Zaira. I don't know what it means. I don't care. I want to name my daughter Zaira. Maybe spelled with an X. I want my daughter to have a nickname and be able to shorten her name (a luxury I have never had). I want to torture daughter's teachers with her name that is hard to say. I want my daughter to be as beautiful as her name. I can't picture my child because children are foreign to me, but I picture Zaira as an adult who is similar to me in many ways but different in so many others.

I picture her being confident and a strong person (something I fear I will never be), but still being a loyal, sweet, nurturing individual. I imagine her patiently trying to explain to her peers how to say her name and explaining that her mother had a friend from Peru whose name was similar and who always made her happy. I imagine her telling people how her mom loves her name and sometimes is wandering around the house saying it because she loves it so much. Her mom's book characters are named after her and her siblings (because once you start, apparently you can't stop) even though they were written before they existed because her mom knew what she wanted. I can imagine my child, one day a grown-up, telling me she loves her name and asking for the millionth time how I came up with it.

I got curious and googled it so I would at least give my future offspring some accurate information about what it means (because what's a name without meaning?). Zaira means "dawning" in Italian, "rose" in Arabic, and "pilgrim" in Persian. I think that it means rose because my name means night rain, and if I can find a mate with a name that means morning dirt, I can say we grew our kid. I dunno, I have lame, complicated mom jokes. I know her name has nothing to do with the meaning and everything to do with a childhood friend whose name was really pretty and I always thought she was adorable (even though she hated being called that). I know my kid's name is also chosen because of yell-ability (because who doesn't like shouting at their kid just for the fuck of it) and that seems like a fun name to be shouting until one of us dies. Plus, I know that I may have punched my husband to have this name because theoretically, we have to agree to it.

But yeah, I love the name Zaira. I think it's amazing and I would love to name my daughter it because I love the name and think it is pretty. And if you are curious as to how to say it, it's like Kyra but it starts with a Z.

My favorite name, is Vera. My great grandmother and her family came to America from Sweden in the 1920's. Her name was Jeannette and she had two sisters, Hellen, and Vera. To me, they are all beautiful names, but Vera...Vera is the name of a beautiful viking princess who is strong willed, but caring. Vera is firm yet gentle. Vera is the name of someone who stands up for what is right and fights for what she believes in. Now I did not know Vera, but I know her name, and that is all I need.

Samuel is my favourite name. I love the way it sounds, its soft and elegant, rolling off your tongue when you say it. I also love the cute nicknames that go with it too, Sam or Sammy.

I have a nephew who thinks his name is Samuel when it isn't his actual name. It's the cutest thing ever when he says my real name is Samuel and asks everyone to call him Samuel.

I love it so much, I gave it as a name for one of my characters.

I’ve always loved the name Madeline, which means “high tower.” This is a lovely classic name with an old-fashioned feel to it. It makes me think of the type of girl who might enjoy sitting in the park eating fresh peaches, and who wears lace dresses and has curly blond hair.

I’m not sure why, but I’ve just always loved the way that the name Madeline makes me feel.