Initially Mommy and Daddy liked the name Story. But this was before I was a wee little pea and the name was nothing more than a daydream. When Mommy and Daddy discovered I was a little girl in November 2006, they decided on Chloë which, when translated, means “blooming” or “in bloom”. My last name would be Mihaly, after Daddy, but they remained ambiguous about middle names.
They agreed on Noellë in February and mainly liked its symbolism of Christmas, especially since they consider me to be the greatest of all gifts! Chloë Noellë Mihaly sounded musical to them both and became their favorite!
It wasn’t until the nurse brought them the birth certificate application on Friday the Thirteenth of April, the day after I was born, that Mommy began experiencing a little indecision. After sleeping on it, she informed Daddy that she might want to add Smith as a second middle name in honor of my maternal grandparents. But both of them found the idea of four names cumbersome, thank goodness.
They brainstormed on names in the Smith family like Roxalana, Isabel, Elisandra (in honor of my paternal great grandmother, Eliza and maternal grandmother, Sandra), but nothing thrilled them. They thought about Christina, Kristen, and other names that began with syllables sounding like Chris, my maternal grandfather. At about that time, Chrysanthemum popped into Mommy's mind. Daddy liked it but went home to do some additional internet research. The more he explored it and shared what he found with Mommy, the more they discovered how it fit.
Mommy always liked the idea of naming me after a simple and elegant flower and Daddy always wanted to give his child a name as unique as I. Mommy was also kind of thrilled that the logic behind it followed that of my maternal great, great grandparents whose children were named after gems and greenery (Opal, Garnet, Ruby, Fern). Chrysanthemum would also serve as a namesake for three of my grandparents:
Chrys - for my maternal grandfather, Chris
San – for my maternal grandmother, Sandra
The mum – for my paternal grandmother, Janet
They decided to call me Chloë Chrysanthemum Mihaly. It was an elleventh hour decision, but one we are all very happy with. Chloë Chrysanthemum means blooming flower. It also is the city flower of Chicago, where we all ran our first marathon (I was in Bellyworld at the time)! Plus, there is an annual Festival of the Chrysanthemum in China. We are all going to go when I am four.
Daddy also discovered a children's book entitled Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. They thought it was simply a must-read and drove me to Barnes and Noble in Briar Creek to purchase it as soon as we were discharged from the hospital.
So as far as Mommy and Daddy were concerned, I had the most wonderful name in the world. A common nickname for Chloë is CoCo so if I want, I can have an alias. Even though Chloë was one of the most popular names in the United States in 2006 and tops the charts in Australia, Scotland, and Ireland, as names go, Chloë Chrysanthemum Mihaly is one of a kind just like me!
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