The Names

We have no experience by which to judge whether naming one child at a time is more difficult, more interesting or more fun than naming three born together, but we sure did enjoy the process of trying to come up with names for our threesome. We actually have had the names for months now, testing them aloud and in combinations as triplets. Most of all, we wanted the pair of first and last names to sound good together, including with their siblings' names. We also wanted the names to be relatively easy to pronounce on sight and, because of family background and our experience in Ireland (where we got engaged), to have at least a hint of Irishness. Finally, we decided with triplets that a few special qualities would be appropriate:

1. Each name would be strong and singular, able to stand alone on its own and not easily abbreviated, so each child had his or her own distinct identity.
2. The names wouldn't be alliterative, including the identical twin girls.
3. The names would have something in common with one another to connect them as triplets, though in a subtle fashion.
4. Each child's pair of names would include a name we liked and a name with a special family link.

And we wouldn't tell anyone the names before the children heard them first (which drove some family members nuts, although we appreciated all the memorable suggestions, like Eartha, Winda, and Firer).

Our choices were:
Leo Francis: Leo is a name we like for a variety of reasons, while Francis is Daddy's middle name.
Rory Marí: Rory is a name we like for a variety of reasons, while Marí invokes the first name of the Dad's mother, Marion, and of his Godmother and great aunt -- Marí means the same as all three of their names and is the first four letters of grandma's name. (It's pronounced Mur-I.)
Danni Christine: Danni invokes Mom's stepfather's name, Danny, while Christine is a name we like for a variety of reasons.

The names connect in several ways to each other, but the key subtle connection is that each of the first names has the sound of the second syllable of the children's surnames in a unique way (e, y, i).

We hope they all go together well. And that the kids like them!

p.s. The kids are doing great, and Momma continues to recover nicely.