Week #29: Happy Easter, Y'all!

Happy Easter!  It's already Week #29 of EQM's pregnancy and she's looking great!  Baby Girl Mulvaney's mother is a petite little thing, but in a recent photo it was nice to see her sporting a big smile and an even bigger bump!  She looks super happy and healthy!

This week's name is represented by the traditional, fragrant flower that is a popular symbol of Easter.   This flower name of Latin origin conveys innocence, purity and beauty.   It also has a connection to Harry Potter.  I haven't read or watched anything about Harry Potter, but I do pay attention to EQM's interests.  It's no secret that she is a huge Harry Potter fan and I thought that just maybe she would be drawn to this name.  In any case,  it's a perfect choice for Easter and it could also be a really sweet name for Baby Girl Mulvaney.  

In my weekly search for names that can be showcased musically,  I've enjoyed listening to songs by many talented artists who were previously unknown to me.  This week I realized that it was time to broaden my horizons and pay more attention to the country music scene after discovering award winning artist, Clint Black, who penned this beautiful lullaby for his baby daughter.  I almost needed a box of Kleenix.

Happy Easter, y'all!

Clint Black

Week #28: Welcoming Spring with A "Virtue" Name

As we move into Week 28, spring is finally here!   While the snow from late winter storms continues to melt in the northeast,  spring promises welcome renewal from the cold, grey landscape.  We anxiously await a burst of color and new life from Mother Nature.   Think sunny trumpet daffodils,  graceful pink tulips and vibrant hyacinths!  In spring we can find beauty in everything. 

The name that comes to mind this week is a very popular choice of Latin origin that is considered to be one of the "virtue" names.  While it represents many things to people of different cultures, at its traditional core, this sweet but elegant name means "favor" or "blessing". 

A beautiful American actress who became the Princess of Monaco bore this name.  That's a pretty big hint, but if you're still curious, take a listen to these very tender verses sung by Dublin born Irish singer and humanitarian, Bono.  It wouldn't surprise me if Baby Girl Mulvaney's parents have put this "thought that changed the world" at the top of their list.   I just might hold out for this one.


BONO AND U2

Week #27: Keep Calm and Get Your Irish On!

     Selecting this week's name was easy.  It was clearly narrowed to a few choices that honor St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, whose feast day will be celebrated this weekend.  This week's choice is a very popular name of Irish and Latin origin, and like a few other names of similar etimology, it means "star of the sea."

     While St. Patrick's Day is not an official holiday in the United States, it may as well be in our family!  The day has great significance for Baby Mulvaney's dad and many of her ancestors from the Emerald Isle, which include the Mulvaney, McCormick, Kennedy and Martin clans.  In the Mulvaney and McCormick families, there are long standing traditions of how we celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  This always includes the Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Road Race and a full day and night spent at Grandma McCormick's house, just a few wee blocks from the site of the Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade. It is definitely a special time of year that is always celebrated with lots of family, friends and good food (and drink) at Grandma's.  Years ago, when asked to write about his favorite "holiday" for an elementary school assignment, Baby Mulvaney's dad wrote about some of those family traditions in his essay on St. Patrick's Day.

     While there are many beautiful Irish girls' names, this particular one is highlighted in a sweet, melancholy song that is the official anthem of Dublin City, Ireland.   It has a pretty tragic ending, but "alive, alive-o", the Irish have been known to cry in their beer!  A statue dedicated to herself was unveiled on June 13, 1988 during Dublin's millenium celebrations.  For you sports fans out there, this song is to the Leinster Irish Rugby team  what "Sweet Caroline" is to the Boston Red Sox.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Sláinte!
The Dubliners

Week #26: Inspiration from an Ancient Greek Poet

An ancient Greek poetess provides the inspiration for this week's name.  This poet may have been born as early as 6 BC and most of her work is preserved only on papyrus fragments.  (Papyrus.  I think that's the greeting card company that EQM really likes.)  The meaning of this name is "Maiden" and it should come as no surprise that its origin is Ancient Greek.   

