Monday, September 26, 2005

Names

Dan and I began talking about names we might like for our kids (if we have any and no, we are not trying). I told him that I would love to name our daughter "Xiomara." He was quite surprised by my response. I love my name. The older I get, the more I like it. I admit that when I was young, I wasn't that pleased with it. Most people would mispronounce it by pronouncing the "x" first. It's like someone saying the name Daniel, Dee-Daniel. Ridiculous, but none-the-less they did (and still do). The thought of putting any child of mine through that pain has made me stray away from that thought. But I just love my name.

Years ago, I went searching for my name to find out the origin and meaning. I came across a book that stated my name was Greek and it stood for "hospitality to strangers." At the time I thought it was comical that my name stood for that since I was waiting tables. Great, I'm meant to wait tables for the rest of my life! Not really, but there are a lot worst meanings out there. After the conversation I had with Dan, I was inspired to once again look-up my name. I was pleasantly surprised to find a different origin and meaning to my name. My name has a Spanish origin and it means "ready for battle."

I cannot begin to tell you how fitting that name is for me. Now I don't take as literally ready for battle, but as ready for anything that comes my way. I think that describes me very well. My closest friends might agree on this, also. Now more than ever, I would love to name my daughter, Xiomara.

Just for kicks, I also decided to look up the name, Xia (since everyone calls me that anyway). Xia originates in China and means "glow of the sunrise." How pretty is that? It is also very fitting because I love nothing more than to look at sunrises. I love how the sky, especially when it's full of clouds, has beautiful pink and purple colors right when the sun is coming out. It fills me with a blessed peace that just makes me love the world. On another website, I found that "Xia's" origin is Greek and it's a nickname for "Xenia."

"Xiomara" just became cooler. I'm glad my parents decided to give me this name. It's not common, which makes it more appealing to me. Something to keep in mind if we ever decide to take that step.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I knew one girl while I was in college that was named Xiomara, but being that I went to school in the midwest people called her "X" for short, which I always believed was nothing short of a butchering of a such a beautiful name. So from that point on I decided I would name my daughter Xiomara. Well 8 years later my wife is going to have a girl this January 06 and she will be named Xiomara, But I needed to know what it meant I was hoping it didn't mean "she who slept w/many men" or anything insane like that. So at my first search for the meaning, I stumble on to your site. Love the meaning and love the name even more now. Thank You.

Xia Diaz said...

I'm so happy to hear that you will be naming your daughter, Xiomara. It really warms my heart. I wish you, your wife, and soon to be Xiomara the best of luck. And thank you for spreading my name.

PS: You could always nickname her Xiomaraita or Xiomy like my parents tend to call me.

Anonymous said...

My, oh.. my! Aren't we a little full of ourselves?! LOL One thing... It probably doesn't stand for "modest"!!!