Historical and family roots inspire parents
August 14, 2010
Kristin Rushowy
TORONTO STAR
History, mythology, family heritage — Tiffani and Kimmo Syrjanen managed to incorporate all of these into their daughter’s name.
“We tried to make her name something unique and something that people will always remember,” says Tiffani.
Tanys Aurora Alexandra Piia Syrjanen was born May 19 of this year in hospital near the family’s Whitby home. She weighed 8 lbs., 14 oz.
“(Tiffani) had the names picked out years ago,” says Kimmo. “I really like it, it’s not like the regular names everyone has and the whole name flows nicely.”
While people mistake it for Janice, when they find out what it is “usually I find myself having to explain where all the names come from,” he adds. “They all have a meaning.”
Tiffani, a teacher who majored in ancient history at university, said that as a little girl, she’d name dolls Tanys (pronounced tan-iss) — a “T” name just like hers.
“That’s just what I liked. When I went off to university, and I learned more about it, I went with it.”
Tanis is a city in ancient Egypt, but is more widely known from the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Aurora is the mythological goddess of dawn; one of Tiffani’s middle names is Dawne.
“Alexandra is my grandmother’s name, and my other middle name,” she adds. “That gets my Russian side in.” It also reminds her of the city Alexandria in Egypt.
Piia (pronounced bee-ah) is a nod to Kimmo’s Finnish roots.
Tiffani said when she met Kimmo and they started talking about having children, he liked Tanys right off the bat.
“Whoa,” she recalls thinking, “parents usually fight over names.”
Her love of all things ancient, however, doesn’t end there.
“Our dog’s name is Isis Cairo, spelled k-y-r-o,” she adds with a laugh. “It’s just all my connections to history.”
Did you recently have a baby and choose an interesting or unusual name? Email krushowy@thestar.ca