A hint for the musicians out there:  This name peaked in popularity in the 1960's when Ray Peterson scored a Top 10 hit on the U.S. singles charts with his version of a country blues song first recorded by Bo Carter in 1928.  I personally like the jazzy blues interpretation by Wynton Marsalis and  Eric Clapton that they performed at the Lincoln Center in 2011.  The spectacular collaboration by these two music virtuosos  features the gruff and gritty vocals of Taj Mahal and a few outstanding instrumental solos by members of the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra.  

There are actually no celebrities with this name so Baby Girl Mulvaney could be the first!  Here are three versions of this pretty name:  the original, the most popular and my personal favorite!

Bo Carter (1928 - original)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJFRGTP7zwA


Roy Peterson (1960 - most popular)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thAbnp5EC-U


Wynton Marsalis, Eric Clapton and Taj Mahal (2011 - my favorite):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7eeb1MTkUY 

Week #25: We're Not Gonna Call Her "Twitter"!

For $5,000.00 would Matt and Elena let the Internet name their baby? As I watched the Today Show earlier this morning, I learned that the winner of this promotional contest on babynames.net is a teacher from the San Diego area!  WHEW!  Thank goodness it's not Matt or Elena!  Who would want to end up with a name like Twitter or Hashtag Mulvaney?!   You can read more about this story on http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/woman-wins-5000-for-letting-the-internet-name-her-baby.  

So for Week 25 I'm noticing that there are certainly a lot of beautiful names to choose from but it's a challenge to find names that are captured in the title of a song.  After a lot of searching, I've decided to go traditional this week and choose a beautiful name that is very common in both Spanish and non-Spanish speaking cultures.  The etimology of this popular name, which has many variations, is Latin and it's meaning is Star of the Sea.  This week's selection also gives a shout out to many of Baby Mulvaney's female relatives from the Quevedo, Mulvaney, McCormick and Fernandes families who proudly bear this name or some form of it. 

Enjoy this classic selection by the amazing Carlos Santana which finds itself at #96 on the list of Top Ten of All Time, and #2 on the List of Top Latin Hits of All Time.  What a fine name this would be!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBk9o9h8-XA

Week 24: Bright, Famous and Beautiful..

The selection for Week #24 (of EQM's pregnancy) is of Latin origin, as is the case with many names I have found.  It's meaning is bright, famous and beautiful.  A very talented Nicaraguan poet, essayist, novelist and journalist from "La Generacion Comprometida" (the Committed Generation) bears this name.   I don't personally know anyone else by this exact name, but here's a BIG hint for those of you who have some history with the Mulvaney family:  When my children were ages, 4, 7 and 10, a high school student from Asturias, Spain lived with us for several months.  Her name comes pretty close and she was certainly bright and beautiful (and still is)!  I don't know about famous, but  I'm confident that Baby Girl Mulvaney will be a star in our family and she will be bright and beautiful, no matter what her lucky parents decide to name her.  

The  music that introduces this week's name is just that:  music and no words.  French composer, Eugene Bozza, chose this name as the title for his elegant clarinet and piano duet. Bozza studied composition, conducting and violin at the Paris Conservatoire and is particularly noted for his wind compositions, having composed pieces for nearly all wind and string instruments (including the alto saxophone).  I'm guessing that Baby Mulvaney's classical music loving daddy will enjoy this piece.  Hopefully, Baby's Mom will too!  And who knows ... maybe they will surprise us all and give bright and beautiful Baby Girl Mulvaney this lovely little name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBMqgZ3oNz8

Week 23: A Spanish Lullaby for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was on Thursday and how could I pass up the opportunity to propose a name with such a lovely association?  In the last decade, this beautiful name has been on the list of the top 100 most popular girls’ names in both Europe and South America.  It has been a particularly favored choice in Colombia, where it takes top billing as the #1 most popular female name for the past ten years.  

The etimology of this name is Latin and its meaning is "strong and healthy."   Most of us know that St. Valentine is the patron saint of love and lovers, of young people and of happy marriages.  But did you know that St. Valentine is also the patron saint of beekeepers? This  would be a sweet name for our little “love bug”,  who might enjoy this tender Spanish lullaby by Latin Grammy Award winner, Carla Morrison:

http://lyricstranslate.com/en/valentina-valentina.html