Our Daughter's Name

So, until now, I have been avoiding sharing the name we've pretty much been set on for our daughter because the first couple times I shared it, I was not impressed with people's responses and I didn't want other people's opinions to start tainting our decision... but now, with just a couple months left to go, I'd really like to share our daughter's name and why we chose it... I'll trust you to be sensitive about any comments you leave...

First, I have to say that finding a name that works in Spanish and English is a little challenging- names that seem outdated to us might be "modern" for my husband's family and so forth.

Also, some of you may remember that Juan Carlos and I bought a Yukon Denali a couple years ago (which turned out to be stolen and subsequently we lost $11,000) but ever since then, it was kind of a joke that Juan Carlos would name his daughter Denali after the truck...

I had always loved the name Daniella, after my dad, and because I loved the nickname "Dani" but Juan Carlos kept bringing up "Denali" as a name he really seriously loved. We looked up the meaning: "superior woman" and then he liked it even more, so, although we did not name her after a truck or the mountain in Alaska, Juan Carlos and I compromised on "Danali" so I could still call her "Dani" for short.

I really wanted a lot of things for her middle name- I wanted there to be an association with a saint (preferably Anne, because I had done a novena to Saint Anne to pray for another child) and I wanted it to have an important meaning and be "after" someone in the family. I considered Annemarie after my mom and Carlos's mom but the meaning wasn't what I wanted... I searched and searched and then I searched by meaning. I thought this baby is an answer to our prayers so I searched for "God answered" and I found the name "Eliana." It seemed perfect.

So, needless to say, our daughter's name is Danali Eliana Garcia Martinez (or you can call her "Dani" for short like me) ; )