The naming of cats
The guy who lives on ground floor loves cats. He has so many that I have lost count, and the kits keep going in and out of his apartment roaming around the parking lot. There is Phantom Menace (in the picture, who must have been named by the pigeons she mercilessly hunts), Anakin (a grey male of very peaceloving disposition), Vader (a black one, of course). Today, as I was leaving the building to take Bernardo to the educational psychologist office, I found someone new. A wide eyed, green eyed, tabby baby. I fell in love immediately. "What is her name?", I asked to the old nerd sitting by the window. "Padme", he answered looking very happy with himself.
It makes sense, I guess. Names are always there for a reason, though often they seem hard to fathom. Take my name, for instance. If I were a boy, I would have been named Antonio, like the father of my mom, a dear fellow. I would have been fortunately spared of the fate of being the third generation of Florianos, like my father and his father, and of having the nickname of "Flor" (Flower). Not very manly, is it? Floriano is a funny old name, which became trendy in the beginning of the 20th century because of our second president, Marshall Floriano Peixoto, which entered history by the nickname of the "Iron Marshall". I wonder if his wife, like my mother, used to call him "Flower" too. History books don't mention that.
But I came to the world as a girl. Instead of choosing some old family name like Lourdes (my recently deceased grandmother) or Germinda (which would be worth a rebellion in my teen years), they named Livia. There is also a reason for that, and it doesn't have to do with poisoning queens of the Roman Empire. My father likes to read. One of his favorite books is called "Dead Sea", by Jorge Amado. The heroin is named -- guess? -- Livia. She is a shy, young bride who marries a reckless, fearless young fisherman This fellow had been singled out by Yemanja, the mermaid, the goddess of the sea. She protected him, but for a price. She takes him too soon to her abode in the depths of the ocean, and leaves young Livia a widow. Of course Livia becomes almost crazy with grief. But instead of letting it overcome her, she becomes a fisherwoman. She overcomes all her fears and becomes the skipper of her own precarious fishing boat, and the book ends saying that standing on the deck, she looked as beautiful and powerful as the Queen of the Seas herself. A strong woman, at least. Better than be called Pollyana, I guess.
My kids names also have a reason behind them. Luiz Fernando keeps my ex-husband family tradition of naming all boys Luiz. I wanted to call him Luiz Antonio, like my grandfather, but my ex-brother in law has the same name, and we didn't want to create mayhem in the family. I had good friends named Fernando, and I liked the sound of the combination. My father didn't like that at first. We just had had our first election for president in over 20 years. We all voted for Luiz Inacio (the present president), aka Lula, who was defeated by Fernando Collor (a right winged candidate). When I was at the maternity ward, my father asked me why I had chosen Fernando for the name of my child. He was pissed. I told him. "Well, father, I wanted to celebrate the return of democracy with a name that combines the two presidential candidates". Oh boy, he believed that. He believed it in such a way that he started to call my eldest Lula before he ever left the hospital.
Bernardo means strong as a bear. Considering that I almost lost this child and that he had serious health problems in his first times, I think it is proper. He is a fighter, a true survivor. And Isabel is my literary choice for a girl. It is inspired by the heroin of "Portrait of a Lady". Isabel Archer is smart, essentially good though short of means, full of amazing potential. It is true that life plays a mean joke on her, but doesn't it happen quite often out of the books?
Anyway, I am always curious to learn the origin of names. I think there are always good stories behind them.
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