Zianne Eileen

Today, I’m here to share that meaning with you.

My children were destined to have unique names. As a Jennifer born at the tail end of my name’s 15 year reign as the most popular girl name in the US, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The Sherrys and the Debbies of the 50s get it. The Ashleys and Megans of my generation get it. And the Isabellas and Sophias of today just aren’t old enough to be annoyed yet. I’m sure Zianne will rebel against her own name someday and give her own kids more classic, sensible names, but she is stuck with her “weird” name that we happen to love. This is how it came to be…

My grandmother’s name is Zita Ann. She was named after her own mother who was also a Zita, so she has always gone by her middle name, Ann, to avoid confusion. However, all her legal documents say Z. Ann to represent her full name, and just for fun her license plate has always read “Z Ann” as well. One day, long ago, I was looking at her license plate and thought that Z Ann would make a super cute name for a baby girl. At some point, before we were even married, I ran this idea past Micah, he loved it instantly, and it’s been our 100%-for-sure girl’s name ever since. {Although we never agreed on how to spell it, which is something we had to finish debating and experimenting with in the delivery room after Z was actually born…}

But there’s even more history to Zianne’s name that makes it extra special, mainly that she is a fourth generation Ann on my dad’s side of the family. My grandma passed her name down to her daughter in the form of Raeann. I was always close to my Auntie Raeann, as her family lived a few miles away from us growing up. Raeann and her family eventually relocated to Arizona, so we’ve had them nearby once again since we moved here three years ago, and we spend almost every holiday with them. However, Auntie Raeann died about a year and a half ago from swift and vicious cancer, and I’m honored to carry on her name and memory through Zianne’s name. And, of course, my middle name is Ann after my grandma, so Z is the 4th little lady to bear this name in the family line. But it gets better… Micah’s mom’s middle name is also Ann, so Zianne is named after her as well. And since we changed the spelling and added an ‘e’ to her name, she is also named after my Auntie Anne on my mom’s side, who is a darling aunt and was my pen pal throughout my childhood. I will always cherish her cursive letters mailed all the way from Hawaii. Clearly, our daughter was destined to carry on the title of Ann(e) in a family full of wonderful women who bear the name. We just put our own little twist on it.

And then there is her middle name, Eileen, which we picked simply because we liked it. However, we do have a funny and fond memory relating to the name Eileen when Micah and I first started dating many, many years ago. Picture this: It is our junior year of high school. Micah and I have just started to develop an unspoken crush on each other. We are in the car one night leaving a Young Life meeting with a couple friends, and the song “Come On Eileen” comes on the radio. Micah, whom I would have described as reserved and stoic up until this time, suddenly cranks the radio volume and begins singing the song as loudly as he can from the front seat. I am taken aback, as this was my first hint that my someday-husband was not quite as introverted and quiet as I had assumed him to be. Now we sing “Come on Eileen” to Z as we change her diaper, but we change the words to “Zianne Eileen.” Over the years, we’ve forgotten the lyrics to the song, so we usually just sing a few lines from the chorus and fill in the missing parts with “doo doo doo doo.” I finally looked them up the real lyrics a couple of weeks ago and discovered they are mildly obscene! Oops! We need to make up new lyrics for the song and sing a special version to her, which is a mental activity I might tackle when I don’t have a two month old keeping me busy…

But most importantly is the meaning behind Zianne’s name… It might be a made up name, but the meaning behind it is very real. Zita means “seeker” and Ann means “grace” so we’ve decided her name means “seeker of grace.” Now, of course, you can’t seek grace in the sense that you earn it. Grace is a gift than can never be earned. However, we pray that Zianne will seek grace all her days… That she will give grace unreservedly to others. That she will delight in glimpses of grace around her and constantly thank God for His many gifts. That she will be a recipient of the grace of Christ and live a joyful life obeying and serving Him. And that she will share the Gospel of grace with others throughout her lifetime.

And Eileen means “bright one.” Although the nerdy teacher in me hopes this applies to her school performance, more importantly, I hope Zianne’s spirit and countenance are bright. I hope she exudes the love of Christ everywhere she goes and that she overflows with joy found in Jesus, so she is a bright light to everyone she meets, like a city on a hill or a star shining in the night sky.

My hope is that she’ll shine bright enough to bear a big name like Zianne Eileen with grace, joy, wisdom and laughter.