Meaning of Ila Florence.

We have been asked where the name Ila Florence came from.  Kerry and I cannot remember exactly where we first heard the name Ila, but we loved it from that moment.  In fact, we debated between naming Ona Ila.  However, Ona became Ona and now miss Ila is Ila.  Thank goodness, because these girls definitely fit their names.  Traditionally Ila is spelled Isla.  Because we wanted to keep a three letter name theme going on with our girls, we landed on the I-L-A spelling.  Ila means “island” and sources (we like this one) debate whether it is of Old French or Scottish decent.  Either way, we are smitten by its simplicity and sound.  Especially when spoken by a certain 1 ½ year old.

Ila’s middle name, Florence, is simply a name that we have grown to love.  Kerry and I more recently became fans of the band Florence and the Machine.  Our baby girl is not intentionally named after Florence Welch, the lead singer of the band, or Florence Nightingale for that matter.  Although being named after the said founder of modern nursing would be pretty sweet.  However, the band name did get us giddy about the name Florence, especially after we discovered that Florence is a variation of the word Latin verb floreo, meaning "I flower or blossom."  I cannot recall the exact source, but when we read the meaning of Florence as, “to bloom or to bloom where planted,” we were sold. 

We are big meaning, word picture people.  Exhibit A?  Our ridiculously difficult name puzzle.  Forgive us.  Although we love the sound and look of the name Ila, its root meaning is a bit underwhelming.  Florence seemed to couple alongside the name Ila and paint this beautiful picture of a gorgeous girl blooming or succeeding in whatever and wherever God has her life to go.  Gets me all choked up just thinking about it.

So that is a bit of history on why our Ila Florence is known as Ila Florence.  It is funny because she just seems like an Ila.  Do all parents think this—that their kid's name just fit them from the moment that they are born?   I mean Kerry and I always joked that the name Ona would never work on a blonde. This before we had a blonde haired, blue eyed, hilarious toddler named Ona.  What do we know!  I guess, the one thing we can be sure of is that we are pretty crazy about both of these three lettered beauties. 

For our puzzle guessers (we love you by the way), does now knowing Ila’s name and the meaning behind her name help you understand the puzzle?  We be so sneaky, eh?    

Oh!  It was one of our favorite things that we did with Ona, so we couldn't resist beginning Project Ila—a weekly photo of Ila on a different fabric background—too.  You can follow along here and usually catch weekly outtakes here on the blog.  

For the love of baby girls and cute fabric!