Welcome Juno Kate!
Thanks to Kate of My Kids Eat Off the Floor for sharing the joyful sequel to her previous Reader Baby Name Story: A Pair of Meaningful Choices.
As promised, here is the naming story for our third daughter, Juno Kate!
Juno’s name story begins 3 years ago, when I was pregnant with our second daughter, Helena. Even though I had given my husband naming rights, I spent a lot of time online looking for names to suggest to him. I came across Juno on a message board and instantly fell in love – and then I started seeing previews for the Ellen Page movie. The movie was released about 3 months before Helena was born, so there was no way Jason would agree to naming her Juno.
When we found out our third child was another girl, I immediately went back to Juno. After almost three years, it was still at the top of my list. Jason was iffy about it, but finally agreed that this time, I could name the baby if he could have a Wii. Finally, naming rights!
I still loved Juno, but I wanted to explore my options, so I made a pretty long list of all the girl names that I liked. Some of the names on the list were Olive, Matilda, Ruby, Georgia, and Mabel.
I hinted on my blog about my “#1 all time favorite name” – and yes, it is Juno. I think of Juno as June with a party on the end of it; it’s a Roman name, which I think fits with my other two Greek names (Tempe and Helena); and it’s spunky like Tempe, but has classic roots like Helena.
As for her middle name, my full name is Kathryn, but I have never identified with Kathryn. I am definitely a Kate (even though I went by Katie for most of my childhood). Jason also has a little sister named Katelyn, who just happens to have a birthday a week earlier than Juno, so Juno Kate was a perfect fit.
I’ve already gotten a lot of “Juno like the movie?” comments. For the record: Yes, I liked the movie. No, she is not named after the movie or the character!
Kate, thank you so much for sharing the story of Juno! She is absolutely darling. And I’m glad that you got your pick this time. 🙂
What a lovely story!! I’m so glad that you got to use your favourite name. What a darling sibset.
The film Juno brought the name to light but it is an old and beautiful name and one that will stand strong with her for life. I’m a fan of all of the ‘June’ names. 🙂
“I think of Juno as June with a party on the end of it”
This is my favorite line…excellent name story!
I love the name! And she is gorgeous.
Congratulations!!
What about Juna? Anyone like it?
I’m not wild about Juna, but I love Junia and Juniper.
Oh I love Junia thanks. I’m an ex-pat in Italy where girls’ names are pretty much always with an a at the end. Plus you know pronunciations are different and so my name choices are limited. But Junia would be cute! 😀
Absolutely lovely!
And trading naming rights for a Wii? Deal! I’d make that deal any day!
A great story, Kate! And, for the record, even thought the movie is pretty funny, I’ll always think of the mythological Juno. You can thank my seven years of classics for that!
Tempe Joann, Helena Louise, and Juno Kate? What a stunning set!
Congratulations, Kate! She is adorable and Juno is such a sweet name. I like the subtle mythological/historical connection between your girls’ names (and their dad’s too! Just noticed that). And the different endings make them easy to say together.
I actually have a goal for none of my childrens’ names to begin with the same letter or end the same way 🙂
I think that is a great goal Kate!! Your daughters names are gorgeous, congratulations 🙂
I have the same goal! Since our first is Roseanna, that immediately eliminates a LOT of names should this next little one be a girl (including one of my all-time favourites, Honora).
Congratulations on a beautifully named family!
Thanks for this story, Kate! Juno is the top name my husband and I are considering for our daughter, due in March. I love the myth connection, the O ending, and the fact that it’s uncommon without being odd. I’m not thrilled about the movie connection–I liked the movie, too, but it has absolutely nothing to do with my love for the name and I don’t really want to hear about it from everyone. Anyway, thanks for your “June with a party at the end of it” description of the name–I love that! Congrats on the beautiful girl!
Go for it! The world could use more Junos 🙂 As for the movie reference, it’s not too bad and I’m sure it will fade over time. It actually bothers me way more when people say “Juno like the city?” (which is actually spelled Juneau) because our oldest daughter is named Tempe and our middle daughter is named Helena–but not pronounced like the city in Montana. We didn’t mean to stick with a “city theme” but I think people assume that’s what we’re doing.