The Decision....

So I finally decided on a middle name for Olivia. It only took me FOREVER. I have spent a combination of many hours on babynames.com and also on a native languages site where I was looking for Sioux Indian names that went well with Olivia. Sioux names, as I soon found out on babynames.com, are incredibly hard to come by in the Native American category. Most of the names are Cheyenne or Hopi or listed as unknown. So I resorted to the native languages site and there was a lot of information there. not just on names, but on the Lakota and Dakota Sioux languages and such. So there was an option to inquire on names for a certain language and I emailed them with my criteria (not too long/too many syllables, she's my 1st child, it's for a middle name, etc.). I got back this list of names from them:

1) The traditional Lakota Sioux kin name for a first-born child is Winona for a girl (pronounced win-oh-nah.) Those kin names are becoming popular as first names in Sioux families these days, so it may suit you.

2) The Lakota Sioux word for a flying bird is Zintkala (pronounced zint-kah-la). The same word is Zitkana in Dakota Sioux if you prefer (zit-kah-nah). Many famous Sioux women have had Zintkala or Zitkana as part of their names.

3) Tashina (pronounced tah-shee-nah) is a popular Sioux girl's name that means "her shawl."

4) Chante (pronounced chawn-tay) is a Sioux first name that comes from the word for "heart."

5) Kewapa (pronounced kay-wah-pah) means a water lily in Lakota Sioux.


I thought they were nice, but just couldn't see myself naming her Olivia Kewapa or Olivia Tashina. So I finally decided not to take that route.

If you are still wondering why i was looking for Sioux names, she's going to be 1/4 Sioux when she is born. As well as being 1/4 Irish and then 1/2 Mut (as i call myself lol). She's gonna be beautiful and I can't wait.

Anyways Maybe I will use a Sioux word/name as a pet name when she develops her own personality and spirit. Afterall, the Native Americans usually werent given their names till they were older anyways. But I do want Olivia to have a sense of her heritage. I don't think it will be possible to trace her ancestry, but I just want her to have an awareness of the culture because I find it all very fascinating too.

OK so then I had a list of names the I had pulled off of websites and people have soo freely offered me their advice lol. People suggested Olivia Grace, Olivia Rose, Olivia Ruth, etc. and As much as i like those, lol the middle names are taken haha and I didn't like how mom's name sounded as a middle name. It's much better suited for a first name. So I started to narrow down my list and somewhere (and I'm not even sure where) I found her middle name.

*drumroll please* :)

Olivia is going to be named - Olivia Gabrielle. I personally love it. I love how it sounds, and I love how I can hear myself yelling it out loud (yes that WAS one of my criteria - I had to hear myself yelling - OLIVIA GABRIELLE W****** GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW! hahaha). So her first name means a couple things, my favorite meaning is peaceful. Kate's favorite meaning of Olivia is Elf Army. I still refer to her 1st name as meaning peaceful. And Gabrielle means God is my strength.

All of that to say. She is gonna be here any day now and I'm naming her Olivia Gabrielle!!! I CAN'T WAIT! :D