In 2010, I was pregnant with my son and right around March, we were
back and forth about what his name would be. I wrestled with needing
a name that people here in the United States could say with confidence
( a name unlike my own), yet one that captured who my child was to
become. My husband felt strongly that our child honor his brother
Darío, who my husband adored through a difficult childhood, and
continues to look to. While they were raised in difficult times that
left them separated from a young age, they are nonetheless, bound by
an intimacy that I might never know. So at least part of my son’s
name would be Darío. My husband immigrated to the United States in
2001 from Colombia, South America. For all of our life together we
have lived between two worlds, the Spanish language we share in our
relationship, the Colombia he recently left, and the life we have here
in Milwaukee. Our life is full of dichotomy. I knew my family would
struggle with Darío and had nightmares of school bullies transforming
Da-ri-o into Da-rio, or worse Dia-rio or Dia-ria, and the
into diarrhea. Fears from my own experience where Deirdre became
“dirt tree” ( Irish name given by my Irish mom and Irish-American
dad-thanks guys!). I knew name selection would be important to them
because they had a right to be able to say their only grandchild’s
name correctly and with confidence, and to see themselves in it. We
settled on adding Líam to Darío to call our son Líam Darío García
Melody. The best of us all is in this name. The irony of his name is
that in Colombia the family calls him Lí-An, and here, my English
speaking parents call him Darío. We mostly call him Líam Darío, or
papi. Here is what I have noticed about Colombian naming (disclaimer:
I am not a real Colombian). Many Colombian’s have place-holder names
like: Juan, María, Dana etc. Names never intended to be used, but just
there to accompany Camilo or Isabela (Juan Camilo and Dana Isabela). Our son’s name follows that
pattern, or cultural detail, in that his name Darío is more his first
than is Líam, which is often dropped. I introduce my son as Lí-am
Da-rí-o or just Da – rí-o . Everyone who lives in 2015 United
States can say ” rio” , like Rio de Janeiro, so I coach the strugglers
to say ” the rio”. They can’t go wrong with that, can they? Darío, the rio…..Da…..rí-o. But they do. Still, my son is no Líam. He says his name is Darío, like “the rio”, like his tio.