and Ferdinand is a name I could see becoming more popular – it’s quite funky! I also like Gustave a lot, and it could be shortened to Gus, which is very sweet. The only name I’m not so crazy about is Frederic, perhaps because I’m not so keen on Fred as a nickname…
I love Freddy. It’s a tough call though whether a son in the States would appreciate Freddy or Ferdinand. Come to think of it, Freddy could actually be an easy nickname for Ferdinand. I was considering Fritz.
Congratulations on your newest addition with a lovely name!
I love that your husband is Papa as is mine (he is french canadian). It is a rare name to hear nowadays but IMO there is nothing sweeter than a little girl’s voice squealing “Papa!” when he walks through the door.
OH wonderful news, and a beautiful name!
And I do like the nickname Lolly
Warmest congratulations, and wishing you continued good sleep patterns!
Gustave! Big thumbs up from me.
Beautiful name! I could never use it since I associate with a P.G. Wodehouse novel, but it’s lovely all the same.
Congratulations. Beatrix and Eulalie sound like such sweet sisters. *Love* the pronunciation of Eulalie en français.