Naming Maren Blue

Maren was born with a heart defect that causes "blue baby syndrome", because babies are born looking blue. Because of this, the nurses and doctors, and others, sometimes make a mention of her middle name and relate it to her heart condition. But Maren's middle name, Blue, was actually given to her many years before her birth. In 2005, when Jessica was pregnant with our oldest son, Oliver, we went through the naming process at great length for both boys and girls. At that time, Jessica and I agreed that if and when we had a girl, her middle name would be Blue. There is no one defining reason for choosing this name, rather than a family name, as we did for Maren's older brothers, Oliver Ellis and Ethan Christopher. It just felt right. Blue is a word with infinite potential reference points. For us, in no particular order, these include, but are not limited to: the sky; the sea; Joni Mitchell; Miles Davis; all blues music; Dylan's Tangled up in Blue and It's All Over Now Baby Blue; Dali's "Muchacha en la Ventana"; and, at least for me, Laker Blue.

Also, when Jessica was a baby, her family consisted of her mom and their dog named Blue. As legend has it, Blue would watch over baby Jessica on the beach while her mom surfed at Beacon's (surf spot in Leucadia). I guess we chose a family name after all.