"What?!"

That was my mom's exact reaction when my husband and I told her our newborn daughter would be named Esther.

The name's last surge in popularity was from 1893 to 1920, when it was ranked in the top 40. Hence, it probably conjured up for my mom more the image of a graying tutu than a rosy-cheeked 'opihi. Indeed, more than a few people have asked whether our child was named after someone in the family. Esther simply sounds mature for a little one, but monikers like Essie, Ess or Baby E never seemed to fit.

We chose Esther because my husband gravitated toward traditional, biblical names. I preferred uncommon ones with favorable meanings. After perusing several chunky baby name books, we created independent short lists. Voila! Esther was the only name to appear on both lineups.

It met all of our major criteria, being the name of a courageous Old Testament queen, yet remaining unique among the trendier Emmas, Madisons and Isabellas (Esther was ranked No. 298 the year our daughter was born).

Absent from the rankings is our keiki's middle name, Kiah, which could be mistaken for the similarly spelled automobile brand. Pronounced KAI-uh rather than KEE-uh, Kiah has a number of apropos meanings, including "season's beginning" in Swahili, "from the beautiful place" among Australian Aborigines, and "God is strength."

Our tot also sports a Chinese name bestowed upon her by her paternal grandparents. Yee Lum in Cantonese (Yi Lin in Mandarin) is a transliteration of Elim, an Old Testament oasis not unlike Hawai'i, with its refreshing water and welcoming palm trees.

Being planners, my husband and I had first and second choices of girls' and boys' names lined up weeks before our infant's due date. I couldn't imagine trying to come up with a suitable name right after the exhaustion of labor and delivery.

Others I know have experienced more haphazard naming processes. My maternal grandmother asked the nurse for her opinion, and they picked my mom's name from a magazine lying nearby. Given that my mom was child No. 8, perhaps my tutu had run out of ideas.

Friends of ours chose a name for their son shortly after he was born but changed it a few weeks later.

Others went home from the hospital with their bundle of joy still lacking proper nomenclature.

Finally, there are my paternal grandparents. To this day, my dad has no middle name because they never gave him one.

Attention parents: You are not alone in the name-giving game. It can be arduous to find one that has appropriate meaning, is easy to pronounce and spell, is neither too cute nor fuddy-duddy, doesn't rhyme with something offensive or make for an odd monogram, has positive associations (e.g., doesn't bring to mind an ex or a childhood bully), and is neither too hot (like the No. 1-ranked Jacob) or too not (like Dorcas).

No matter which name ultimately is chosen, however, it will stretch to embody the essence of the child as he or she grows up, and will be increasingly associated with his or her unique individuality. At least I know that now, when my mom hears the name Esther, the image of her pitter-pattering granddaughter is the only one that comes to mind.

Monica Quock Chan is a freelance writer who lives in Honolulu with her husband and daughter.

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