The Meaning Behind Hailey Marissa's Name

When we came up with our daughter's name, it wasn't easy for us initially to pinpoint a girl name we both liked. Josh liked more common names while I liked more classic names. We had probably had 3 names that we could go with for a girl but had double that many for a boy.

Before we found out that we were having a girl, we had a girl name and boy name ready for whoever God decided to have us be parents to. I (and many family members on both sides) was pretty sure we were having a boy, but we ended up having a girl. The moment I saw her on the anatomy scan I fell in love with my little girl. She already showed quite the personality and always made us laugh at every appointment. That has definitely translated to how she interacts in the outside world. I'll just say she has some strong preferences and is very strong for someone so small.

The name we chose for our daughter is Hailey Marissa. I didn't look at the translations of her name until after we made the decision for her name. For her first name, it just seemed like it was a God thing because the Irish translation of her name means "Wise One." Wisdom is something that Josh and I have prayed for from the day we met each other and in almost every decision we make. From big decisions (getting married, when to have kids, and moving to Florida) to smaller decisions, we wanted to be led by faith then by selfish desires. God has blessed us immensely through this despite some of the trials we've gone through.

Having Hailey is a great reminder of how we need to be wise with how we act and say whether we're around her or not and I think it's by no accident that we chose a name that means "Wise" for our daughter.

Now for her middle name. Normally, on my mom's side of the family, all the women have names that start with "M." As you notice, we decided that Hailey's first name will not start with an "M" because there are too many people with "M" names in both my family and Josh's family. Instead, her middle name starts with an "M" and it's extra special because we named her after both our moms who are very special to us. I've heard that Marissa has many meanings, but my favorites are either the Egyptian meaning for "Beloved" or Latin for "Little Mary." Hailey has been beloved the moment we found out that she was going to be part of our family (and the moment God knew she would exist in this world) and we love her more and more each day. Also, I find it funny because I go by Mary to certain groups of people so if my daughter ends up being anything like me, I hope it's the best parts.

So there you have it. Hailey's name is special as she is very special to us. We hope she learns to be wise and knows how beloved she is.