I LOVE my name

I LOVE my name. Is that self-absorbed to say? I don’t think so because I had no part in picking it. My first name is Stella, after my great-grandmother on my dad’s side, and my middle name is Lucille, after my great-grandmother on my mom’s side. While I never consciously knew either of these women, my family always speaks of them with so much love and praise. I feel honored to be named after them.

A big reason I love my name though is that it means starlight. Stella means star and Lucille means light. My parents knew Stella meant star when they named me, but they didn’t know the meaning of Lucille. It wasn’t until a few years ago when I was researching the meaning of my name for class that I discovered how unintentionally perfectly my parents paired the two. They didn’t plan that this name would manifest into a daughter who shops only for accessories that have stars on them.

One thing that I have grown to love about my first name is adults' reactions to it. Most often an adult will meet me and automatically start hushed screaming stellaaaaaaa as if they’re yelling from a balcony like Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire. Every time I just kinda stand there and smile as if that wasn’t the thousandth time I’d heard it. Younger generations might be reminded of the same scene recreated in Over the Hedge when Gladys screamed at Stella the skunk, but maybe I’m the only one who remembers that.

My favorite tagline I’ve been given was from my brother’s soccer coach who would always ask me how I got my groove back. This was of course a reference to the film, How Stella Got Her Groove Back. As a dancer, I liked this reference because it felt the most intentional and gave me the chance to bust a move.

Another fun fact about my name is that almost every other Stella I’ve met has been a dog. I don’t know why my glamorous and elegant human name has become such a common pet name, but it has.

I think names carry a lot of significance. I am so thankful to have a name that I love and that I think suits me so well. I am bright, outgoing, and optimistic and love shining spotlights on how awesome my family and friends are. I am also lucky to not have the problem of people messing up pronouncing my name (at least my first name, my last name is another story), but if someone pronounces your name wrong, correct them. You deserve to be called exactly what you want to be called! You were given that name for a reason.

My current hope is that my “quirky” unique baby name ideas aren’t stolen by a million other parents or by a Disney character before it’s my turn to name a child.