Name Game

I know it's lame, but I need some help with girl names. Anyone got any good ones? Oh, please make all of your submissions be of the Yoruba origin. Thanks.

I am serious. Dapo is convinced we're having a girl. With Jimi, he was convinced it was a boy. We still didn't start thinking of names until after the news-breaking ultrasound that proved our suspicions. We knew it would be easy. Well, not that a girl name will be hard, except that I want to keep a family namesake going. Not Dapo's. Mine.

Enter the complicated equation: My grandma's name is Jane. My mother's name is Janette (notice the unique spelling vs. the more common Jeanette). And my middle name is Jane. So, it stands to reason I'd like to include some form of Jane in my daughter's name. Jane, by the way, means Gracious. And I've never known a more gracious, giving woman than my mother. If it meant "fern plant", "moon" or "mother of Hamlet" I wouldn't be so keen on keeping it around. But it speaks of the nature of God and the nature of good, giving women I know.

Dapo informs me there is no form of anything even remotely close to "Jan" or "Jane" in Yoruba. So, it looks like we'd have to do a two Yoruba, one English name. We thought about doing that with Jimi and then I said "Olujimi Ayomide Daniel" just sounds like we lost our train of thought, or gave up at the end. Hence, Olujimi Ayomide Toluwani was born. Besides, the third (and fourth!) name in Yoruba tradition is usually the name the grandparents give to the child. My parents chose to pass up their side of that opportunity. That was good since his full name already didn't fit on his Social Security Card.

I guess we could opt for the all English one first name one middle name more traditional in the US route, but then people might wonder if Jimi was adopted. Oh, Olujimi Ayomide Toluwani and Elizabeth Jane? Okay... Actually, I could just not give her a middle name, since here in the south everyone has two first names. Laura Beth, Betty Sue, Mary Beth, John Boy etc.

So, if anyone has any ideas on what we could do, please speak up.