I’ve always felt like it’s a big responsibility to name something. Perhaps that’s part of loving words. Their sounds. The shapes they leave in the air.

Names have the the ability to create unique meaning.

So, it was slightly embarrassing not to have settled on names for the girls until, oh, about two weeks before they were born.

People started asking us early on if we had names picked out. Had they been boys, the answer would have been yes. (If you ever need any boy name ideas, I’m your gal.) But somehow, when it comes to girl names, we come up short. Case in point – we didn’t fully decide on Ellis’ name until the car ride to the hospital.

So why did we choose what we did?

1. Meaning. I’m a sucker for meanings. A lot of cultures name their children based on some sort of current circumstance or future hope. I’m really tied to the importance of this, so it’s the number one question I search out when I hear a great name. What does it mean?

2. Sound. For a while, we were strongly considering a lovely, unique, very Swedish name that sounded great with Lucia. But after a while, we agreed it felt too guttural. The test? I pretend I’m at the playground, yelling my girls’ names. If I don’t like the way they sound, I start to get cold feet. Because let’s be honest – there’s going to be a lot of calling their names in the coming years.

3. Normality. Yep. Call me boring. But I don’t want my daughters to be the ones in the waiting room of the doctor’s office while the nurse stumbles through the unique or phonetic spelling of their name. I don’t want them constantly having to correct people, or feeling like their name was a secret joke their father and I played on them in the ’00’s. (Dear North West, I’m sorry.)

So after months of calling them Baby A and Baby B, it feels great to give them proper names. And to stop referring to them as letters in the alphabet.

Baby A – Gabrielle Rose: God is my strength. (nn – Gabby)

Gabrielle held her position throughout the pregnancy, always maintaining her head-down-side-curl status in my stomach. This was a source of strength to me, because her positioning made it possible to birth both babies without surgery, and I’m very grateful for it.

Gabrielle has dark hair and a rosy complexion. She flushes deeply, and has a slightly more oval face than Lucia. At this point, it’s pretty easy to tell them apart, despite their being identical.

Baby B – Lucia Grace: Carrier of light. (nn – Lucy)

Have you ever hiked in the dark? It actually works better if the 2nd person in the line holds the flashlight, because then both hikers can see where they are going. It requires trust from the person in front, but if the light is aimed correctly, the going is easy. This is my Lucy – bringing light to dark, making me laugh at her goofy position changes through the pregnancy, moving constantly, reassuring me everything was fine.

Lucia has light hair and a fairer complexion. Her face is round, her cheeks full, and her eyes are slightly more almond-shaped than Gabrielle’s.

Two girls, two names, two sets of meanings and hopes.

Sometimes, I still can’t believe it.