Lillian Eleonora's Name Story

Eric and Kristen had discussed many names for our little girl. One of the names that Kristen had chosen was Lilly, and Eric had taken a liking to Gillian after looking through the name book. After further research we came across the name Lillian as a variant of Lilly which seemed like a perfect blend of our favorite names. There were still a few other names on the list that were in the running at the time she was born, but Lillian was the clear winner. Lillian's middle name Eleonora comes from Kristen's maternal Grandmother Eleonora Chandley (AKA Nora). Kristen is Grandma Nora's first grandchild and Lillian is the first great grandchild. Although we did not realize it at the time, the name Eleonora is a family name. The name Eleonora was given to Grandma Nora to honor her own paternal grandmother Eleonora Sansone in who had died during childbirth in Sicily around the turn of the century. It is an Italian custom to give the first child the name of one of the grandparents so she was given the name Eleonora. Although we did not know any of this at the time, we are pleased to continue this naming tradition.