What's in a name?

Dear Miléna,

Picking out your name was not an easy task.  We had no idea what to name you.  Your name is the first thing people will learn about you.  Giving and receiving a name is an event of major importance.  This will be part of your personal identity.  Your dad and I didn’t take this task lightly.  We took as many moments as we had to really come up with the perfect name for you.   We truly wanted to see you before we officially chose a name.  I had a short list in my cell phone of names and their meanings.  Occasionally, your dad and I would come across one that struck our interest. I would look the meaning up and add the name to the list.  We wanted something feminine.  We didn’t want to give you a name that every other little girl had, but we also didn’t want to give you a name that was so too unusual. Eventually, we had to choose a name from the list. One of our favorite names on the list was Miléna. Our families were all so anxious to know what your name would be, but we kept our list to ourselves.  Your dad and I wanted to see you and hold you before we decided 100% on your name.  When we saw you, we knew your name was Miléna Jean. Pronounced “Mil-Lay-nuh”, It was perfect: strong, feminine, unique.  And the meaning was perfect.  Miléna means love, warmth, grace… all of the things we do our best to live by, all of the things you have already taught us so much more about. You are our love. Jean is after Kiley's late mother's name, Jeanne as well as his grandmother's middle name.  It means "God is gracious" in Hebrew.  We chose your name because it’s strong, but it has such a sweetness about it at the same time.  We love your name, sweet MJ. I hope you come to love it as much as we do.