WHAT'S YOUR NAME
Baby name: A name that's uniquely hers
February 27, 2010
Kristin Rushowy
TORONTO STAR
The baby was born and they couldn't agree on a name.
So on the second day, Beth Graham and Ben Kepka used the whiteboard in the hospital room to make a list as they brainstormed possibilities for their daughter: Noelle, Mia, Angelina and at least a dozen others.
Then, out of the blue, Kepka said: "What about Porsha?"
"I just got a little butterfly in my stomach and said `Yes, I think that's the name,' " says Graham. "I always loved really unique names. I would never name her Katie or Ashley – not that those are bad names, but that's not what I wanted."
She didn't like the regular spelling, Portia – "this might sound weird, but it looked like a witch name" – so changed it.
Porsha Rosaria Graham-Kepka was born at Mississauga's Credit Valley Hospital on July 7, 2007. She weighed 7 lbs., 13 oz.
Rosaria is after Graham's grandfather Rosario; she only recently found out Rosaria was her great-grandmother's name, too.
"I actually have no memory of him – he died when I was 3 – and I only had one grandparent, which was his wife. I've always wished that I met him, I heard a lot about him and wanted to pay tribute."
People either say one of two things when they learn Porsha's name: "Did you name her after the car?" or "Is that after the character in Shakespeare?"
Graham's mom's reaction? When given the list, she said: "I like all of them but I don't like Porsha."
Needless to say, grandma has grown to love it.
"It wasn't a name (my family would) pick, or see me picking, but definitely she couldn't be any other name now," says Graham. "I think everyone would agree, our perfect, lucky baby born on 07/07/07, couldn't be any other name but Porsha."
Did you recently have a baby and choose an interesting or unusual name? Email krushowy@thestar.ca.
Toronto Star